Patients can expect to return to golf without pain after shoulder arthroplasty
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LAS VEGAS — Patients who undergo shoulder arthroplasty have high rates of return to golf, with some patients experiencing improved performance, according to results presented at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting.
“Golf in South Florida is probably the most common sport that I hear,” Jonathan C. Levy, MD, FAAOS, director of the Levy Shoulder Center at the Paley Orthopedic and Spine Institute in West Palm Beach, Florida, told Healio.
Levy and colleagues at Holy Cross Orthopedic Institute performed a retrospective study of data for 69 self-identified recreational golfers (median age of 70 years) who underwent either anatomic total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA, n = 47) or reverse shoulder arthroplasty (n = 22). All patients were cleared for a return to golf by 3 months postoperatively, according to the study.
Overall, 36 patients (52.1%) returned to golf within 6 months and 60 patients (87%) returned to golf within 1 year postoperatively. While Levy and colleagues saw no significant changes in handicap scores after surgery, they found 91% of patients improved or stayed the same in their enjoyment of golf. Levy noted 52.2% of patients who underwent TSA reported improved driving distance after surgery.
Median VAS pain scores improved from 6 to 1 after surgery, with a slightly greater improvement seen in patients who underwent TSA compared with RSA. Other patient-reported and functional outcomes were similar between the TSA and RSA cohorts, according to the study.
“In this series of patients, both anatomic [TSA] and RSA patients that wanted to get back to playing golf were able to do so with a highly predictable prediction,” Levy said. “Patients were enjoying participation at a higher level [and] playing with pain scores of a 1 out of 10, on average,” he added.
“It gives me confidence without hesitation to tell patients that if they want to be able to play golf, they should be able to,” Levy concluded.
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Boltuch A, et al. Poster 769. Presented at: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Meeting; March 7-11, 2023; Las Vegas.
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