Return to Sport After Total Shoulder Arthroplasty and Hemiarthroplasty: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Purpose: One of the most frequent concerns of the increasing number of patients undergoing shoulder arthroplasty is the possibility to resume sport after surgery. This systematic review determined the rate of return to sport after total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA) and hemiarthroplasty (HA). Materials and Methods:The PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines were followed to perform this systematic review. A systematic electronic search was performed using the PubMed (MEDLINE), EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases. All the studies analyzing the rates of reverse shoulder arthroplasties were pooled; data were extracted and statistically analyzed. Only studies with at least 10 adult patients recruited were considered. All studies had to relate return to sport after TSA or HA.Results: A total of 76 studies were included for a total of 694 patients. The mean age and average follow-up were, respectively, 64.5 years (range: 24 to 92 y) and 4.5 years (range: 0.5 to 12 y). The mean rate of return to sport ranged from 49.3% to 96.4%. The mean time to resume sports was 8.1 months. The overall rate of return to sport after the procedures, according to a random effect model, was 83%. The mean level of sports at the time of the survey was worsened in 9.4% ( ± 2.82%), improved or reported from good to excellent in 55.6% ( ± 13.6%), and did not change in 40% ( ± 1.4) of patients.Conclusions: On the basis of current available data, return to sports after TSA and HA is possible and is highly frequent. The subjective level of practice does not change or improve in most patients. More studies and better designed trials are needed to enrich the evidence on specific sport recovery after the procedure.

Allograft Prosthesis Composite (APC) for Proximal Humeral Bone Loss: Outcomes and Perspectives

“…Even though the quality of the published evidence is low, the use of bone allograft support for the humeral revision construct demonstrates promising results. Furthermore, the high rate of satisfaction represents today a central variable for the decision-making process of the surgeon [ 24 , 25 ]. A direct comparison between APC reconstruction and no-bone-loss reconstruction techniques was performed in one study only [ 17 ].…”

Shoulder & Elbow

“…Authors from Rome (Italy) aimed to determine the current evidence base surrounding the rate of return to sport after TSA and HA. 4 Their systematic review provides surgeons with information with which to counsel patients about the possibility of resuming sport following the procedures. The authors performed a systematic review according to the PRISMA guidelines.…”