This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Prior shoulder stabilization may shorten professional careers of some NFL players
The small study noted that linemen and linebackers who had the procedure had fewer years and number of games played than those who did not.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Compared with National Football League athletes who never underwent shoulder stabilization surgery, researchers have determined that league players with a history of stabilization for shoulder instability have significantly reduced career lengths.
In the case-controlled database study led by Robert H. Brophy, MD, of St. Louis, the careers of National Football League (NFL) athletes whose shoulders were surgically stabilized proved 5.2 years long vs. 6.9 years for a control group of similar NFL athletes who did not undergo stabilization.
“Similarly, the number of games was reduced significantly and there was a trend towards fewer games started in the athletes with a history of shoulder stabilization,” Brophy said at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
“This appears to be more problematic in linemen and linebackers,” he noted.
|
|
Since the effect of shoulder stabilization surgery on NFL athletes’ careers had not been well established, Brophy and colleagues studied it by analyzing statistics in an NFL injury database for athletes who played the sport between 1987 and 2000. The 42 athletes who were identified with a shoulder stabilization prior to the NFL Combine — most of whom were treated for anterior instability with open stabilization — were matched with control players at the Combine by position played, year and round drafted and other factors.
Other consideration
Researchers also considered years in the league and how many games were started or played in their statistical analysis.
Despite good outcomes with the shoulder procedures, “We found that a history of shoulder stabilization did reduce the average length of career both in terms of years and games played,” Brophy said, noting that why these athletes’ careers are shortened remains unclear. He theorized a history of shoulder stabilization predisposed athletes to recurrent instability or possibly affected the articular cartilage in the glenohumeral joint.
Position may matter
As a group, the linemen and linebackers who had undergone the stabilization procedures had shorter careers in terms of number of games and the number of years played, but the investigation revealed no differences for players in other positions. Brophy cited increased physical contact and more extensive strength training as some of the possible factors putting linemen and linebackers at greater risk of truncated careers following shoulder stabilization surgery.
The study’s limitations included its small sample size, retrospective design and lack of information on the appearance of the articular cartilage at surgery. Future studies should examine how NFL athletes’ careers are affected by arthroscopic shoulder stabilizations or posterior shoulder instability, Brophy said. – by Susan M. Rapp
Reference:
- Brophy RH, Gill CS, Lyman S, et al. Effect of shoulder stabilization on career length in NFL athletes: a case control study. Paper #33. Presented at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. March 9-13, 2010. New Orleans.
Robert H. Brophy, MD, can be reached at Washington University School of Medicine, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, 660 S. Euclid, Campus Box 8233 OC, Saint Louis, MO 63110; 314-514-3564; e-mail: brophyr@wudosis.wustl.edu.
This study complements other studies using the NFL database which consists of athletes who attended the NFL Combine and who were followed for their careers in the NFL. The findings are not too surprising that athletes with prior shoulder stabilizations have a decreased longevity in the league than athletes who never had shoulder instability; the operations for shoulder instability do not typically make the shoulder normal again, but they do allow the athlete to perform again at that level. It is assumed that the athletes failed to play as many games and did not last as long in the league due to recurrence of the shoulder instability, but it is possible that other factors such as concomitant injuries contributed to these findings. It would be interesting to know the direction of instability in the linemen, as the results for posterior stabilizations are known to be less successful than operations for anterior shoulder instability. This study serves as a platform for studying why shoulder instability operations are related to these findings.
– Edward G. McFarland, MD
Department of
Orthopaedic Surgery Vice Chair
Division Chief, Adult Orthopedics
Johns
Hopkins Hospital