Return to performance after shoulder surgery
Shoulder injuries are common in sports involving the upper limb. Although often of microtraumatic origin, some of these injuries require surgery and keep the athlete off the field for varying lengths of time...
As part of the rehabilitation continuum, it is essential to use well-defined, scientifically-validated criteria to determine whether the athlete is ready to face the demands that will be placed on him when he returns to the field.
A number of tests and tools currently exist to assess mobility, strength, endurance, proprioception and apprehension in shoulder athletes. These include joint amplitude measurements, isometric or isokinetic measurements of shoulder rotator strength, functional testing and questionnaires such as the Shoulder Instability-Return to Sport after Injury (SIRSI).
However, to date, no battery of tests has been validated for return to sport after shoulder surgery. What's more, few scientists have investigated the return criteria that could guarantee a return to pre-injury performance in these athletes.
The main objective of this study is therefore to determine whether clinical evaluation criteria can be predictive of an athlete's return to a level of performance similar to that prior to injury. In this context, athletes practicing a sport involving the upper limb and had a shoulder instability surgery will be monitored over a 24-month period.
