Outcomes and factors of elbow arthroscopy upon returning to sports for throwing athletes with osteoarthritis

BACKGROUND: Elbow arthroscopy had good functional outcome for throwing athletes. Returning to sports is a major concern for all athletes, but only a few reports have investigated the clinical factors related to the duration of returning to sports. The present study evaluates the efficacy of elbow arthroscopic surgery on throwing elbows with osteoarthritis and defines the clinical factors related to the duration of the returning to sports. METHODS: This was a retrospective study with fifteen active baseball throwing athletes with elbow osteoarthritis who were treated with elbow arthroscopy. Perioperative clinical factors were analyzed for functional outcomes. A multiple linear regression analysis was used to analyze the clinical factors associated with the duration of returning to training and sports. RESULTS: The 15 patients’ mean age was 27 years. The mean follow-up time was 2.6 years. The mean procedural complexity was 3.1 ± 1.6 (range 1–6). The elbow total range of motion (ROM) improved significantly from 100.7 ± 28.7° to 125.7 ± 18.5° (p = 0.001). The terminal flexion range of the elbow increased significantly from 116.0 ± 22.6° to 130.0 ± 13.2° (p = 0.001), and the terminal extension range improved from 15.3 ± 11.1° to 4.3 ± 5.9° (p = 0.001). Before the operation, the average subjective patient outcome for return to sports (SPORTS) score was 3.4 ± 1.5, which increased significantly to 9.67 ± 0.45 (p = 0.003) at the last follow-up. The multiple linear regression analysis revealed that higher procedural complexity hinders the athletes from returning to competition. CONCLUSIONS: Elbow arthroscopy offered highly satisfactory results in the throwing elbows of elite athletes and significantly improved the range of motion and SPORTS score. The procedural complexity was significantly related to the duration of returning to competition. Early and aggressive arthroscopic intervention is recommended for elite throwing athletes with elbow osteoarthritis who fail to respond to conservative treatment.