Return to play and performance after shoulder instability in National Basketball Association athletes
HYPOTHESIS: We hypothesized that players in the National Basketball Association (NBA) who sustained a shoulder destabilizing injury could return to play (RTP) successfully at a high rate regardless of treatment type.
METHODS: We used publicly available data to identify and evaluate 50 players who sustained an in-season shoulder instability event (subluxation/dislocation) while playing in the NBA. Demographic variables, return to NBA gameplay, incidence of surgery, time to RTP, recurrent instability events, and player efficiency rating (PER) were collected. Overall RTP was determined, and players were compared by type of injury and mode of treatment.
