What Is a Labral Tear of the Hip?
The acetabular labrum is a ring of protective cartilage. It lines the rim of your hip socket (acetabulum). Your acetabular labrum holds your thigh bone securely in the joint, which allows flexibility and motion. It also cushions your joint and evenly distributes pressure during physical activity.
You can experience different types of damage to your hip labrum:
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Degeneration happens when your labrum experiences too much stress from repetitive motion over time. Your labrum frays, breaks down, or develops a cyst due to this damage.
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Detachment is when the labrum separates from the rim of your hip socket and cartilage. Traumatic injuries or conditions like femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) cause labral detachment.
Find a Hip Labral Tear Specialist
Hip Labral Tear Causes
Labral tears happen at any age. Several factors can cause labral tears in the hip:
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Activities with repetitive hip movements, like running, ballet, golf, or hockey, among others
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Traumatic injuries from falls, car accidents, or high-impact sports
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Normal wear and tear over time
Developmental hip conditions can also cause labral tears:
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Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease
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Slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE)
Hip Labral Tear Symptoms
A tear in your labrum can cause pain and instability in your hip. You might experience some of these symptoms:
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Sharp pain in the front of your hip
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Clicking, locking, or a “giving way” sensation in your hip
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Stiffness or difficulty moving your hip
What Does a Hip Labral Tear Feel Like?
A torn labrum feels different for each person. It depends on the type and severity of the tear. Most people find it uncomfortable or painful. You’ll often feel pain from a labral tear at the front of your hip, near your groin. The pain may also extend into your thigh or buttocks.
Many patients with labral tears describe feeling unsteady. They often have a clicking or catching feeling when standing or being active. You might experience pain during specific activities:
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Climbing stairs
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Rotating your leg
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Sitting for long periods
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Squatting
Can a Hip Labral Tear Get Worse?
Pain from a hip labral tear can worsen if you don’t seek treatment. However, not all labral tears require surgery. Both non-surgical and surgical treatments can relieve pain and help you return to everyday activities.
Hip Labral Tear Tests for Diagnosis
Your provider examines your hip’s range of motion and pinpoints your pain at your first appointment. You might need tests to confirm if you have a labral tear:
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Diagnostic injection—Your provider injects a pain-relieving anesthetic into your joint. This injection helps diagnose the cause of your hip pain. If your pain improves after the anesthetic, a problem in your joint is likely the source of the pain. If you don’t have any pain relief after the injection, it could mean that your hip joint is not the cause of your pain.
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X-ray—An X-ray gives your medical provider a better look at the bones in your joint. X-ray images can show the cause of your hip pain, like hip impingement or dysplasia.
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MRI scan—An MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan shows more detailed images of the soft tissues in and around your hip joint. These images help your provider determine the location and severity of the tear. An MRI shows labral tears even if you don’t have any symptoms.
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Arthroscopy—Arthroscopic surgery helps to diagnose and treat certain hip conditions. Your provider makes small “keyhole” incisions (cuts) and inserts a small camera into your joint to examine your hip damage.
Hip Labral Tear Treatment
Labral tears that don’t cause pain rarely require treatment. However, if your provider determines that your labral tear is the source of pain, treatment can relieve it. Several different treatment options are available, including both non-surgical and surgical options. You and your hip specialist can find the right treatments together.
Hip Labral Tear Exercises
Your provider may recommend physical therapy with your hip labral tear exercises. These exercises help you build hip strength, range of motion, and stability. Your hip pain will likely improve as your hip joint gets stronger.
Hip Labral Tear Recovery Without Surgery
Your hip specialist may also recommend other non-surgical options for your hip labral tear as a first line of treatment:
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Anti-inflammatory medications like aspirin or ibuprofen
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Steroid injections to relieve pain, inflammation, and swelling
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Physical therapy to improve hip mobility and strength
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Injections such as corticosteroids, hyaluronic acid or platelet rich plasma (PRP)
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Rest
Hip Labral Tear Surgery
Our hip surgeons use different procedures to treat labral tears. They select the right surgery depending on the cause and severity of the tear:
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Arthroscopy—Hip arthroscopy may help if you have a labral tear but don’t have severe hip dysplasia or other structural problems. Your surgeon inserts a small camera into your joint through small “keyhole” incisions. They use surgical instruments to repair the damage to your labrum. Your surgeon may fix your labrum in different ways depending on the damage:
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Your surgeon stitches your labrum together (repair)
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Your surgeon builds a new labrum (reconstruction)
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Your surgeon removes part of your damaged tissue (debridement)
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Periacetabular osteotomy (PAO)—A PAO corrects labral tears caused by hip dysplasia. In this procedure, your surgeon cuts and realigns your bones to a normal position. This surgery will help prevent further damage to your joint.
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Surgical dislocation and osteochondroplasty—Your surgeon cuts an incision on your hip. They carefully cut your thigh bone to bring it out of the joint and provide better access. Then, your provider repairs any tears or other problems with the labrum. They use screws to hold the bone back together. Surgeons use this method for more complex conditions, such as improving deformities like Perthes disease and slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE).
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Hip replacement (arthroplasty)—You may need a total hip replacement for severe joint damage. Your surgeon removes the ball and socket of your joint and replaces them with artificial parts.
Hip Labral Tear Surgery Scar
Minimally invasive procedures like arthroscopy use small “keyhole” cuts. You may have three or four tiny cuts that fade quickly. If you need open surgery, you may have a scar about the width of your hand.
Hip Labral Tear Surgery Recovery
Your recovery depends on the cause and treatment of your labral tear. You should be able to return to your everyday activities like walking, biking, and swimming within a few weeks. After three months, you can do higher intensity activities such as running and jumping.
After surgery, you’ll follow a physical therapy program to rebuild your hip’s strength, range of motion, and stability.
See Our Providers for Hip Pain
You don’t need a referral to see one of our specialists for hip pain. However, some insurance plans may require a referral to see a specialist. Please check with your insurance company before you make an appointment.
Please follow three important steps before your visit:
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Get an X-ray at your local health center.
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Send us your X-ray.
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Make an appointment with our hip pain specialists by calling 801-587-7109.
We’ll use your X-ray to match you with the right provider. They will create an individualized treatment plan for your hip pain.
