Return to Play Following Anterior Shoulder Dislocation and Stabilization Surgery

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic Surgery
• Sports Medicine
• Athletic Training

Background:

• Anterior shoulder instability significantly impacts athletes, causing lost playing time and reduced performance.
• Contact, collision, and overhead athletes face a higher risk of this condition.
• While some athletes return to play after non-operative treatment, recurrent instability often necessitates surgical intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate surgical stabilization techniques for anterior shoulder instability in athletes.
• To compare outcomes of open versus arthroscopic stabilization based on bone loss percentage.
• To determine optimal surgical strategies for improving return to play rates and reducing recurrence.

Main Methods:

• Review of surgical procedures for anterior shoulder instability in athletes.
• Analysis of return to play rates and recurrence based on bone loss.
• Comparison of open and arthroscopic stabilization techniques.
• Evaluation of osseous augmentation for significant bone loss.

Main Results:

• Both open and arthroscopic stabilization improve return to play and decrease recurrence in athletes with <20-25% bone loss.
• Open stabilization shows a slightly lower recurrence rate compared to arthroscopic methods.
• Athletes with >20-25% bone loss benefit from open osseous augmentation procedures.

Conclusions:

• Surgical stabilization is recommended for long-term management of recurrent anterior shoulder instability in athletes.
• The choice between open and arthroscopic stabilization depends on the degree of bone loss.
• Open osseous augmentation is the preferred method for athletes with substantial bone loss to ensure stability and minimize recurrence.