Return to Work, Sport, and Sport-related Activity After Distal Triceps Tendon Repair: A Systematic Review

Objective(s): To determine the incidence of return to work, sport, and sport-related activity after distal triceps tendon repair.

Data Sources: PubMed, CINAHL, MEDLINE, Web of Science, and SPORTDiscus were searched from earliest record through January 12th, 2024.

Study Selection: Search terms included “return” AND (sport OR activity OR work OR duty) AND (tricep OR triceps OR distal triceps) AND (repair OR rupture OR surgery OR surgical OR tear). Articles were included if they examined return to various activities after distal triceps tendon repair, were full-text, were observational studies or clinical trials, and were written in English. Ten retrospective studies met the inclusion criteria out of 164 articles initially retrieved.

Data Extraction: Performed by two authors and included type of article study design, number of patients, male/female status of patients, patient age, duration of symptoms, operation on dominant extremity, mechanism of injury, number of full or partial tendon rupture, associated injuries, medical history, total and specific complications, re-operation rates, re-rupture rates, and quantitative and qualitative reports on return to activities per included article.

Data Synthesis: Patients (318; 74.2% male; 25.8% female) who underwent distal triceps tendon repair had an average age of 44.7 ± 5.5 years with an average postoperative follow-up time of 52.6 ± 21.4 months. Following surgery, 93.3% (112 out of 120 patients) returned to sport, 95.3% (81 out of 85 patients) returned to military duty, and 92.6% (100 out of 108 patients) returned to work after distal triceps repair. Of the studies that evaluated satisfaction, the majority of patients reported high satisfaction after surgery. The total complication rate after distal triceps repair in this study was 18.0%, including nerve injury, infection, or wound-healing complications. Additionally, the re-rupture rate was 7.2% and the re-operation rate was 3.9% after distal triceps repair with some partial re-ruptures undergoing conservative care instead of re-operation.

Conclusions: Greater than 90% of patients can return to sport or their respective activity after distal triceps tendon repair. Furthermore, there is a low rate of complication and reoperation after repair. This review of the literature will allow high-level athletes, active individuals, and treating physicians to set evidence-based goals and establish realistic expectations for postoperative return to sport and activity.

Author(s) Disclosures: The authors have no relevant disclosures to make known at this time.