These findings pointed out the importance of evaluating the lowering of the arms in individuals with IS and suggested that measures of coactivation, besides reflecting the real purpose of the muscular actions during functional activities, are more sensitive to detect changes between groups. The evaluation of the coactivation of the middle trapezius/serratus anterior should be included in clinical assessment of individuals with IS and investigations on the etiology and progression of IS.

Due to the high physical and psychological demands of their work, musicians have a high risk of developing a range of health problems. The main causes of musculoskeletal disorders seen in instrumentalists are overuse, nerve compression and focal dystonia. The aim of this paper is to identify the musculoskeletal disorders that most frequently affect professional violinists and violists. 50 articles were read, of which 24 were used. The PEDro scale was used to determine the quality of the articles. The definition of risk factors can help in the development of prevention programs. Playing a musical instrument involves a combination of actions, including rapid, repetitive and complicated movements of the hands and fingers. The chairs used offer no other option than to adapt to the demands of body posture. To achieve the necessary skills to become a musician of a high standard, many hours of training and perfection are required. The neck, shoulder and temporomandibular joints are the most commonly affected areas, due to prolonged flexion of the head and shoulder required to hold the violin. The elbow and fingers are also common sites of disorders. It is necessary to warn musicians of the initial symptoms, and how they can prevent the disorder from worsening. Level I Evidence (Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine, Oxford, UK).

Introduction: Articular range of motion (ROM) is one of the important components measured during physical assessment. Goniometry is employed to measure and to register ROM available in a joint; however, it is necessary that it supplies reliable and standardized measures. Objectives: To verify theinter and intra-examiners reliability of the measures performed by the goniometer and inclinometer in the knee and elbow flexion and extension ROM and to determine the measurement standard error (MSE) of the instruments in question. Methods: The knee and elbow flexion and extension ROM was evaluated in a sample of healthy young males aged between 18-30 years, using a digital inclinometer and a universal goniometer. Results: The interexaminer reliability ranged from small to very high for both instruments presenting ICC of 0.24 to 0.96 for the measures performed with the goniometer and of 0.02 to 0.98 for the inclinometer. The only movement which presented very high reliability for both products and examiners was the knee flexion. The MSE performed with the goniometry and the inclinometry ranged between 0.21 and 12.75 degrees. Conclusion: The present study presented higher reliability for ROM measures obtained with the digital inclinometer when compared with the goniometer. Only four measurements were considered appropriate to be clinically used: those which obtained high ICC and SEM below two degrees, all of these were made with the inclinometer.