What is a SLAP tear?
At any point in time, 25% of adults will deal with shoulder pain due to injury or overuse. Superior Labrum, Anterior to Posterior tears (SLAP tears), also known as labrum tears, represent 4% to 8% of all shoulder injuries.
The L in SLAP refers to your glenoid labrum. Your labrum plays two important roles in keeping your shoulder functioning and pain free. First, your labrum is a cushion for the top part of your upper arm bone. This cushion helps your upper arm bone stay where it belongs – cradled in your shoulder socket. Second, your labrum is a connection point between your shoulder blade socket and one of your bicep tendons.
The S in SLAP refers to the top of your labrum. When this part of your labrum tears, your upper arm bone loses its cushion and your bicep tendon loses its connection to your shoulder blade socket. As a result, your shoulder hurts and feels unstable.
There are several ways to tear your labrum. SLAP tears are common injuries for people who play sports. Your labrum can be torn by an injury or simply over time as you age.
Some SLAP tears can be treated with rest and physical therapy, but some may require surgery.
What happens if a SLAP tear goes untreated?
Left untreated, SLAP tear symptoms may get worse, causing chronic shoulder pain and decreasing your ability to use your arm and shoulder.
What are SLAP tear symptoms?
Common SLAP tear symptoms include:
- Shoulder pain that can be a persistent dull ache or a sharp pain deep in your shoulder.
- Shoulder pain in certain positions, like raising your arm or stretching your arm behind your head.
- Shoulder pain when you do certain things, like throwing a ball or reaching overhead.
- Popping noises or a grinding feeling when you move your shoulder.
A feeling like your shoulder might pop out of your shoulder blade.
How are SLAP tears treated?
SLAP tear treatment depends on the amount and kind of damage healthcare providers find when they examine your labrum. They might recommend non-surgical therapies first before concluding surgery is the best option. Regardless, SLAP tears can take months to fully heal.
Here are common SLAP tear treatments:
- Anti-inflammatory drugs.
- Cortisone shots.
- Physical therapy.
- Debridement.
- Arthroscopic labral surgery to repair your labrum.
- Bicep tenodesis.
Prevention & Management
Some SLAP tears are unavoidable. You might get a SLAP tear if you tried to break your fall with your outstretched arm. But you can also tear your labrum in daily activities like regularly playing sports that use overhead arm movements and lifting things with jerking movements.
Here’s how you can prevent a SLAP tear:
Warm up your shoulder muscles with stretches before playing sports.
Pay attention to how your shoulders feel, and talk to your healthcare provider if you notice changes such as pain or stiffness.
What Is Labral Tear?
The labrum is a rim of soft tissue or fibrous cartilage that surrounds the socket of a ball and socket joint to make it more stable. A labrum gives more support to hold the bones in their proper places. The ligaments that help hold the joint together attach to the labrum. It also provides cushioning to the joint.
In the shoulder, it is called the glenoid labrum and runs around the cavity of the scapula in which the head of the bone of the upper arm (the humerus) fits. In the hip, it is called the acetabular labrum and runs around the cup of the hip joint.
A labral tear can occur as the result of an injury, but is also often related to a structural abnormality or osteoarthritis.
Signs and Symptoms of a labral tears
Many labral tears cause no signs or symptoms. Occasionally, however, you may experience:
- A locking sensation in your hip or shoulder
- Pain in your hip, groin or shoulder
- Stiffness or limited range of motion in your hip or shoulder
Treatment of labral tears can range from conservative treatment such as physical therapy or injections to surgical intervention,
