Shoulder Instability in Throwing Athletes
摘要
Shoulder dislocation is less common in throwing athletes than in contact sports but usually requires arthroscopic treatment to allow throwing athletes to return to sport. Anatomical repair of the torn labrum or capsular ligaments provides optimal shoulder function improvement for throwing. However, the shoulder external rotation angle is decreased after anterior labral repair, even 1 year after surgery, and ball velocity is affected by maximum external rotation angle. Therefore, throwing athletes—especially baseball pitchers—have difficulty returning to previous performance levels after anterior labral repair, despite an absence of pain or instability. To maintain the maximum external rotation angle while improving shoulder stability after surgery, we reconstruct the anterior band of the inferior glenohumeral ligament (AIGHL) with a fascia lata graft. The graft is attached between the AIGHL and glenoid to maintain the original AIGHL length, even after suturing. Our biomechanical study showed that AIGHL reconstruction completely restored anterior stability and maintained maximum external rotation angle, whereas Bankart repair decreased external rotation significantly. Our preliminary clinical results after complete shoulder external rotation restoration in elite throwing athletes showed that throwing programs could restart 3–4 months after AIGHL reconstruction, with return to previous performance levels 6–8 months postoperatively.