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Shoulder stabilization surgery yielded high return-to-play rates among athletes
Football players who were highly utilized prior to injury had a higher return-to-play rate vs player rarely utilized.
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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Division I football players were able to progress and develop as players following return to sport after shoulder stabilization surgery, according to study results presented at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine Annual Meeting.
“Our conclusion is that arthroscopic interventions are being performed at a high rate in this particular patient cohort, that intercollegiate football athletes do have a high return-to-play rate particularly if they are high performers and that these athletes were able to maintain and progress in their participation within their respective football programs following shoulder stabilization surgery,” R. Judd Robins, MD, said in his presentation.
Return to play
Robins and his colleagues collected direction of instability, type of surgery, time-to-resume participation, quality and level of play data from 153 athletes with 177 shoulder injuries both before and after undergoing shoulder stabilization surgery to determine overall return to play, as well as the influence of scholarship and depth chart position prior to surgery on return to play.
Overall, results showed 85.4% of patients who underwent arthroscopic surgery without concomitant procedures returned to play, with no statistical differences in return-to-play rates among posterior labral repair (88.7%), anterior labral repair (82.4%) and combined anterior-posterior repair (84.8%).
“Athletes diagnosed with primary posterior instability had a 3.5-time increased likelihood of having a combined repair compared to anterior apprehension or anterior instability alone,” Robins said.
The ability to return to play after surgery was significantly correlated with scholarship status. Robins and his colleagues found a 15.5% re-injury rate and a 10% subsequent shoulder surgery rate in return-to-play athletes.
Utilization rate
Robins also noted a higher return-to-play rate among players who were more highly utilized compared to players who were rarely utilized prior to injury (94% vs. 76%).
“Surgical intervention correlated with a 20% increase in games played, and this suggests to us that players after stabilization surgery were able to progress and participate within their respective football programs,” he said.
Researchers found 98% of the 42 athletes identified as starters prior to injury continued as starters after return to play while 2% became utilized players. According to results, 49% of the 41 athletes who were utilized prior to injury became starters after surgery. Similarly, 49% of these athletes remained utilized players and 2% rarely played following surgery. Of the 56 athletes who rarely played prior to injury, 36% became starters, 23% were utilized athletes and 41% remained as rarely-played athletes after return to play. – by Casey Tingle
- Reference:
- Robins RJ, et al. Paper #128. Presented at: American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine Annual Meeting; July 7-10, 2016; Colorado Spring, Colo.
- For more information:
- R. Judd Robins, MD, can be reached at U.S. Air Force Academy Ambulatory Surgical Center, 4102 Pinion Dr., USAF Academy, CO 80840; email: robinsrj@hotmail.com.
Disclosure: Robins reports no relevant financial disclosures.