It depends on whether a labral tear is serious. Minor labral tears are not serious and some people don’t even notice them or just need OTC medication and physical therapy, while some severe labral tears can be extremely painful, and you may need to see an orthopedic surgeon for treatment. Here’s a detailed look at what hip labral tears are, their signs, causes, and treatments.

What Is A Hip Labral Tear?

A hip labral tear is damage to the ring-like cartilage around the hip’s ball and socket joint. This is the joint that connects the thigh bone (femur) to the pelvis bone (acetabulum). This tear can cause pain in the area, depending on the case, and other problems like a clicking or locking noise, along with stiffness and reduced range of motions.

Symptoms Of A Hip Labral Tear

• A sharp or dull pain in front of the hip or the groin area.
• Pain can also feel radiating. You might feel pain in the lower back or leg as well, along with the groin and hip.
• Pain feels coming deeper from the body, not the surface tissues. It will be similar to bone or joint pain.
• When the pain is dull most of the time, there may be sharp pain during certain movements or positions, like twisting, bending, or moving the body, exercising, or playing a sport (football, hockey, etc.).
• A clicking, popping, or locking noise from the hip area when moving the lower part of the body.
• Stiffness in the area and reduced movements of the hip joint.
• Some people may feel difficulty walking or running. Due to this, they can change their walking or running posture unconsciously, which can put stress on the muscles and can cause additional injuries.

Causes Of A Hip Labral Tear

Hip Impingement

Hip impingement or femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) is a hip joint structure problem. There’s an additional bone structure either on the hip bone or the leg bone, or both, right where the hip’s ball and socket joint is. This extra bone growth slightly covers the labrum (the ring-like cartilage that, when damaged, is called a labral tear). So, with repetitive movements like exercising, sports, dancing, etc., the extra bone growth can restrict the motion of the hip joint and keep pinching the labrum, which can eventually damage it, leading to a labral tear.

Hip bone structure problems or hip impingement can be a combination of genetics and how your bones grow during adolescence. It can also occur in athletes.

Trauma Or Injury

Car accidents, falls, playing sports like football, soccer, golf, hockey, softball, gymnastics, long-distance running, etc., and other sorts of trauma can cause a labral tear. Even professions like dancing, construction work, and others where you twist and turn your body repetitively can lead to a hip labral tear.

Osteoarthritis And Other Joint Degeneration Disorders

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common joint degeneration disorder that causes hip labral tear. It’s a type of arthritis where the cartilage that cushions the bones and prevents friction wears away, leading to joint pain. When the hip joint cartilage is affected by OA, it can lead to a labral tear.

OA can also cause bone spurs that are small protrusion from bones that can damage the cartilage and tear the labrum.

Other problems, such as hip dysplasia and avascular necrosis (AVN), can also cause a hip labral tear.

Treatments For A Hip Labral Tear

You will need to see a healthcare provider for diagnosis. When diagnosed, the doctor or surgeon may suggest any or a combination of the following treatments.

Before proceeding to any treatment, you should know that a labral tear doesn’t heal or repair on its own. Surgery is the only method of repairing a labral tear.

That said, many people don’t need any surgery if they have a labral tear, but they don’t feel any pain, stiffness or restriction in movements. So, if you have a labral tear, but you’re not an athlete or your work doesn’t demand physical labor (dancing, construction work, etc.) and there are no severe symptoms, you can use medication and physical therapy to manage the symptoms.

However, if the labral tear or hip pain is affecting your daily activities, and the non-surgical methods don’t prove to be helpful, you should consider surgery. If you feel pain in the shoulder and similar symptoms for a labral tear. You might have a shoulder labral tear. See a shoulder specialist Woodbridge.

So, here are the common treatments for hip labral tears:

Non-Surgical Treatments

Stopping The Activities That Caused It

If the hip labral tear was due to activities like playing sports, exercising, or sitting on a chair for longer periods, avoid them for the time period suggested by your healthcare provider.

Medication

You can use over-the-counter pain relief medication like NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), such as ibuprofen, aspirin, naproxen, etc., for managing pain and reducing the swelling and inflammation.

Even though they are OTC medications, you should still get advice from your healthcare provider if they are safe for you and avoid taking them continually for more than 10 days, unless your doctor suggests otherwise.

Physical Therapy

Physical therapy can help you reduce stiffness and improve the range of motion of the hip joint. It can also reduce pain, coupled with pain relief medication. A physical therapist will suggest stretches and exercises that will help you reduce the symptoms. These moves are for strengthening the muscles around the joint for better mobility.

Pain Relief Injections

When OTC medication doesn’t suffice, your healthcare provider can prescribe corticosteroid injections. They are injected directly into the hip joint. They reduce pain and inflammation.

Diagnostic Injections

They are for diagnosis. These injections numb the area. So, if they are injected into the hip joint and there is no pain after that, there is a hip joint problem.

Surgical Methods

When non-surgical methods can’t yield the desired results, your doctor may suggest a surgical procedure.

Hip Arthroscopy

This is a minimally invasive surgical procedure and the most common one for hip labral tears. Through a small incision, a surgeon inserts a tiny camera along with special tools into the hip joint. The surgeon may cut the extra bone or repair the labrum, as required. Repair is done by sewing the torn cartilage back together.

Sometimes, if the tissue is severely damaged and can’t be repaired, the surgeon may shave off the edges to make it less problematic.

You need 3-6 months to completely recover after a hip arthroscopy and return to your full capacity.

Conclusion

A hip labral tear can be serious or nothing to worry about, depending on the case. It all depends on the symptoms and the overall health of the patient. If you don’t feel any pain or restriction in movements, you may not need to do anything. If there is mild pain, you can use medication and physical therapy. Lastly, if the pain and stiffness are severe, consult a hip orthopedic surgeon Woodbridge for hip arthroscopy or any other surgical procedure suggested by the specialist.