Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32880525›Full record

ArticleSports health

Does Functional Bracing of the Unstable Shoulder Improve Return to Play in Scholastic Athletes? Returning the Unstable Shoulder to Play.

Adam Kwapisz, Ellen Shanley, Amit M Momaya, Chris Young, Michael J Kissenberth, Stefan J Tolan, Keith T Lonergan, Douglas J Wyland, Richard J Hawkins, Stephan G Pill and 1 more

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Sports health. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 20% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
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  3. Management of a first-time shoulder dislocation in the athlete: From ER to OR.Bulletin of the Hospital for Joint Disease (2013) · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.

Adam KwapiszThe Hawkins Foundation, Greenville, South Carolina.
Ellen ShanleyATI Physical Therapy, Greenville, South Carolina.
Amit M MomayaSteadman Hawkins Clinic of the Carolinas, Prisma Health-Upstate, Greenville, South Carolina.
Chris YoungGreenville County School System, Greenville, South Carolina.
Michael J KissenberthSteadman Hawkins Clinic of the Carolinas, Prisma Health-Upstate, Greenville, South Carolina.
Stefan J TolanSteadman Hawkins Clinic of the Carolinas, Prisma Health-Upstate, Greenville, South Carolina.
Keith T LonerganSteadman Hawkins Clinic of the Carolinas, Prisma Health-Upstate, Greenville, South Carolina.
Douglas J WylandSteadman Hawkins Clinic of the Carolinas, Prisma Health-Upstate, Greenville, South Carolina.
Richard J HawkinsThe Hawkins Foundation, Greenville, South Carolina.
Stephan G PillSteadman Hawkins Clinic of the Carolinas, Prisma Health-Upstate, Greenville, South Carolina.
John M TokishMayo Clinic Arizona, Scottsdale, Arizona.
Prisma Health · USSteadman Clinic · USATI Physical Therapy · USMayo Clinic in Arizona · USMedical University of Lodz · PL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundFunctional bracing is often used as an adjunct to nonoperative treatment of anterior shoulder instability, but no study has evaluated the effectiveness of in-season bracing. The purpose of this study was to examine successful return to play in a nonoperative cohort of adolescent athletes with in-season shoulder instability and compare those athletes treated with bracing to those who were not. HYPOTHESIS: The use of functional bracing will improve success rates in a cohort of athletes treated nonoperatively for in-season shoulder instability. STUDY

designCohort study. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 3.

methodsA total of 97 athletes with anterior shoulder instability were followed for a minimum of 1 year. The mean age was 15.8 ± 1.4 years (range, 12.0-18.0 years). All athletes were treated with initial nonoperative management. Twenty athletes (21%) were also treated with bracing while 77 (79%) were not. The athlete completing the current season and 1 subsequent season without surgery or time lost from shoulder injury was defined as a successful outcome.

resultsThere was no statistical difference in nonoperative success rates between the braced and nonbraced athletes (

conclusionThis is the first study to evaluate the utility of functional bracing in returning an athlete to sport and completing a full subsequent season without surgery or time loss due to injury of the shoulder. In adolescent athletes with shoulder instability treated nonoperatively, functional bracing did not result in increased success rates when compared with no bracing. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The data from this study indicate that functional bracing may not improve success rates for athletes with shoulder instability.

Indexed as

BracesReturn to SportAdolescentChildConservative TreatmentHumansJoint InstabilityReinjuriesShoulder InjuriesTime FactorsTreatment OutcomeYouth Sportsfunctional bracingnonoperative treatmentrecurrencereturn to sportshoulder instability

Identifiers

PMID32880525
PMCPMC7734369
OpenAlexW3083650236

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.