Sex Differences in Rotator Cuff Muscles’ Response to Various Work-Related Factors

Abstract

OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONS Despite the frequency and cost of rotator cuff injuries among male and female workers, very little is known about the strength, endurance, and perceived exertion and electromyographic response of rotator cuff muscles to different exertion levels. In this study, sex differences were studied using muscle-specific maximal and submaximal exertions of the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, and teres minor muscles. Females showed lower strength and endurance, but higher muscle activity and perceived exertion compared to males. The baseline data presented in this paper can assist ergonomic practitioners in determining the worker capacity to ensure that physically-demanding shoulder exertions can be performed without incurring injurious stress. Such data is also essential to establish population norms for the better design of workplace tasks.