Skip to main content

Shoulder Instability, Anterior, Sports Medicine

Michael Seth Smith, MD, CAQSM, PharmD and Kristy Smith, MD Reviewed 04/2019
 


BASICS

DESCRIPTION

  • A symptomatic anteroinferior subluxation or dislocation of the glenohumeral (GH) joint

  • Synonym(s): GH dislocation; GH subluxation; dead-arm syndrome

EPIDEMIOLOGY

  • One of the most commonl...

DIAGNOSIS

HISTORY

  • Patients usually give a history of prior dislocation/subluxation event. The symptoms will be reported to occur when the arm is placed in the provocative position of abduction and exte...

TREATMENT

GENERAL MEASURES

  • Nonoperative management in young, active patients is associated with a high incidence of recurrent instability but can be considered in older/low-demand patients or in-season...

ONGOING CARE

FOLLOW-UP RECOMMENDATIONS

  • Any patient with recurrent anterior dislocations or a young, athletic, first-time dislocator should discuss surgical options with a qualified sports medicine phys...

REFERENCES

1
Carpinteiro EP, Barros AA. Natural history of anterior shoulder instability. Open Orthop J.  2017;11:909–918.
2
Elsenbeck MJ, Dickens JF. Return to sports after shoulder stabilization s...

ADDITIONAL READING

  • Bankart AS. Recurrent or habitual dislocation of the shoulder-joint. Br Med J.  1923;2(3285):1132–1133.

  • Bedi A, Ryu RK. The treatment of primary anterior shoulder dislocations. ...

CLINICAL PEARLS

  • Young athletes, particularly those participating in overhead or contact sports, continue to be at increased risk of anterior shoulder instability.

  • Recurrent instability is common after ...

Subscribe to Access Full Content

Sign Up for a 10-Day Free Trial

Sign up for a 10-day FREE Trial now and receive full access to all content.

×