Canadian Academy of Sport Medicine Annual Scientific Sport Symposium

The Canadian Academy of Sport Medicine Annual Scientific Sport Symposium was held from March 27th-30th in Quebec City.

One of many highlights was the talk on shoulder injuries by Dr Bob McCormark, Canadian Olympic Team Chief Medical Officer and a UBC Orthopaedic Surgeon. One of the take-home messages was that there was high-quality evidence to suggest that young athletes dislocating their shoulder for the first time should be offered early arthroscopic reconstruction. Although there has been talk about external rotation bracing, the followup data are not as encouraging as the original study and compliance is a major problem with all forms of bracing. It seems like the data, the expert opinion, and common-sense all line up - consider early surgery if you are young, active and have dislocated your shoulder. 

Here are some excellent references:
Jakobsen BW
Johannsen HV
Suder P,
Sojbjerg JO
Primary repair versus conservative treatment of first-time traumatic anterior dislocation of the shoulder: a randomized study with 10-year follow-up