Return to Sport After Reverse Shoulder Arthroplasty: A Systematic Review

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic surgery
• Sports medicine
• Biomedical engineering

Background:

• Reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA) is increasingly common, with more active patients undergoing the procedure.
• Limited evidence exists on return to sport (RTS) rates following RSA.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate RTS rates after RSA.
• To assess patient-reported outcomes (PROs) for pain and function post-RSA.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of studies published up to October 2023.
• Included adult patients (>18 years) undergoing RSA with reported RTS data.
• Excluded non-English studies, reviews, meta-analyses, and studies lacking RTS data.

Main Results:

• 19 studies (3092 patients) were analyzed; mean age was 72.5 years.
• Mean RTS rate at any level was 85.1%; RTS at the same or higher level was 69.5%.
• Significant improvements observed in pain (VAS decrease: 1.97) and function (ASES: +64.0, CMS: +35.5), exceeding minimal clinically important differences.

Conclusions:

• RSA demonstrates high RTS rates and significant functional improvements.
• A substantial number of patients maintain or exceed pre-operative activity levels.
• Further research is needed for younger populations and long-term outcomes due to study limitations (retrospective design, older patient cohort).