Patients should gradually return to their desired activity and report any pain or mobility issues. Multiple studies have monitored shoulder replacement patients for short- and long-term outcomes and have reported exceptional results. Various studies report between 75–90% return to their exercise of choice; specifically research indicates the highest return to swimming, fishing, golf, and tennis. Additionally, research has shown an improvement in performance post-operatively.
High demanding sports such as bowling, softball, and basketball have lower postoperative return percentages (between 20–40%) and are not encouraged in individuals with shoulder prostheses. Instead of limiting patients’ activities, shoulder replacement surgery has proven to be tremendously successful at returning individuals to their activities and passions they were once unable to enjoy due to pain.
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