Torn lebrum in the hip. Tell me what you can.?
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Lots of people have explained what a labral tear is, so let me tell you about my and my husbands experience with actually having and dealing with the tear.
My husband had a labral tear and had surgery last year. The surgery didn't take long at all. They went in through 2 little slits in the hip and cut off the loose cartilage (they often related the tear to like a hangnail in the hip socket). He went home the say day as surgery. My husband used crutches to get around the first day, but by the 2nd day he was walking on his own. He said he didn't have any pain, just some mild discomfort.
I was also just diagnosed with a labral tear and cartilage fraying as well and I get a sharp pain and a catching sensation when I climb into bed or into the car. I need to schedule my surgery yet, and I really need to as it can cause problems if not treated.
The only way they can know if you have the tear is to inject a magnetic dye into your hip socket and do an MRI. Both of our labral tears showed up clear as day on the images.
I wish you luck, and if you do need to have surgery to treat this, it is very minor with little pain. Take care.
What Is a Hip (Acetabular) Labral Tear ?
An acetabular labral tear is damage to cartilage and tissue in the hip socket. In some cases, it causes no symptoms. In others it causes pain in the groin. It can make you feel like your leg is “catching” or “clicking” in the socket as you move it. Over time, labral tears in the hip may cause permanent damage to the joint.
The labrum is a band of tough cartilage and connective tissue that lines the rim of the hip socket, or acetabulum. It cushions the joint of the hip bone, preventing the bones from directly rubbing against each other. The labrum also helps keep the leg bone in place and increases stability of the joint.
The labrum can tear for many reasons. Some people get torn labra from falls or car accidents. Sports that require regular rotation of the hip -- like golf, soccer, hockey, and ballet -- increase the risk. So do running and sprinting.
But almost 75% cases of torn acetabular labrum have no known direct cause. Instead, these tears may develop gradually. Labral tears in the hip have been linked to osteoarthritis. However, it’s not clear if they contribute to its development or are a symptom of it.
Labral tears of the hip are more common in women. They also occur more often in people who have abnormalities of the hip structure, like hip dysplasia and other conditions.
In recent years, experts have found that acetabular labral tears are much more common than once thought. Studies show that up to 22% of athletes who complain of groin pain have a labral tear in the hip.
Symptoms
A torn acetabular labrum can cause a wide variety of symptoms. Some people don’t have any discomfort. Others have sharp pain around the groin, which may extend into the upper leg or buttocks. Pain can come on suddenly or develop gradually. Rotating your leg may be particularly painful.
Acetabular labral tears often cause a feeling of the leg “catching” or “clicking” in the hip socket as you move it. It may also feel like the leg is locking up.
Over time, the increased stress on the joint could lead to further deterioration and permanent damage.
Diagnosis
Acetabular labral tears can be hard to detect. Studies show that, on average, people with labral tears of the hip go more than two years before getting a correct diagnosis.
Your doctor will give you a thorough evaluation, examining your hip and getting you to flex and rotate your leg. You may need an MRI or other imaging tests to look for the tear. However, even with these tests, diagnosis is often difficult.
A more invasive way of diagnosing an acetabular labral tear is an arthroscopy, in which small incisions are made and a tool with a tiny camera is slipped into the hip to look at the labrum. This procedure is sometimes part of surgery to repair the damage.
Treatment
Your doctor will probably start with conservative treatment. He or she may recommend using painkillers and resting the hip. However, it’s unclear how well this approach works in the long run. Most of the labrum gets little to no blood flow, making natural healing difficult or even impossible.
Physical therapy may help. You can learn to avoid putting too much pressure on the joint while building muscle strength.
If conservative measures don’t work, your doctor may recommend arthroscopic surgery. This is a minimally invasive approach. The doctor will guide several small tools, including a camera, to the site through two or three incisions. Usually, the torn tissue is removed, but in some cases the tear is repaired.
As with any surgery, there are risks, including nerve damage. This side effect is usually temporary.
Surgery usually provides short-term improvement. But experts aren’t sure how long the effects last. Surgery is less likely to be successful in people who already have other problems in the hip like arthritis or hip dysplasia. Following surgery, you will need physical therapy to rebuild strength and flexibility.
Since the success of surgery is by no means certain, talk over the pros and cons with your doctor. You may also want to get a second opinion.
The labrum is a small lip of cartilage that sits on the rim of your "socket" in the hip joint. It's purpose is to deepen and stabilize the socket, but still allow flexible movement. People who have a torn labrum of the hip might feel clicking, popping or pain in the hip...especially with rotational movements. Exercise that involves a lot of impact may also cause pain.
Diagnosis is typically made by physical exam and MRI and/or arthrogram.
Standard of care usually invovles rest, anti-inflammatories and physical therapy first. Exercises to stretch the posterior capsule are frequently used to help keep the "ball" of the hip joint off the tear in the labrum. A variety of stretching and strengthening techniques may be used.
The next step in conservative care (if PT is unsucessful) is typically a cortisone injection to help reduce the inflammation in the area.
Surgery has yet to be proven whether it is as effective as conservative care, yet when this is persued, it is usually done arthroscopically to clean up the tear...very few surgeons actually perform a labral repair...most will just clean up the edges. Post-op rehabiliation will typically be about 6 weeks.
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