Postoperative Rehabilitation Following Subscapularis Repair and Biceps Tenodesis in an Adolescent Overhead Athlete: A Resident's Case Report.
Ramsey E Benkert, Giorgio Zeppieri, Marcus Owens and 2 others
PMID 40322514WHAT IT FOUND
A 13-year-old quarterback and pitcher returned to throwing after surgical repair of a torn subscapularis and biceps tendon.
Rehabilitation took 30 weeks and involved strict protection of the repairs, with coordination between the physical therapist and school athletic trainer.
Key findings
01The subject completed 22 physical therapy sessions over 30 weeks, transitioning from strict protection to a return-to-throw program coordinated with the school athletic trainer.
02Patient-reported function improved significantly, with the Pennsylvania Shoulder Score increasing by 54 points and the QuickDASH decreasing by 84.7% by the end of Phase 3.
03At the start of return to throwing, the athlete showed range of motion and strength deficits compared to the uninjured arm, including a 10-degree internal rotation deficit and strength asymmetries, but met criteria to begin the throwing program.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
This is a single case report, so cause and effect cannot be presumed. Follow-up data collection was limited by transportation issues, preventing assessment at the final return-to-sport clearance. The patient-reported outcome measures used focus on activities of daily living and may overestimate sport-specific functional ability. The subject had residual range of motion and strength deficits compared to the uninjured arm at the start of return to throwing.
Declared interests
The authors report no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the positive outcomes as evidence that this specific rehabilitation protocol is superior to others or that all patients with similar injuries will return to sport. This is a single case report describing one patient's journey, and the lack of a control group or comparison means we cannot know if other protocols would have yielded similar or better results.