Thomas (Quin) Throckmorton, MD, Editor

On behalf of the authors of this issue of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics of North America, we are pleased to present this issue entitled “Rehabilitation of Operative and Nonoperative Shoulder Pathologies”. The articles herein are authored by experienced shoulder surgeons and thought-leaders in our field of orthopedic surgery. We hope that this issue will assist PM&R specialists in their treatment of patients with these disorders.

Rehabilitation of the shoulder, particularly following surgery, has been notoriously difficult to define and study. Due to the individualized nature of surgical recovery and differing philosophies among surgeons regarding the aggressiveness of physical therapy programs, high-level studies of shoulder rehabilitation have generally been lacking. Therefore, understanding in this area is often limited to institutional protocols. These authors have shared their extensive clinical experience in their particular areas of expertise to provide principles to guide rehabilitation after shoulder surgery.

Nonoperative shoulder pathologic conditions lend themselves better to more robust study, with rehabilitation protocols that are often well-defined and well-studied. These articles reflect this difference with analysis and discussion of high-level studies that can help guide practitioners in their treatment of these pathologic conditions. We hope that readers will gain valuable insight and understanding into shoulder rehabilitation protocols that can be used to benefit their patients.

On a personal level, I am very grateful to my friend and practice partner, Sandy Martinez, MD, who approached me about editing this issue. It has been a pleasure working with everyone involved to put this issue together. I would also like to dedicate this issue to my close friend and residency classmate, Clint Devin, MD, a renowned and highly published orthopedic spine surgeon who tragically was killed in a plane crash in 2021. Clint was a pioneer in spine outcomes research, and I hope Clint would approve of the evidence-based recommendations we present here…even if they are from shoulder doctors.

Article infoIdentification

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmr.2023.02.002

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© 2023 Published by Elsevier Inc.

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