The acetabular labrum is a ring of specialized cartilage that lines the outer rim of the hip socket. It acts like a seal to help hold the ball of the femur securely in the socket, provides joint stability, and cushions the joint during movement. A tear in this tissue can result from trauma, structural abnormalities like hip impingement, or repetitive twisting motions.
A labral tear often causes a deep ache that patients find difficult to point to on the surface of the skin.
Groin Pain: The most common symptom, often described as a sharp or dull pain in the front of the hip.
Mechanical Symptoms: Clicking, locking, or a catching sensation within the joint during movement.
Giving Way: A feeling that the hip is unstable or may collapse under weight.
Stiffness: Reduced flexibility and a limited range of motion in the hip joint.
Pain with Sitting: Discomfort that worsens when sitting for long periods or when climbing stairs.
Because hip pain can originate from many sources, a thorough clinical evaluation is necessary to isolate the labrum as the cause.
Physical Exam
X-rays: Used primarily to look for underlying variations in bone shapes, such as hip dysplasia or impingement, that may have caused the tear.
Diagnostic Injection: An anesthetic is injected into the hip joint; if the pain disappears temporarily, it confirms the joint surface is the source of the pain.
MRA (Magnetic Resonance Arthrogram): This is the gold standard for diagnosis. A special dye is injected into the joint before an MRI to highlight small tears in the labrum that a standard MRI might miss.
Management of a labral tear focuses on restoring joint mechanics and reducing inflammation. Many patients find relief through physical therapy by strengthening the gluteal and abdominal muscles to take pressure off the hip joint. If conservative measures fail after several months, minimally invasive arthroscopic surgery is often recommended to preserve the joint and prevent the early onset of osteoarthritis.
Conservative: Rest, anti-inflammatory medications, and physical therapy focused on core and hip stability.
Injections: Corticosteroid injections or platelet rich plasma (PRP) injections
Surgical Repair: Arthroscopic surgery to sew the torn labrum back to the bone using small anchors.
Debridement: Trimming away the frayed or damaged edges of the labrum if it cannot be repaired.