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Hip Labral Tear

Hip Labral Tear Treatment in Kansas City, MO

What is a Hip Labral Tear?

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A hip labral tear affects the ring of cartilage (labrum) that goes around the outside of the socket of the hip joint. The labrum not only cushions the hip joint, but it also works like a rubber seal or gasket to help keep the ball at the top of the thighbone in the hip socket.

Hip Labral Tear Symptoms

No matter what kind of tear is in the hip labrum, the symptoms are the same. But whether the tear is in the front or back of the hip, this can change where you feel the symptoms.

Some signs of a hip labral tear are:

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    Pain in the hip, groin, or buttocks, especially when you walk or run, and sometimes at night when you sleep
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    Hip stiffness or a small range of motion
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    You feel like your hip joint is popping or locking up when you move

Some hip labral tears don’t cause any pain and can go unnoticed for years.

What Causes a Hip Labral Tear?

Anyone can tear the labrum in their hip. A hip labrum tear can happen quickly from a blow or slowly over time. Usually, the reasons are:

  • Repetitive hip movements and misuse of the hip, especially in some sports and jobs, can cause hip pain
  • Traumatic hip injuries
  • Hip wear and tear from everyday use
  • Hip dysplasia and abnormal bone shape that causes hip compression can cause the labrum to be put under more stress
  • Conditions that get worse over time. Osteoarthritis and hip labral tears are linked to each other; arthritis can cause the cartilage to wear away, which can lead to a labral tear. A labral tear can also make you more likely to get arthritis in the future

Depending on where the tear is, there may be more than one cause of a hip labral tear. Most labral tears in the front of the hip are caused by repetitive moves in sports like ballet, golf, football, and hockey. Posterior hip labral tears are generally caused by accidents, falls, or sports injuries with a lot of force.

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Conditions

Hip Surgery
Hip Disclocation
Hip Disease
Hip Fracture
Hip Impingement
Hip Labral Tear
Hip Osteoarthritis
Hip Osteoporosis
Hip Strain

Hip Labral Tear Treatment

There are different ways to treat hip labral tears. Most of the time, your doctor will suggest nonsurgical solutions first. However, if the tear is bad and you are in a lot of pain, surgery may be the best option.

Labral tears in the hip are treated without surgery by easing the pain and stopping the labrum from getting worse. Nonsurgical treatments include but are not limited to:

  • Rest and modified activity – Rest and changing how you do things are meant to cut down or stop doing things that hurt and make the condition worse
  • Over-the-counter medication – Pain and swelling can be treated with over-the-counter medicines like aspirin or ibuprofen
  • Steroid injections – If over-the-counter medicines don’t help enough, steroids and anesthetics can be injected into the hip to briefly relieve pain and inflammation
  • Physical therapy – In physical therapy, you do exercises that strengthen and stretch your hip muscles so they can support the joint better and make it easier to move around

If your hip labral tear is severe or you are still in pain after trying non-surgical solutions, your doctor may suggest hip surgery. Most labral tears in the hip are fixed with arthroscopic surgery.

During this operation, the hip is reached through several small cuts made by an orthopedic surgeon. A special camera called an arthroscope helps the surgeon find the labral tear. He or she then uses surgical tools to fix it.

Hip Labral Tear Care in Kansas City

If you have any of the above symptoms, please call Orthopedic Health of Kansas City to schedule an appointment with one of our hip and pelvis experts in Kansas City. They will do a full check, figure out what’s wrong, and then treat it.

Orthopedic Health of Kansas City will do whatever it takes to get you back on your feet, from easy physical therapy to complicated surgery.