Labral Tears
Understanding shoulder labrum injuries
Types of Labral Tears
• Anterior-inferior labral tear
• Associated with dislocations
• Causes recurrent instability
• Often requires surgical repair
• Superior labral tear
• Biceps anchor involved
• Common in throwers
• See dedicated SLAP page
• Less common
• Associated with posterior instability
• Internal impingement in throwers
• May need surgical repair
Treatment
• Activity modification
• Rotator cuff strengthening
• Scapular stabilization
• Anti-inflammatory medications
Appropriate for degenerative tears, stable lesions, or older patients
• Arthroscopic labral repair with suture anchors
• Address associated pathology (capsular laxity, bone loss)
• Bony procedures for significant glenoid bone loss (Latarjet)
Success rate 85-95% for appropriately selected patients
