Glenoidplasty technique leads to higher likelihood of return to sport in throwing athletes

Glenoidplasty technique leads to higher likelihood of return to sport in throwing athletes

Lévigne C. Clin Orthop Rel Res. 2012. doi:10.1007/s11999-012-2294-7

Researchers from the Clinique du Parc Lyon in France have concluded that using glenoidplasty to treat posterior superior glenoid impingement is correlated with an increased likelihood of athletes returning to throwing sports.

Christophe Lévigne, MD, and colleagues retrospectively analyzed 27 athletes with a mean age of 27 years who underwent extensive posterior labral and partial tendinous tear debridement for internal impingement between 1996 and 2008. A CT scan revealed that in 21 shoulders, there were bony changes on the posterior glenoid rim, according to the abstract.

Of the 26 patients reviewed at a minimum 19-month follow-up, 18 patients returned to their normal sport levels, 6 patients had to change to a lower level of sport or to another sport entirely and 2 patients did not improve after the glenoidplasty. Researchers reported no posterior instability or complications and there was no reported arthritis or osteophytes in 15 patients who received radiographs between 20-month and 87-month follow-ups.