Return to Play After Arthroscopic Superior Labral Repair: A Systematic Review

Superior labral tears are common shoulder injuries among athletes, and for athletes undergoing surgical intervention, one of the main priorities is to return to preinjury levels of activity in a timely manner. However, the literature surrounding return to play after superior labral repair presents inconsistent results, with limited studies evaluating the timing of return to play.

To systematically review the rate and timing of return to play in athletes after arthroscopic superior labral repair.

Systematic review; Level of evidence, 4.

A systematic literature search was conducted based on PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines, using the PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases. Eligible for inclusion were clinical studies reporting on return to play after arthroscopic superior labral repair. Subgroup analysis was conducted for overhead and collision athletes as well as for return to duty among military personnel. Meta-analysis was performed using Review Manager to compare superior labral repair to biceps tenodesis in the subset of studies comparing these treatments directly. A P value <.05 was considered to be statistically significant.

This review identified 42 studies including 1759 unique cases meeting the inclusion criteria. The majority of patients were male (76.7%), with a mean age of 31.5 years (range, 15-75 years) and a mean follow-up of 50.4 months. The overall rate of return to sport was 77.5%, with 68.2% returning to the same level at a mean of 8.2 months. In overhead athletes, the overall rate of return to play was 69.9% and the rate of return to preinjury level was 55.5%. In collision and contact athletes, the overall rate of return to play was 77.2% and the rate of return to preinjury level was 70.2%. Among military personnel, the overall rate of return to duty was 83.4%, and 81.7% returned to preinjury level at a mean of 4.4 months. In the studies comparing return to play after superior labral repair and biceps tenodesis, a nonsignificant difference was found (risk ratio, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.85-1.00; I² = 13%; P = .05).

Overall, nearly a quarter of athletes were unable to return to play after arthroscopic superior labral repair. However, a high rate of return to duty was found among the military population treated with arthroscopic superior labral repair.