With an active aging population, more patients expect to return to previous activities and work after surgery.  This was a retrospective review of consecutive patients who underwent shoulder hemiarthroplasty from 2007 to 2013, to determine the rate and timing to return of sports and employment after shoulder hemiarthroplasty. In this hemiarthroplasty cohort, there was a 67.2% rate of return to 1 or more sports at an average of 6.5 months postoperatively. Patients older than 65 years experienced similar improvements in ASES scores compared with patients younger than 65 years, although absolute scores were lower on average. Those who returned to higher demand sports were younger on average. Of patients working preoperatively, 69.4% returned to their previous employment at an average of 1.4 months. Patients who did not return to employment had significantly higher body mass index on average. These findings will help surgeons manage expectations of shoulder hemiarthroplasty candidates preoperatively.

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