Abstract
Wearable technologies provide many possibilities for applications in medicine, and especially in physiotherapy, where tracking and evaluation of body motion are of utmost importance. Despite the existence of multiple smart garments produced for applications in physiotherapy, there is limited information available on the actual impact of these technologies on the clinical outcomes. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the impact of the Double Aid (DAid) smart shirt, a purely textile-based system, on the training process of patients with subacromial pain syndrome. A randomized controlled trial was performed where patients with subacromial pain syndrome had to perform the assigned training exercises while employing the DAid smart shirt system. The core point of each exercise was to perform a movement while holding the shoulders stationary. The smart shirt was designed to sense even slight shoulder motion thus providing the patient with feedback on the accuracy of the motion, and allowing the patient to adjust the movement. The appropriate muscles should be strengthened through an increased effort to control the shoulder motion. The recovery of patients using the feedback system at the end of the treatment was compared to that of a reference group through standardized tests—the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand score (DASH score), Closed Kinetic Chain Upper Extremity Stability test (CKCUES test), and internal/external rotation ratio. The test group that used the DAid system demonstrated significantly better results of the performed tests for all applied outcome measures compared to the reference group (p < 0.001). An overall positive impact on the patient recovery was observed from the DAid smart shirt system when applied for rehabilitation training of patients with subacromial pain syndrome.
Highlights
Shoulder pain has large health care costs and a major impact on the health of affected individuals, including absence from work and disability [1,2,3,4]
The results of this study suggest that the application of smart garments for physiotherapy training assistance for patients with Subacromial pain syndrome (SAPS) has an overall positive impact and can greatly enhance the efficiency of the training, improving the recovery
It was confirmed that patients, who performed the exercises with the feedback system, experienced significantly greater improvements in shoulder function after 8 weeks of rehabilitation compared to the control group
Summary
Shoulder pain has large health care costs and a major impact on the health of affected individuals, including absence from work and disability [1,2,3,4]. The ability to control the orientation and movement of the scapula, the bone connecting the humerus with the clavicle, known as the shoulder blade, is essential for patients with SAPS [8]; physiotherapy is generally the first line of management for SAPS [9]. Conventional physiotherapy methods, such as movement control exercises, and scapular stabilization, have been. The average number of required physiotherapist visits for SAPS patients is above 7, which accounts for roughly 60% of the mean healthcare cost of SAPS treatment [4]
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