Ep 198. Is Shoulder Instability Driving Your Patient's Shoulder Pain? with Dr. Tania Pizzari
PT Pro TalkShow Notes
💡In this episode of PT Pro Talk, we welcome world-renowned shoulder specialist Dr. Tania Pizzari (Associate Professor at La Trobe University) for a clinical masterclass on Shoulder Instability. Many clinicians struggle to differentiate between simple hyperlaxity and true symptomatic instability, often leading to missed diagnoses and stalled rehabilitation. Dr. Pizzari explains why insidious-onset shoulder pain in younger patients should often be treated as instability until proven otherwise. We dive deep into the mechanics of the glenohumeral joint, the "anterior buffer" role of the subscapularis, and why articular-sided tendon tears may actually be driven by instability.
💭 “If it's a young person with a gradual onset, I would always consider it an instability until proven otherwise” - Dr. Tania Pizzari. 👉🏻 Dr Tania Pizzari is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physiotherapy at La Trobe University, and a physiotherapist continuing to work in clinical practice. She is a co-director of a large private practice in Melbourne, Australia. Her role at the University includes heading up the Post Graduate Physiotherapy courses and undertaking clinical research of musculoskeletal and sporting injuries. She has over 130 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters. Tania currently manages the soft tissue injury registry for the Australian Football League, is a fellow of the Australian Sports Medicine Federation, and board member of the International Confederation of Scientific Societies for Shoulder and Elbow Therapy.
📚You will learn about: How to identify shoulder instability in patients with insidious-onset shoulder pain
A practical classification system to guide your clinical reasoning
Evidence-based rehabilitation strategies for shoulder instability
Key changes to improve your assessment and treatment of shoulder pain
🔎Tania's Resource of Information: PWATSON, L. et al. Rehabilitation for multidirectional instability of the shoulder: part 1 – pathoanatomy and clinical examination. Shoulder & Elbow, 2016.
WATSON, L. et al. Rehabilitation for multidirectional instability of the shoulder: part 2 – structured rehabilitation program. Shoulder & Elbow, 2016.
WATSON, L. et al. A comprehensive rehabilitation program for posterior instability of the shoulder. Available in: ResearchGate. 2017.
📲 Tania's contact information: X
IG: Mill Park Physio
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