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Background: Proprioception, our internal awareness of limb position and movement, is essential for shoulder stability through neuromuscular control. Following traumatic anterior instability (TAI), proprioceptive impairments may develop, potentially affecting upper limb function. These deficits vary across individuals. Previous studies have focused primarily on joint position sense and kinesthesia, while sense of force (SoF) deficits in chronic TAI remain largely unexplored. Moreover, clinical assessments are multifactorial and time-limited, and little is known about how SoF relates to common clinical measures. This cross-sectional study aimed to (1) determine whether chronic TAI is associated with shoulder SoF deficits compared with the contralateral side and a control group (CG) and (2) explore potential associations between SoF, maximal voluntary isometric strength (MVIC), and clinical questionnaires used in shoulder instability assessment. Methods: Participants aged 18-40 with TAI underwent SoF assessment in both shoulders. A matched CG (n = 37) was tested only on the dominant arm. Proprioceptive accuracy (PA) during SoF testing, MVIC, and shoulder questionnaires (Western Ontario Shoulder Instability Index, Shoulder Instability-Return to Sport after Injury, Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (short version)) were collected for analysis. Results: = .002) emerging as significant predictors. Conclusion: Chronic TAI subjects showed no difference in SoF performance compared with the CG. Associations between SoF, MVIC, and clinical questionnaire outcomes were minimal, emphasizing the importance of interpreting clinical assessments collectively rather than in isolation.
Amen et al. (Sat,) studied this question.