Why your hip labral tear diagnosis shouldn’t scare you.
Jun 07, 2022
Have you been diagnosed with a hip labral tear but don’t know what to do about it? Should you get steroid injections or physical therapy? Do those things even work? And if they don’t work, does that mean you need surgery?
Surgery!? Did your hips get so screwed up from wear and tear that you now need to go under the knife? No they did not. In this article, I’ll explain why you shouldn’t fear a hip labral tear diagnosis and why it’s not what's behind your chronic hip pain.
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What is a labral tear of the hip and does it cause pain?
As we examine how the medical community defines a hip labral tear, it is important to understand the nuance. While the Mayo and Cleveland clinics provide excellent structural definitions, they often miss the functional reality.
The most important piece of information is that many people with hip labral tears are asymptomatic. A tear in the labrum does not automatically mean pain in the hip. Studies have consistently shown that a significant percentage of people without any history of hip pain possess labral tears when imaged.
If you have been told that your labral tear is the "source" of your pain, I encourage you to look at how your body moves globally. Often, addressing the movement patterns around the joint is far more effective than focusing solely on the structural "tear" seen on an MRI.