Dataset Information

Professional Athlete Return to Play and Performance After Shoulder Arthroscopy Varies by Sport.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

To determine whether differences in return-to-play (RTP) rate and performance-based outcomes exist following shoulder arthroscopy in athletes from the National Football League (NFL), National Basketball League (NBA), Major League Baseball (MLB), and National Hockey League (NHL).

Methods

Professional athletes from the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL who underwent shoulder arthroscopy between January 1998 and December 2016 were identified through an established review of injury reports and public archives. Sport-specific statistics were collected before and after shoulder arthroscopy for each athlete, providing a performance score. RTP was defined as the first game played postsurgery.

Results

Of the 208 professional athletes who met the inclusion criteria, 167 (80.3%) returned to play following shoulder arthroscopy, with MLB players returning at a significantly lower rate than those of other sports (P < .0001). NBA players had significantly shorter recovery times (201 days; P < .01) and MLB players had significantly longer recovery times (413 days; P < .001) when compared with athletes in other sports. The mean number of seasons played after shoulder arthroscopy was 3.7, 4.7, 4.8, and 5.8 for MLB, NFL, NHL, and NBA, respectively. NBA players performed worse in their first season postoperative compared with their preoperative performance (P = .0017), but their postoperative season 2 performance returned to their preoperative performance level (P = .1893). Similarly, NHL players performed worse in their postoperative season 1 compared with preoperative performance (P = .0274), but their postoperative season 2 performance improved upon their preinjury performance level (P = .0861).

Conclusions

There is a modest RTP rate among professional athletes following shoulder arthroscopy. MLB players have the longest average time to RTP and the shortest postinjury careers following shoulder arthroscopy. However, they demonstrate no significant decline in performance following their injury. Conversely, NBA players had the shortest average time to RTP and the longest post-injury career. Both NBA and NHL athletes experienced a decrease in performance in post-operative season one.

Level of evidence

Level III, retrospective comparative study.

SUBMITTER: Higgins MJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8128995 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BackgroundShoulder dislocations can be devastating for an athlete. Coracoid bone block transfer is often used for the treatment of recurrent shoulder instability.Questions/purposesThe primary purpose of this study was to determine the rate and mean time of return to sport in athletes after a coracoid bone block transfer at the pre-operative level of competition, a lower level, or a different level. We also sought to determine how return to sport rates after a coracoid bone block procedure compared with rates after several comparator interventions. Finally, we looked to determine the post-operative clinical outcomes and complications reported after a coracoid bone block procedure.MethodsWe systematically searched three databases (PubMed, Embase, and MEDLINE) for studies reporting return to sport after a coracoid bone block procedure.ResultsA total of 52 studies (with levels of evidence ranging from II to IV) evaluating 2953 shoulders in 2888 patients were included in this systematic review. The mean rate of return to sport at any level was 88.4% (2291 of 2592 patients). However, the rate of return to the pre-operative level was 70.3% (1387 of 1974 patients). The mean time to return to sport was 5.38 months (range 21 days to 36 months). The rate of return to sport was higher after the Latarjet procedure, as compared with Bankart repair (87.0% and 75.8%, respectively). All studies showed improvements in clinical outcome measures after coracoid bone block intervention. The cumulative complication rate was found to be 6.46% (158 of 2446 patients).ConclusionCoracoid bone block transfer allows for a high rate of return to sport, although the rate of return to sport at athletes' pre-operative level is lower. The rate of return to sport after Latarjet procedure is higher in comparison with Bankart repair. Additionally, coracoid bone block transfer is associated with improvements in a number of clinical outcome measures. Common post-operative complications include non-union between bone block and glenoid, hematoma, and infection.