Return to Competitive Sport After Anterior Shoulder Stabilization: A Scoping Review of Current Outcomes and Clearance Decision-Making Criteria.
Alex Fails, Adam Popchak
PMID 40904721WHAT IT FOUND
Competitive athletes returned to their prior sport level at a rate of 82.3% after shoulder stabilization, with 7% experiencing recurrent instability.
Return to play criteria varied widely, with most studies relying on time and strength rather than standardized functional or psychological testing.
Key findings
01The overall rate of return to sport at prior levels was 82.3%, while the recurrent instability rate was 7%.
02Athletes undergoing the Latarjet procedure had a higher return rate (87.4%) and lower recurrence rate (3.1%) compared to those undergoing Bankart repair (79.7% return, 9.2% recurrence), though ranges overlapped.
03Clearance criteria were inconsistent; strength and range of motion were most common, but psychological readiness and endurance were rarely assessed, and specific benchmarks were often absent.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The review includes only low-level evidence (Level III and IV), with 93% of studies being retrospective, which limits the reliability of the outcome rates. The population was overwhelmingly male (93.4%), so these results may not apply to female athletes. The review did not differentiate between primary and revision surgeries, which may have different outcomes. No statistical analysis was performed to compare surgery types directly, so the difference between Bankart and Latarjet outcomes cannot be confirmed as significant. Variability in how 'return to sport' and 'recurrence' were defined across studies makes direct comparison difficult.
Declared interests
One author is funded by a Department of Defense grant. The authors report no other conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the higher return-to-sport rate for Latarjet compared to Bankart as proof that one surgery is superior. The study did not perform statistical comparisons between groups, and the wide ranges of outcomes overlapped significantly, meaning the difference may be due to patient selection or study heterogeneity rather than the procedure itself.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →