Release of the subscapularis for internal rotation contracture and pain after anterior repair for recurrent anterior dislocation of the shoulder.

Ten patients who had an internal rotation contracture and pain after an anterior repair for recurrent dislocation of the shoulder were treated by release of the subscapularis muscle. For six of the patients, radiographs demonstrated severe osteoarthrotic changes in the shoulder as well. The release was done an average of eleven years after the original procedure, which, for most patients, had been a Putti-Platt repair. After release of the subscapularis, each patient had less pain in the shoulder and an average increase of 27 degrees of external rotation. Release of the subscapularis can offer relief of pain and of functional limitations associated with the symptoms caused by an internal rotation contracture after an anterior repair of the shoulder.