Rehabilitation concepts and return to sport after interventions on the shoulder

Rehabilitation of athletes following surgical interventions for shoulder injuries is of utmost importance for recovery and return to sport. The aim was to determine adequate concepts for rehabilitation following shoulder surgery in athletes. A selective literature search was carried out in PubMed and a review of the available concepts is given taking personal experiences as well as national and international recommendations into consideration. This article presents the basic principles of functional rehabilitation, the kinetic chain and the different phases in rehabilitation. Specific rehabilitation concepts and return to sport strategies following traumatic dislocation, superior labrum anterior to posterior (SLAP) lesions and rotator cuff tears are presented. There is little high-level scientific evidence available for the treatment of these patients and most concepts are based on clinical experience and expert opinion. Rehabilitation of athletes with shoulder injuries requires a broad consensus strategy with respect to the next steps. Individual concepts for rehabilitation should take surgical and patient-specific criteria into consideration. Further research is urgently required to develop evidence-based recommendations.