Advances in the management of traumatic anterior and atraumatic multidirectional shoulder instability.

Dislocation of the shoulder is a common and often disabling injury to an athlete. Most shoulder dislocations are traumatic in origin, occur in the anterior direction and result in stretching and detachment of the anterior capsule and labrum. The most frequent adverse sequel of shoulder dislocation is recurrence--an event that occurs most commonly in active individuals and less frequently with age. In the past, many operative procedures failed to address the anatomical disruptions of shoulder instability. Recently, an enhanced understanding of shoulder instability pathoanatomy and significant technological advances have resulted in surgical procedures for shoulder instability that are less interventional and have focused on restoring disrupted static constraints.