Common Sports Injury-Hip Labral Tear

An acetabular labral tear is likely to occur in hockey, soccer and football players; athletes who tend to do a lot of cutting while bearing their full weight on one leg.  Also, ballet dancers are more at risk due to their increased hip range of motion.

 

Symptoms: After the initial incident, hip labral tears are often asymptomatic.  However, when symptomatic, the patient may report sharp groin or anterior hip pain, a catching or locking sensation, a feeling of stiffness or fullness around the joint when inflammation is present, and limited range of motion.

Treatment:  The treatment for labral tears includes both conservative and surgical options.  Generally, it will be suggested that the patient try physical therapy along with anti-inflammatory measures first.  The goals for conservative treatment are to decrease the pain and inflammation with activity, regain the range of motion, and increase strength to improve stability.  To keep symptoms minimal they may have to modify some of their activities including avoiding/limiting cutting and twisting motions, limiting high impact exercise, etc.  If symptoms continue to limit the patient or if the inflammation cannot be controlled, surgical options may be suggested to limit the possibility of further injury and long-term effects of wear and tear on the joint.

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