SHOULDER PROBLEMS IN LEISURE ATHLETES - E FFECTIVE MANAGEMENT IN EVERYDAY PRACTICE

At first sight the anatomy of the shoulder may seem simple (see Fig. 1 ). However, for the physician treating a patient suffering from should er pain, the scapulo-thoracal interplay of 5 joints and 19 muscles, pr oviding a wide and varied range of motion, may constitute an obstacle difficult to overcome. In the leisure athlete acute injuries must be d istinguished from degenerative disease. Contact sports in particular t end to involve risks of falling on the shoulder, injuring the shoulder girdle or the elbow and wrist, sometimes with major consequences: com plex fractures, dislocations, ligament and tendon lesions or joint ins tabilities. Thorough, rapid and cost-effective diagnostic evaluation o f the athlete, involving clinical examination (function tests), radiog raphic imaging (shoulder a.p., y-view) and in selected cases ultrasono graphy (compared with the other side) may be necessary in starting ear ly and effective therapy.