The Incidence of Traumatic Posterior and Combined Labral Tears in Patients Undergoing Arthroscopic Shoulder Stabilization

Posterior and combined shoulder instabilities have been reported as accounting for only 2% to 5% of cases. More recently, an increased incidence of posterior capsulolabral tear has been reported.

To assess the incidence of posterior and combined labral tears in a large cohort of patients with surgically treated shoulder labral tears.

Case series; Level of evidence, 4.

This was a retrospective study that evaluated 442 patients who underwent an arthroscopic capsulolabral repair over a 3-year period. Patients were categorized according to the location of their labral tear and whether their injury was sustained during sporting or nonsporting activity. Proportions of labral tears between sporting and nonsporting populations were compared using the chi-square test.

Patients had a mean age of 25.9 years and 89.6% were male. Isolated anterior labral tears occurred in 52.9%, with posterior and combined anteroposterior labral tears accounting for 16.3% and 30.8%, respectively. The frequency of posterior and combined lesions was greater in the sporting population compared with the nonsporting population (P = .013).

Posterior and combined labral tears are more prevalent than previously reported, particularly in the sporting population.