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Nerve Entrapment Syndromes in the Shoulder: Diagnosis, Principles, and Different Techniques for Nerve Decompression

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Sports Injuries

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Abstract

Nerve injuries around the shoulder in athletes are uncommon causes of pain and dysfunction. Athletes involved in overhead sports appear to be at increased risk. Recognition of this uncommon and frequently misdiagnosed condition is important as delayed treatment may lead to irreversible changes and cause impairment in the athlete. The goal of this chapter is to review in a comprehensive form anatomy and pathophysiology of the nerve injury, describe the typical clinical scenario and physical exam, contemplate a differential diagnosis of sources of shoulder pain, and list the diagnostic tools available; nonoperative and operative treatment options are described with special attention to arthroscopic techniques.

The following nerve injuries and specific associated syndromes about the shoulder in athletes will be reviewed: axillary nerve and the suprascapular nerve.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinique Générale d’Annecy, Alps Surgery Institute, 4 chemin Tour de la Reine, Annecy, France

    Laurent Lafosse, Gonzalo Samitier, Kalojan Petkin, Thibault Lafosse & Ashish Gupta

Authors
  1. Laurent Lafosse
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  2. Gonzalo Samitier
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  3. Kalojan Petkin
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  4. Thibault Lafosse
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  5. Ashish Gupta
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Laurent Lafosse .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology and Department of Sports Medicine, Hacettepe University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Mahmut Nedim Doral

  2. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Jon Karlsson

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Lafosse, L., Samitier, G., Petkin, K., Lafosse, T., Gupta, A. (2015). Nerve Entrapment Syndromes in the Shoulder: Diagnosis, Principles, and Different Techniques for Nerve Decompression. In: Doral, M.N., Karlsson, J. (eds) Sports Injuries. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-36569-0_27

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-36569-0_27

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