This study was performed to assess the incidence of generalised ligament laxity in patients presented with recurrent shoulder dislocations.

Prospective data was collected for 38 patients with recurrent shoulder dislocations and 43 patients with clavicle fractures as a control group between May 2007 and July 2009, including demographic details, mechanism of injury, number of dislocations and hyperlaxity. Clinical examination was used to assess the ligament laxity using the Beighton score.

The mean age was 29 years with a range from 14-40 years. There were 36 males and 2 females. The left shoulder was involved in 21 patients; right in 13 patients and 4 patients had bilateral shoulder dislocations. The average number of dislocations was 3 with a range from 2-17, while the average number of subluxations was 4.5 with a range from 0-35. The average Beighton score for the patients with recurrent shoulder dislocations was 2.8 with a range from 0-8. 17 patients (45%) in this group had a Beighton score of 4 or more as compared to the control group that had only 12 patients (27%) There was a statistically significant difference between the 2 groups with a P value of < 0.05. 8 patients (21%) fulfilled the Brighton criteria for BJHS. The most common cause of recurrent shoulder dislocation was sports related injuries in 26 patients (68%). The most common sport was football in 14 patients (37%) followed by rugby in 10 (26%) patients.

We looked at the incidence of generalised ligament laxity in patients with recurrent shoulder dislocations and found a statistically significant difference as compared with the control group. 21% of the patients fulfilled the Brighton criteria for BJHS but 45% had a Beighton score of 4 or more. Appropriate advice should be given to these patients with hyperlaxity and the timing of shoulder stabilisation should be carefully decided.