Incapacity of work after arthroscopic Bankart repair.

Abstract

The incapacity with respect to work following anterior-inferior shoulder dislocation and subsequent Bankart repair has not been previously examined. The objective of this study was to examine a patient's incapacity according to the classification by the REFA Association. The recovery time was measured and the outcome of patients with heavy workloadwas compared to those with lower workloads. A total of 74 patients who underwent isolated arthroscopic Bankart repair fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The Constant-Murley Score, UCLA Shoulder Score and ROWE Score for Shoulder Instability were recorded for clinical assessment. The mean follow-up time was 43.1months (SD±17.4; 24-110months) with a mean age of 34.7years (SD±12.6). Workload was classified as per the REFA Association classification system. Postoperative duration of a patient's incapacity with respect to work and other subjective ratings were provided by the patients themselves. The mean incapacity of work was 2.73months (95% CI 1.19-5.36). The incapacity of work was 2.06months (95% CI 1.55-2.68) in the group with low physical strains at work (REFA 0-1) and 3.40months (95% CI 2.70-4.24) in the group with heavy workload (REFA 2-4/p=0.005). Overall, the mean Constant-Murley Score was 87.7 (SD±13.5). The average UCLA Shoulder Score summed up to 31.9 (SD±3.87) and the mean ROWE Score was 87.6 (SD±21.7). 13 (17.5%) patients had problems to compete in their jobs. Three patients had to change the job postoperatively. In this study, a relationship between the time of incapacityof work and the workload was observed; patients with low physical strains returned significantly earlier to work after arthroscopic Bankart repair (p=0.005). In general, the clinical results as measured in the Constant/UCLA/Rowe score were comparable to other studies.