Labral Tears

What are Labral Tears?

Labral Lesions or Labral tears is a condition where the acetabulum or the cartilage that is lining the hip develops a tear due to trauma. This tear can also be caused by a fall or a sporting injury where the hip is pushed to take extreme positions. Repetitive trauma due to rotation of the hip regularly can also cause Labral lesions.

Causes

The causes of a tear in the hip labrum are:

• Trauma: An injury to the hip joint, during car accidents or while playing contact sports such as football or hockey, may lead to the tearing of the labrum. Contact sports may require sudden twisting of the hip and increases the susceptibility to hip labral tears.
• Structural causes: Some individuals with structural abnormalities such as CAM or Pincer morphology are more likely to be affected by the hip labral tear.

Symptoms

• Deep ache in front of thigh usually gradual onset
• Stiffness in the hip
• Weakness in the hip joint muscles or a feeling of the joint “giving way”
• Pain increases with prolonged sitting and walking
• Sharp pain on squatting
• Painful click or catch-on hip movements; the feeling of something unpleasant stuck in the hip

Diagnosis

Your doctor diagnoses the condition with a thorough physical examination that involves assessing the range of motion of your hip. Your doctor might order any of the following tests.

Imaging scans: Your doctor recommends an X-ray of the hip to visualize the bone. It helps to identify any fracture or structural abnormalities. Your doctor might order magnetic resonance imaging for detailed images of your hip’s soft tissues. Sometimes, a contrast material is injected into your hip joint to find out the exact location of the labral tear.

Treatments

Non-Surgical Methods

The different non-surgical treatment options are:

• Rest: Taking proper rest is the first step towards recovery. The patient is recommended to stay away from sports or strenuous activity.
• Icing: It is recommended to be done for 20 to 30 minutes at intervals of 3-4 hours for two to three days. This will help reduce the pain and swelling.
• Brace: It is recommended by doctors to relieve the symptoms by providing support to the injured hip.
• Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs): NSAIDs like Ibuprofen etc., can help reduce pain and swelling.
• Physical Therapy: It is usually recommended with exercises for muscle strengthening and to reduce stiffness and increase flexibility.

Surgical Methods

Surgery is recommended by the doctor when the non-surgical treatment does not help reduce the symptoms. The doctors will have to do the following to treat the Labral Tears or Lesions:

• Labral Debridement:

If the labral tissue’s quality is not good, then labral debridement is performed by using a rotating shaver to trim the injured tissue.

• Labral Refixation:

If the labral tissue’s quality is suitable, an anchor will be placed into the bone. The doctor will then use the suture attached to the anchor is fed around the labral tissue and tied to the acetabulum. This enables the scar tissue to grow down the anchor and remain there while the suture will dissolve.

The doctors would prefer doing these treatments by using the Hip Arthroscopy technique.

Hip Arthroscopy

This is a minimally invasive surgical procedure performed to diagnose and treat problems in the hip joint.

The doctor will make a very small incision and insert the Arthroscope, a tiny camera, into your hip enabling them to view the inside of the joint on the screen. The surgeons will then investigate the issue with the hip and correct it, if necessary, using small instruments within the arthroscope.

The doctors will first brush and wash all the surfaces with an antiseptic solution, and then will perform irrigation using bulb irrigation and finally the debridement.