Correlation between scapular muscle endurance and handwriting legibility in school children: Correlational study

Abstract

Handwriting is an important functional task that needs to be performed by children in lower grades of elementary school, and it is an essential ability for academic achievements. To evaluate the ability of handwriting performance in children, various dimensions must be considered including the domain of handwriting, legibility, speed, and ergonomic factors. During the process of handwriting, most of the movements come from the forearm while the shoulder provides the power with minimum movement occurring at fingers and wrist. Muscular endurance is the ability of a muscle or muscle group to do repeated contractions against a less-than-maximum resistance for a given period. Fatigue of the Proximal muscles has been reportedly affected the coordination of Distal muscles. This study studies the correlation between scapular muscle endurance and handwriting legibility in school children. Method: In this study, 70 samples were collected according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The test was explained to them and their parents in detail and ascent. Handwriting legibility was assessed using a handwriting legibility scale. Scapular muscle endurance was assessed using the Scapular muscle endurance test. Data was collected and analyzed. Results: The results showed that there was a significant positive correlation between scapular muscle endurance and handwriting legibility. The statistical analysis showed that the correlation coefficient (r=0.5) which states that there is a moderately positive correlation. The p-value was <0.0001 which is considered extremely significant. Conclusion:This study concludes that there is a positive correlation between scapular muscle endurance and handwriting legibility.

A cross-sectional study of the scapular muscles’ endurance in young healthy smartphone addicts and smartphone non-addicts, using scapular muscle endurance test

“…It is assumed that even when the hand is in a neutral position, there is increased activity of major shoulder stabilizers resulting from co-activation of proximal and distal muscles. Thus muscle activity of proximal parts is necessary for activation of distal parts [10,11,12,13].…”

“…Proximal joints generally perform the overall movement pattern of the arm, while distal joints primarily fine-tune movements to achieve the task goal [10,11]. Smartphone addiction mainly revolves around using social networking applications for texting and playing games on smartphones.…”

“…Smartphone addiction mainly revolves around using social networking applications for texting and playing games on smartphones. During these activities, most of the movements come from the forearm while the shoulder provides the power with movement occurring at the fingers and wrist [10]. Smartphone addicts usually spend longer hours on their smartphones which demands constant use of the handheld device associated with sustained activity of the scapular and shoulder girdle muscles to provide the proximal stability.…”

“…Thus, the stability of the shoulder girdle and scapula is required for the activity of distal parts such as fingers, wrists and elbows. This increased activity of major shoulder stabilizers during fine hand movements results from the co-activation of proximal and distal muscles [10,11,12,13]. Thus, while using smartphones for prolonged periods, the scapular muscles are under constant tension to achieve stability while transferring forces and motions along the kinetic chain requiring good endurance in the long run.…”

“…Forward shoulder posture has been linked to muscle imbalance in the form of shortening of the anterior shoulder muscles like the pectoralis minor and major, serratus anterior along with the upper trapezius and lengthening of the posterior shoulder muscles, middle as well as lower trapezius and rhomboids [16]. Smartphone use demands stabilization by the shoulder and scapular muscles to perform movements of the elbows, wrists and hands distally based on the kinetic chain perspective [10]. This demands an increased endurance level of the scapular muscles to be able to function as a link in proximal-to-distal sequencing of velocity, energy, and forces of shoulder function [6].…”