Current concepts and recent advances in the athlete's shoulder.

The demands placed on the shoulder girdle during athletics can often exceed its physiologic limits and result in significant injury. The goal of orthopedists, therapists, trainers, and ancillary personnel who care for athletes involved in sports which require extreme demands of the shoulder is to enhance athletic performance, extend their longevity, and prevent injury. With the new concepts available from basic science and clinical research, a clear understanding of normal architecture and biomechanical function of the shoulder girdle is better appreciated. A greater understanding of sporting activities and their physiologic demands on the shoulder are also more clear. The future of all this research seems to be pointing toward maintenance and restoration of normal anatomy and physiology about the shoulder girdle.