title: Treatment of instability of the shoulder with an exercise program.
abstract: One hundred and forty shoulders in 115 patients that had a diagnosis of traumatic or atraumatic recurrent anterior, posterior, or multidirectional subluxation were treated with a specific set of muscle-strengthening exercises. Only twelve (16 per cent) of the seventy-four shoulders (sixty-eight patients) that had traumatic subluxation had a good or excellent result from the exercises, compared with fifty-three (80 per cent) of the sixty-six shoulders that had atraumatic subluxation. For this reason, each patient who has instability of the shoulder should be thoroughly evaluated if a successful result from conservative treatment is to be expected. Every effort must be made to identify the etiology of the instability through careful history-taking, physical examination, and radiographic evaluation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio 78284.
authors.forename: W Z
authors.initials: WZ
authors.lastname: Burkhead
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Rockwood
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D005081:Exercise Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007593:Joint Instability / Q000209:etiology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D008297:Male; D008487:Medical History Taking; D008875:Middle Aged; D010808:Physical Examination; D011859:Radiography; D012783:Shoulder Dislocation / Q000209:etiology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D000070599:Shoulder Injuries; D012785:Shoulder Joint / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging