EMET Education
Musculoskeletal
Shoulder
Unstable painful shoulder

3D model · Shoulder

Unstable Painful Shoulder 3D Model

Reproduce your patient's capsule and labrum during the visit, show the painful translation of the humeral head, then the proposed stabilization. They leave with their model on their phone.

Customize the lesions

Opens in your browser, no sign-up. For orthopedic surgeons, sports medicine physicians, physiatrists, rheumatologists, radiologists and primary care physicians.

The patient understandsTheir lesions, reproduced from their imaging, on a model they handle themselves.
Reassured, ready to decideThey review the proposed treatment at home before giving consent.
Documented informationVisit saved and dated: a record of the information you provided.
In their language🇫🇷 🇬🇧 🇪🇸 🇷🇺

How it works

In the visit, in three steps

Structured information in a few minutes, which the patient can review at home.

1
Show

Open the model and walk through the anatomy: glenoid and labrum, humeral head, joint capsule and its axillary recess.
2
Reproduce

Set the capsule and labral tears from the exam and MR arthrogram, then push the head: it slides until the capsule and labrum hold it. Then walk through the proposed procedure.
3
Share

Give the patient the QR code or an image: they find their own case, in their language.

Features

Explain in detail during the visit

Every setting updates the model live: you reproduce the lesions from your patient's imaging in front of them, then walk through the treatment you recommend.

The capsule and the labrum, in a few clicks

The “Pathology & lesions” panel sets the capsule and the labrum, alone or combined; the “Movements” panel pushes the head in three directions. Each setting changes how far the head travels.

The capsule, from normal to distended

A translucent green sleeve, striated along its fibers, from the labrum to the anatomic neck. The three-notch gauge deepens the axillary recess (about 5, 8.5, then 12 mm of sag) and the redundancy in front and behind.

Model panel: “Joint capsule” gauge set to “Distended”. — **Capsule** · normal

Shoulder seen from the front: normal capsule, shallow axillary recess below the humeral head. — **Capsule** · normal

The treatment, step by step

Two procedures that can be combined, played step by step: labral repair and capsular plication. Each ends with a stability test: the head now slides only 10 to 20%.

Labral repair

On each torn sector, two anchors just medial to the rim, two limbs per anchor around the labrum, knots that reattach it; then the stability test.

Labral repair, step 2: the limbs passed around the detached labrum. — 2Passing the sutures

Labral repair, step 3: knots tied, the labrum pressed back against the rim. — 3Knots tied

Labral repair, step 4: the head pushed anteriorly now slides only 10 to 20%. — 4Stability test

Capsular plication

Pants-over-vest stitches in the inferior half of the capsule, the W running along the fibers: as they tighten, the capsule is retensioned and the recess closes. The absorbable sutures change color.

Capsular plication, step 2: knots tied, the capsule retensioned and the recess closed. — 2Knots tied

Capsular plication, step 3: the stability test, the head now slides only 10 to 20%. — 3Stability test

After the visit

The patient leaves with their 3D model

They scan the QR code: the model, their findings and the proposed treatment follow them on their phone, in their language.

The model, exactly as you set it

At the end of the visit, the Consultation panel shows the anatomical findings, the proposed treatment and a QR code. The patient scans it and finds the model on their phone exactly as you set it, in their language.

Their lesions, and the proposed treatment to replay step by step.
Their anatomical findings and the explanatory card.
No identifying data in the link.

Patient view on a phone: the repaired labrum, and the “The proposed treatment” panel open, with the “Replay” button. — What the patient sees after scanning the QR code

Every structure explains itself on tap

Tap the capsule, the axillary recess, a labral sector, an anchor or a pants-over-vest stitch: its name and an explanation appear.

One explanation per structure: capsule, labrum, anchors, sutures, plication stitches.
Written for the patient, in their language.
They can reread it on their own, on the tablet or at home.

Explanation bubble about the distended axillary recess, shown after tapping the capsule below the humeral head. — “What is this?” on tap

They can replay the treatment step by step

From “The proposed treatment,” the patient replays the procedure: each step plays at their own pace, with its explanation, as often as they like.

Patient view on a phone: the labral repair replayed step by step. — “Replay”: the procedure, step by step

Try it with your next case: the model opens in your browser, nothing to install.

Customize the lesions

Patient information

Quality information, documented

Only 12% of U.S. adults have proficient health literacy (National Assessment of Adult Literacy). A patient who sees their own lesions and the proposed procedure understands them, gives truly informed consent, and approaches treatment with confidence.

For the patient

They see their own lesions, reproduced from their imaging, and how the proposed treatment unfolds. They leave with the same material and can review it at home, with their family, as often as they like, before giving consent.

For the physician

Each visit created with an account keeps a record of the information provided: what was shown, when, and whether the patient reviewed it. The model image, with the anatomical findings, the proposed treatment and the QR code, downloads for the patient's chart and prints. Informed consent, as the Joint Commission puts it, is more than getting a signature.

Saved and datedThe exact state of the model: injuries shown, treatment proposed.
Identical, archivableThe patient receives what you showed; the image goes in the chart and prints.
TrackedEach time the patient opens the link is recorded.
AnonymousThe link given to the patient carries no identifying data.

“Document the informed consent conversation and the patient’s (or surrogate’s) decision in the medical record in some manner.”

AMA Code of Medical Ethics, Opinion 2.1.1, Informed Consent

The model supports the consent conversation and the written consent form; it does not replace them. Data and privacy: legal information (in French).

Questions

Questions from colleagues

Is the model free?

Partly: the model and most of the lesions are free. Treatments (labral repair, capsular plication) and other features are paid options.

Do I need an account?

Not to open the model, set the lesions and walk through the treatment. After about fifteen adjustments, you will be asked to create a free account: it saves your visits, picks them up from one time to the next, and records when the patient opens the link.

What equipment do I need?

Just a web browser, nothing to install: computer, tablet or TV screen in the exam room; the patient opens it on their phone. One click saves an image, without the interface, for the chart.

What happens to patient data?

No patient names are stored. The link given to the patient carries only the state of the model: lesions, treatment, language and visit date. A name written on the image you hand out stays on that image.

Is it a medical device?

No: it is an educational tool. It does not diagnose, does not plan surgery, and does not replace the consent conversation or the written consent form. Among software functions that are not medical devices, the FDA lists those intended for general patient education and interactive anatomy diagrams used for training.

How long does it take in clinic?

Three adjustments and one procedure played: a few minutes, during the visit. The patient reviews it at home, as often as they like.

How does it differ from the shoulder instability model?

The shoulder instability model shows anterior dislocation and its bony lesions. This one shows painful instability without true dislocation, often in hyperlax patients: the capsule, the labrum, and the head translation they allow.

Is the head translation measured?

It is a readable rule, not a mechanical simulation: 15% of the head width for a normal shoulder, 35% for a lax capsule or a labral tear, 50% for a distended capsule, under 25% after the procedure. The findings list the translation in all three directions.

Can I embed it on my website?

It is planned for upcoming plans: the model displayed on a practice or hospital website, credited to EMET Education.

Which languages?

English, Spanish, French and Russian. The patient receives the model in the language chosen during the visit, which helps with the roughly 28 million people in the U.S. with limited English proficiency, alongside a qualified interpreter, not instead of one.

Design

Who designed this model

Model designed by Dr. Mikaël Chelli, orthopedic surgeon, based on the reference classifications. Updated October 2, 2026.

Rowe C.R., Zarins B. Recurrent transient subluxation of the shoulder. J Bone Joint Surg Am, 1981.
Neer C.S. II, Foster C.R. Inferior capsular shift for involuntary inferior and multidirectional instability of the shoulder. A preliminary report. J Bone Joint Surg Am, 1980.
Snyder S.J. et al. SLAP lesions of the shoulder. Arthroscopy, 1990.
Boileau P. et al. Unstable painful shoulder (UPS) as a cause of pain from unrecognized anteroinferior instability in the young athlete. J Shoulder Elbow Surg, 2011.

Catalog