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Success rates for hip labral tear surgery. Know the data.

None of the conservative treatments for your hip labral tear worked. This means that the only option left is surgery. You’ve been going back and forth for weeks or months. Get the surgery. Try more PT. Get another injection. If only there was some easy way to know how other people felt after getting surgery. If there was a 99% success rate for hip labral tear surgery then no brainer right? As you might have discovered, that information is not easy to find. The data is all over the place and it’s difficult to make sense of what the actual success rates for hip labral tear surgery are. Well my dear hipster, you’ve arrived in the right place. Over the last 11 years, I’ve dug DEEP into the data…

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 The lay person’s guide to an acetabular labral tear & FAI

I’m not a doctor. I never even really liked science class that much. However, I have learned a fair amount about the hip, the labrum, and impingement over the years so I figured I can try to explain it from a regular joe-shmoe-non-sciency perspective because it sure took me a long time to understand it all. The labrum is the cartilage that runs along the rim of the hip socket (acetabulum). You also have a labrum in your shoulder, and it is not uncommon for baseball pitchers to tear this (this is what Daniel had). But my lay person’s expertise is only in the hip so I’ll focus on that.

Articles of Interest

A comprehensive review of hip labral tears

The hip labrum has many functions, including shock absorption, joint lubrication, pressure distribution, and aiding in stability, with damage to the labrum associated with osteoarthritis. The etiology of labral tears includes trauma, femoroacetabular impingement (FAI), capsular laxity/hip hypermobility, dysplasia, and degeneration. Labral tears present with anterior hip or groin pain, and less commonly buttock pain. Frequently, there are also mechanical symptoms including clicking, locking, and giving way. The most consistent physical examination finding is a positive anterior hip impingement test.

Diagnosis and treatment of labral tear

Labral tear is first introduced by Peterson in 1957 with 2 cases secondary to posterior hip dislocation. In 1986, labral tear was 1st diagnosed arthroscopically. With the development of imaging technique and arthroscopy, labral tear is diagnosed more frequently in patients complaining about groin pain nowadays than in the past. Labral tear occurs most commonly under the circumstance of femoroacetabular impingement (FAI), which is characteristic by deformity of acetabulum, femoral head, or both.

Hip Labral Tears

“Treatment of labral tears can range from conservative treatment such as physical therapy or injections to surgical intervention,” says Yale Medicine orthopaedic surgeon Andrew Jimenez, MD. “Surgery for treatment of labral tears can be done arthroscopically and on an outpatient basis. If the labrum is badly injured and cannot be repaired, a new labrum can be rebuilt, which is called a labral reconstruction.”

Labral Tear Surgery FAQs

How long will I be on crutches after surgery? Really varies depending on your age, strength, severity of tear, etc. and should be determined day by day by your PT. When I had the surgeries in 2016, I was 26 years old and had done some pre op PT – my hip area strength was probably slightly above average (for a person with bad hips :)).

Labral Tears in a Young Dancer

Yes, Labral tears can be very tricky to work with, and surgery is often recommended. However, in this situation, if she has no pain, I would definitely get a second opinion before going down the surgical path. If she has been rehabilitated correctly and has no pain, then I would encourage her to keep working on perfecting her technique.

OrthoBullets

A hip labral tear is a traumatic tear of the acetabular labrum, mostly common seen in acetabular dysplasia, that may lead to symptoms of internal snapping hip as well hip locking with hip range of motion. Diagnosis generally requires an MR arthrogram of the hip joint in question.

Pros and Cons of Labral Tear Surgery

While there is no guarantee that patients who undergo labral tear surgery will never experience pain in their injured hip again, you can expect a considerable reduction in your daily pain and muscle tightness after the procedure. Of course, there will be discomfort post-surgery and during the typical six-week rest and recovery period. But once you're past that, you should no longer experience debilitating pain in your hip or thigh muscles.

The Story behind Hip Labral Tears in Athletes

Over the past decade, our understanding of and ability to treat hip problems in athletes has grown exponentially. With the advent of advanced arthroscopic technology and techniques, we have been able to return people to their sports and lives in ways we couldn’t have imagined in years past. Additionally, we have developed a much clearer understanding of what the pain generators are in and around the hip.

What Does A Hip Labral Tear Feel Like?

Although only a medical professional can provide a definitive diagnosis, there are many common hip labral tear symptoms individuals experience as a result of acute or chronic injuries. Pain along the front of the hip joint, or groin region is one of the most frequent hip labral tear symptoms. In fact, up to 55 percent of individuals experiencing hip or groin pain are suffering from a hip labral tear, according to research published in Current Reviews in Musculoskeletal Medicine. Joint soreness and stiffness are also common torn hip labrum symptoms. The intensity of pain and other symptoms varies by individual and by the severity of the damage. Some patients with diagnosable hip labral tears may not experience any noticeable pain at all. Some patients also report experiencing the hip locking up during everyday use. Other patients may feel hip clicking or hear hip popping during normal movements.

Resources

A Tale of Two Hips

Anyone who has been through a hip arthroscopy surgery knows, it's really not nice, but I did do it twice. Some people like to ask me if I'm glad I went through with surgery (again).

Labral Tear, Don't Care

I was diagnosed with acetabular labral tears on both the left and right hips along with FAI impingement (both CAM and PINCER). I’ve learned a lot along the way, sometimes through trial and error. I sought out advice on surgeons, physical therapy, recovery, and everything in between, but what I really wanted was to read an individual’s account of surgery and recovery – what was surgery like, how long until you can ‘really run’ again, etc. Since I didn’t find anything on the internet that fit this bill, I figured I might as well share my information to hopefully help others in the future. But I should note that everyone’s injuries and recoveries are of course very different so this should not be used as an exact guide for someone else’s recovery!