The moment arms of the muscles spanning the glenohumeral joint: a systematic review

Abstract

The moment arm of a muscle represents its leverage or torque-producing capacity, and is indicative of the role of the muscle in joint actuation. The objective of this study was to undertake a systematic review of the moment arms of the major muscles spanning the glenohumeral joint during abduction, flexion and axial rotation. Moment arm data for the deltoid, pectoralis major, latissimus dorsi, teres major, supraspinatus, infraspinatus, subscapularis and teres minor were reported when measured using the geometric and tendon excursion methods. The anterior and middle sub-regions of the deltoid had the largest humeral elevator moment arm values of all muscles during coronal- and scapular-plane ..