Effects of a physiotherapy technique on shoulder joint position using diagnostic ultrasound

Mobilisation With Movement (MWM) Intervention Each subject will asked to attend for a single treatment session at the Research laboratory of the Australian Catholic University Nudgee Road Banyo QLD. Each session will take approximately 75 minutes. Each subject will have pre and post intervention measures of acromiohumeral distance at 0 degrees and 60 degrees of shoulder abduction and humeroglenoid distance at 0 degrees at rest and with contraction of the shoulder muscles. Three repetitions of each measure will be taken. Each subject will then receive both a sham and a MWM treatment - sham to one shoulder and MWM to the other shoulder. The selection of which shoulder will receive the Sham or the MWM will be randomised. A person not involved in the study will randomly allocate the right and left shoulder to either the sham or MWM and place the order in sealed opaque envelopes The supervising physiotherapist will choose a numbered envelope with the order of treatment in and then apply the glenohumeral MWM technique to the allocated shoulder as described by Mulligan as designated by the numbered participant’s random allocation. The participant will be seated with an erect posture and feet flat on the floor. The therapist will stand on the opposite side of the shoulder to be treated and place one hand over the scapula posteriorly and the thenar eminence of the other hand over the anterior aspect of the head of the humerus. The therapist will apply a sustained posterolateral glide whilst the subject raises their arm along the plane of the scapula as far as possible. Three sets of 10 repetitions will be applied, with a 30 second interval between each set. The participant will be instructed that the entire application of the technique should be pain-free.