Acromioclavicular Joint Injuries in the ?>Contact Athlete.

Acromioclavicular joint injuries are a common problem in the general population and even more so in contact athletes. These athletes provide a difficult population for treatment of these injuries with competing interests of return to collision competition and long-term functional outcomes. Although conservative management is generally effective in treating acromioclavicular joint injuries, there is a subset of patients who require operative intervention for optimal results. A working algorithm can be useful in aiding the decision-making process to determine those at risk for failure of conservative management. The decision points include those at risk for maladaptation of scapular kinematics after acromioclavicular injury, including throwing athletes and those who plan to return to collision sports, as well as certain physical examination and radiographic findings that may place the conservatively treated athlete at risk for failure. Once an athlete is determined appropriate for surgical intervention, a number of techniques have been described to treat these injuries. More anatomical reconstructions of the coracoclavicular ligaments are becoming increasingly popular as biomechanical and clinical outcomes data expand to support their use. Outcomes of both conservative and surgical management in the appropriately indicated patients are generally good with the development of a clinical and radiographic algorithm for selecting athletes more likely to fail conservative management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]