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Study highlights rate, timing of return to sports and employment after shoulder hemiarthroplasty
Results from this study indicated that among patients who underwent shoulder hemiarthroplasty, 67.2% participated in at least one sports postoperatively at an average of 6.5 months and 69.4% of patients returned to work at average of 1.4 months.
Researchers retrospectively reviewed 105 patients who underwent shoulder hemiarthroplasty. Of these patients, 79 patients were available for follow-up. Investigators administered a patient-reported questionnaire about physical fitness, sports and work status. VAS pain scores and American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeon (ASES) scores also were recorded preoperatively.
Results showed both the VAS pain scores and ASES scores had improved from preoperative to postoperative values (6.2 to 2.1 and 34.6 to 71.3, respectively). Investigators noted patients older than 65 years compared with those younger than 65 years had a significantly lower average postoperative ASES score.
Thirty-nine of the 58 patients who participated in sports preoperatively returned to at least one sport in which they previously participated. Patients who returned to high-demand sports were significantly younger compared with those who returned to low-demand sports. Direct return rates were 69% for fitness sports, 67% for softball, 65% for swimming, 64% for running, 63% for cycling and 57% for doubles tennis.
Of the 49 patients who worked preoperatively, 69.4% had returned to their previous employment. On average, patients with a higher BMI did not return to work. ‒ by Monica Jaramillo
Disclosures: Garcia reports no relevant financial disclosures. Please see the full study for a list of all other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.