Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Nerve Entrapment Syndromes in the Shoulder, Brachial Plexus, and Thoracic Outlet Syndrome in Athletes

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Sports Injuries

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 and describe the typical clinical scenario and physical exam, contemplating a differential diagnosis of sources of shoulder pain and listing 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: brachial plexus and thoracic outlet syndrome.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 699.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 999.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Adson AW (1947) Surgical treatment for symptoms produced by cervical ribs and the scalenus anticus muscle. Surg Gynecol Obstet 85(6):687–700

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Adson AW (1951) Cervical ribs: symptoms, differential diagnosis and indications for section of the insertion of the scalenus anticus muscle. J Int Coll Surg 16(5):546–559

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Al-Hashel JY, El Shorbgy AA, Ahmed SF, Elshereef RR (2013) Early versus late surgical treatment for neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome. ISRN Neurol 2013:673020

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Axelrod DA, Proctor MC, Geisser ME, Roth RS, Greenfield LJ (2001) Outcomes after surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome. J Vasc Surg 33(6):1220–1225

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Baltopoulos P, Tsintzos C, Prionas G, Tsironi M (2008) Exercise-induced scalenus syndrome. Am J Sports Med 36(2):369–374

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bencardino JT, Rosenberg ZS (2006) Entrapment neuropathies of the shoulder and elbow in the athlete. Clin Sports Med 25(3):465–487, vi–vii

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bendszus M, Wessig C, Solymosi L, Reiners K, Koltzenburg M (2004) MRI of peripheral nerve degeneration and regeneration: correlation with electrophysiology and histology. Exp Neurol 188(1):171–177

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chandra V, Olcott C, Lee JT (2011) Early results of a highly selective algorithm for surgery on patients with neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome. J Vasc Surg 54(6):1698–1705

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chandra V, Little C, Lee JT (2014) Thoracic outlet syndrome in high performance athletes. J Vasc Surg 60(4):1012–8

    Google Scholar 

  • Degeorges R, Reynaud C, Becquemin JP (2004) Thoracic outlet syndrome surgery: long-term functional results. Ann Vasc Surg 18(5):558–565

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elsayes KM, Shariff A, Staveteig PT, Mukundan G, Khosla A, Rubin DA (2005) Value of magnetic resonance imaging for muscle denervation syndromes of the shoulder girdle. J Comput Assist Tomogr 29(3):326–329

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gilliatt RW, Le Quesne PM, Logue V, Sumner AJ (1970) Wasting of the hand associated with a cervical rib or band. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 33(5):615–624

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jordan SE, Machleder HI (1998) Diagnosis of thoracic outlet syndrome using electrophysiologically guided anterior scalene blocks. Ann Vasc Surg 12(3):260–264

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Koltzenburg M, Bendszus M (2004) Imaging of peripheral nerve lesions. Curr Opin Neurol 17(5):621–626

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee AD, Agarwal S, Sadhu D (2006) Doppler Adson’s test: predictor of outcome of surgery in non-specific thoracic outlet syndrome. World J Surg 30(3):291–292

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lindgren KA (1995) Reasons for failures in the surgical treatment of thoracic outlet syndrome. Muscle Nerve 18(12):1484–1486

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lindgren KA (1997) Conservative treatment of thoracic outlet syndrome: a 2-year follow-up. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 78(4):373–378

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lord JW Jr, Rosati LM (1971) Thoracic-oulet syndromes. Clin Symp 23(2):1–32

    Google Scholar 

  • Machanic BI, Sanders RJ (2008) Medial antebrachial cutaneous nerve measurements to diagnose neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome. Ann Vasc Surg 22(2):248–254

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nannapaneni R, Marks SM (2003) Neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome. Br J Neurosurg 17(2):144–148

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Povlsen B, Belzberg A, Hansson T, Dorsi M (2010) Treatment for thoracic outlet syndrome. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 1:CD007218

    Google Scholar 

  • Richardson AB (1999) Thoracic outlet syndrome in aquatic athletes. Clin Sports Med 18(2):361–378

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Roos DB (1966) Transaxillary approach for first rib resection to relieve thoracic outlet syndrome. Ann Surg 163(3):354–358

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Roos DB (1976) Congenital anomalies associated with thoracic outlet syndrome. Anatomy, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment. Am J Surg 132(6):771–778

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rousseff R, Tzvetanov P, Valkov I (2005) Utility (or futility?) of electrodiagnosis in thoracic outlet syndrome. Electromyogr Clin Neurophysiol 45(3):131–133

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sanders RJ, Hammond SL, Rao NM (2008) Thoracic outlet syndrome: a review. Neurologist 14(6):365–373

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strakowski JA (2013) Electrodiagnosis of plexopathy. PM R 5(Suppl 5):S50–S55

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Toth C (2008) The epidemiology of injuries to the nervous system resulting from sport and recreation. Neurol Clin 26(1):1–31, vii

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Toth C (2009) Peripheral nerve injuries attributable to sport and recreation. Phys Med Rehabil Clin N Am 20(1):77–100, viii

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsao BE, Ferrante MA, Wilbourn AJ, Shields RW (2014) Electrodiagnostic features of true neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome. Muscle Nerve 49(5):724–727

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Twaij H, Rolls A, Sinisi M, Weiler R (2013) Thoracic outlet syndromes in sport: a practical review in the face of limited evidence–unusual pain presentation in an athlete. Br J Sports Med 47(17):1080–1084

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Urschel HC Jr (2007) Anatomy of the thoracic outlet. Thorac Surg Clin 17(4):511–520

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilbourn AJ (2007) Plexopathies. Neurol Clin 25(1):139–171

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yavuzer S, Atinkaya C, Tokat O (2004) Clinical predictors of surgical outcome in patients with thoracic outlet syndrome operated on via transaxillary approach. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 25(2):173–178

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

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

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

Authors
  1. Laurent Lafosse
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ashish Gupta
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Thibault Lafosse
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Gonzalo Samitier
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Kalojan Petkin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Laurent Lafosse .

Editor information

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

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2015 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Lafosse, L., Gupta, A., Lafosse, T., Samitier, G., Petkin, K. (2015). Nerve Entrapment Syndromes in the Shoulder, Brachial Plexus, and Thoracic Outlet Syndrome in Athletes. In: Doral, M.N., Karlsson, J. (eds) Sports Injuries. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-36569-0_296

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-36569-0_296

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-36568-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-36569-0

  • eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation