# Frailty: An overlooked red flag in sports surgery

## TL;DR

This paper discusses how frailty, a decline in physiological reserves, is an important but overlooked factor in sports surgery, especially for older patients.

## Contribution

The paper introduces the relevance and application of frailty scales in the field of sports and shoulder surgery.

## Key findings

- Frailty scales can assess preoperative patient condition and predict postoperative complications.
- Older adults engaging in sports activities are at higher risk for sports-related injuries.
- Frailty assessment helps surgeons understand a patient's functional capacity beyond chronological age.

## Abstract

Frailty can be defined as a decline in physiological and biological reserves that does not correlate directly with chronological age. While the general understanding of what geriatricians and orthopaedic surgeons should know about frailty has been increasingly discussed in recent years, the specific knowledge required by sports and shoulder surgeons remains underexplored. This paper aims to highlight what a sports and shoulder surgeon should know about frailty. With advances in healthcare technologies, both life expectancy and healthy life expectancy have significantly increased. A growing proportion of older adults are engaging in sports activities, and sports‐related injuries in this population are becoming more common. In this context, frailty scales can be utilised to assess preoperative patient condition, anticipate intraoperative challenges, and predict postoperative complications, morbidity, and mortality risk. These tools can guide sports surgeons in understanding a patient′s functional capacity and physiological resilience independently of chronological age.