Internal impingement of the shoulder (IIS) is a specific disorder of young overhead-throwing athletes that was first described in 1991. The many non-operative and surgical treatments suggested to date have produced mixed outcomes. The objective of this study was to compare the practices of surgeons in France versus other countries regarding the diagnosis and treatment of IIS.

Diagnostic and therapeutic practices regarding IIS differ between surgeons in France and in other countries.

A 21-item questionnaire in French and English was emailed to the 1300 members of the French Arthroscopy Society and to surgeons from countries other than France. The questionnaire collected information on knowledge about IIS (2 items), the frequency of IIS in clinical practice (2 items), the diagnosis of IIS (6 items), the non-operative and surgical treatment of IIS (3 and 5 items, respectively), and return-to-sports rates after treatment for IIS (3 items).

The completed questionnaire was sent back by 261 surgeons, 206 in France and 55 in other countries, including 42 in Japan. Among the respondents, 90% knew about IIS. Experience with IIS in terms of number of patients seen or surgical treatments performed was greater in the international group (45% vs. 19% in France, p<0.001). Posterior shoulder pain in the arm cocking position was the most widely recognised symptom (99% in France, 74% internationally, p<0.001), followed by excessive external rotation during arm abduction (55% vs. 65%, p=0.23). The most commonly sought lesions were those of the postero-superior labrum and articular surface of the rotator cuff. Rotator cuff debridement was among the surgical options according to most respondents (74% vs. 70%). In contrast, postero-superior glenoidplasty was cited almost only by surgeons in France (67% vs. 4%, p<0.001). The proportion of patients who are able to return to sports was estimated at 50% to 75% by most respondents.

Most respondents had theoretical knowledge about IIS, but surgery was rarely performed in France. Only very few athletes in France play baseball, which is responsible for most sports injuries of the shoulder seen in Japan. This fact, combined with differences in the lesions or even the diagnoses, may have contributed to the differences in the responses to the survey items between the French and international groups.