Shoulder Instability in Women vs. MenShoulder instability is a common injury, often resulting from either repetitive microtrauma or a single traumatic event. Patients can present with pain, subtle subluxation, or recurrent dislocations. While shoulder instability is well described in the literature, there is a paucity of literature examining the differences between women and men with regards to epidemiology, pathophysiology, and treatment of shoulder instability. Women vary in regards to their muscle mass, ligamentous laxity, and overall biomechanics of their glenohumeral joint, causing them to experience shoulder instability differently than men. Additionally, differences in circulating hormones such as relaxin can cause women to have more joint laxity than their male counterparts, which affects the pathophysiology of instability. Differences in the presentation of shoulder instability in women compared to men may also result in variations in treatment. Special attention should be paid to the overall laxity of the patient’s glenohumeral joint, in an effort to titrate stiffness during intervention. The goal of this review is to compare and contrast the epidemiology, pathophysiology, and treatment of shoulder instability in women versus men and to determine if there are sex-related differences in functional outcomes following management.DeFroda, Steven F. Donnelly, Joseph C. Mulcahey, Mary K. Owens, Brett D.AuthorBrown University. Alpert Medical School. Scholarly Concentration Program. Non-Scholarly Concentratorresearch programOrthopedicsSex differencesShoulder jointEnglish2018Non-Scholarly ConcentratorAll rights reservedtext