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Proprioception of the Shoulder Joint After Surgical Repair for Instability

A Long-term Follow-up Study

Wolfgang Pötzl, MD^*,, Lothar Thorwesten, PhD, Christian Götze, MD, Stefan Garmann, MD and Jörn Steinbeck, MD

From the Department of Orthopaedics, University Hospital Münster, Münster, Germany, and the Department of Sports Medicine, University Hospital Münster, Münster, Germany

^* Address correspondence to Wolfgang Pötzl, Department of Orthopaedics, University Hospital Münster, Albert Schweitzer Str. 33, 48149 Münster, Germany (e-mail: poetzl{at}uni-muenster.de).

Background: Proprioceptive capabilities play an important role in stability of the shoulder joint.

Hypothesis: Decreased proprioceptive capabilities can improve by surgical repair of shoulder instability.

Study Design: Prospective long-term study.

Methods: The proprioceptive capabilities of 14 patients with recurrent anterior shoulder instability were examined preoperative and with a minimum follow-up of 5 years postoperative using the angle reproduction test. The patients’ data were compared to a healthy control group.

Results: The joint position sense improved significantly in abduction, flexion, and rotation (P < .05). The preoperative difference from the target joint position was 9.3° (SD, 4.6°) for the summarized positions in abduction, 9.1° (SD, 4.5°) in flexion, and 10.1° (SD, 5.1°) in rotation. Postoperatively, it improved to 5.6° (SD, 2.9°) in abduction, 5.6° (SD, 2.7°) in flexion, and 5.0° (SD, 1.8°) in rotation. The joint position sense of the uninvolved contralateral shoulder improved too.

Conclusions: Five years after surgical repair for shoulder instability, the joint position sense improved significantly, to a level of normal, healthy shoulders.

Key Words: proprioception • shoulder instability • Bankart repair • angle reproduction test

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