Glenohumeral capsular injury rate in patients with glenohumeral instability: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

Glenohumeral instability is a complex clinical problem with underlying pathology in the bony, labral, and capsular tissues. The rate of specific capsular injuries varies widely in the literature and the clinical importance of these specific injury patterns remains unclear.

Methods

Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis guidelines, a systematic review was performed of multiple databases for all primary research articles between 2008 and 2023 which included advanced imaging and included rates of capsular injury in patients with glenohumeral instability.

Results

Twelve studies met inclusion criteria. The most prevalent capsular injury seen was in the inferior glenohumeral ligament (34.1%) across all studies, followed by anterior labroligamentous periosteal sleeve avulsions with 24.9% prevalence. Humeral avulsions of the glenohumeral ligaments lesions were the least common (6.2%) of subjects, followed closely by capsular tears (8.3%) of subjects.

Conclusion

Capsular injury is commonly seen in magnetic resonance imaging of patients with anterior shoulder instability. Significant heterogeneity in language and imaging techniques was found in the existing literature. Further research is needed to explore these specific capsular lesions’ clinical implications and rehabilitation strategies.