I have been told I have a labral tear. I have also had spine fusion at L5-S1. My symptoms are pain in the hip front and back. Some groin pain. Some pain down the leg, and a clicking when I rotate my leg across my body. I can walk without much pain and cycle some but after a while I have to quit. The clicking really bothers me and the doctors cannot decide if the pain is due to the labral tear or further new complications with the back. Am getting conflicting opinions

-- Don Freeburger (donfree@qis.net), January 16, 2004

Answers

I was diagnosed with a labral tear a few years ago. My problem was that when I cycled, sat or did anything where my hip joint was 'closed', I would have intense localised pain in the front of my hip. If I persisted with the exercise, my hip would eventually lock in a closed position for a short while. I had a cortizone injection today, and will have to see if it works.

Bare in mind, that, from what I have been told, a labral tear is very difficult to cure through surgery. Something like a 50% success rate.

-- Terence Drake (terence@unix.co.za), February 26, 2004.

Dr. John Sarno believes many of these situations are actually TMS-related. Read his literature with an open mind. Unfortunately, many back surgeries only result in temporary relief and much more unfortunately, your surgeon will never admit that the herniated disc was not the proximate cause of your pain.

-- Robert Mitchell (rmmitchell@optonline.net), April 21, 2004.

Terence, From what I have read, an arthroscopic approach does fix labral tears. I have been diagnosed and have an appointment next week to see a surgeon who specializes in arthroscopic surgery for labral tears. I too had a spinal fusion in 1999, but this is not coming from my back. I also have had ilipsoas bursitis, which may be an aggravating concern. Have you gotten any more answers? If anyone has any information on surgery from this condition, I would like to hear from you. Thank you.

-- Charlotte Miller (philylady@hotmail.com), June 14, 2004.

I am 26 years old. I have had hip pain since our second son was born, almost 22 months ago. I had a bone scan, x-rays, mri's of my hip, and nothing showed up. Finally, a doctor decided to do a hip arthroscopy on me. He found a labral tear, trimmed the tear, and debrided the hip and socket. I thought everything was wonderful!.....until about 2 or 3 weeks after surgery. My hip pain came back, almost full force, within 6 weeks. By now my sons are almost 22 months old and almost 4 years old. I dread being asked if we can go for a bike ride. If I do, I almost can't walk for days following. My husband and I haven't taken our sons on a bike ride in almost two months because of my hip pain. I work 45+ hours a week as a medical assistant, and my husband works the same as an electrician. I was told today by my 5th doctor that he is going to refer me to yet another doctor for another hip arthroscopy. He also said he cannot yet rule out a hip replacement. I started to cry. I am only 26....with a wonderful family. I am just wondering if anybody else loves their job this much, loves their kids this much, loves their husband this much....and they can't imagine why this is happening to them???

-- S Scott (Sscott43526@aol.com), August 20, 2004.

I was diagnosed with a labral tear a few years ago. My problem was that been that I was a martial artist and kicking for over 30 years I overuse and abused my hips. An MRI comfirmed a labral tear on my right hip and bursitis. I have since modified my workouts and not longer kick. On the physical side I have gotten more into bodyweight fuctionals exercises that develops strenght around my hip joint area. I also focus more on lower body streching by doing joing movility drills to keep my joint range of motion open and smooth. I have also integrated pure phamaceutical grade fish oils capsules and tablets of Glucosamine & Chondroitin. Please bear in mind that this is only an alternative that have work for me and keep me away from polluting my body with all the medical medicine crap out-there. Is not a solution to the problem but it has reduced the pain tremendously and will keep me from surgery for many more years.

-- Michael (mikeboricua2002@yahoo.com), August 30, 2004.

Hi: I found your message about your labral tear this eve, and I can relate to your frustration about doctors not being sure about your problem. . I went to an orthopedic dr today and scheduled for an MRI this SAT to rule out hip joint changes, AVN, a labral tear, or the pain coming from a left inguinal hernia. I too have back problems in L4 L5, scoliosis and herniated and compressed discs in c3, 4, 5, and 6, but have not had a need for surgery. I had a cat scan recently, indicating a small left inguinal hernia..However, when talking with a surgeon, about the type of pain I have, especially bending down, weeding in my garden or sitting too long at my computer, I experience severe pain. When I lie down the pain subsides a bit. The surgeon said he couldnt guarantee the pain would stop after surgery for the hernia, so he thought I should see an ortho doc to get feedback. Can you describe what your pain feels like or the sensations? I'd like to compare your pain with the type of pain and sensations I am experiencing. Thanks much dreamerawakes@aol.com Stacey

-- Stacey (dreamerawakes@aol.com), September 23, 2004.

I have had my hips scoped twice for labral tears and iliopsoas releases. It has been 4 years since my surgeries. I just had another MRI confirming another labral tear. I really think that the surgeries do not work. If you do consider the surgery make sure you have the best surgeon in the country perform it. Dr. Byrd in Tenn and Dr. Santore in San Diego are the best. Sampson in San Francisco is good also. You are just going to have to accept the fact that you are not going to be able to do impact exercises and expect pain, arthritis, bursitis and cysts to develop as you age. In other words, we are screwed.

-- robin selig (robinmselig@aol.com), September 24, 2004.

That's lovely that we are screwed, as Robin Selig said....That's encouraging that we will get other problems as a direct result of the labral tear.. If we consistently rest and lay down, can this labral tear heal..itself? My MRI said i had possible tear, but no definitive anwer from surgeon either. Talking to this first dr who ordered the MRI, was not helpful.After MRI results, he suggested I get a second opinion, about the labral tear. He said he only took care of arthoscopic hip surgery....

-- sjn (dreamerawakes@aol.com), September 30, 2004.

Dear fellow sufferers: I, too, had hip pain; was originally diagnosed with bursitis; went to physical therapy; got no relief; had an MRI which showed a labral tear. My doctor referred me to specialist in NY at Hospital for Special Surgery who said he could repair tear but offered no guarantees...said I have arthritis and structure of my hips sets me up for injury..would possibly need hip replacement down the road..Suggested I try an intra articular injection given by radiologist which should offer pain relief possibly for as long as several months, while I decide if I want to go ahead with arthroscopic surgery. I had injection 10 days ago and feel pretty darn good. The hip pain itself is gone; still have some of the other pains in the leg associated with the way I was walking for almost a year, but I am happy with the results of the injection so far. I am undecided on having the surgery though, but cannot live with the pain I was having and be an active 50 yr old woman. Hope this helps!

-- Donna Diver (mauidonna1@aol.com), October 03, 2004.

My MRI shows mild osteoarthritis...if this is mild I'm in big trouble. They say there is no tear but I have extreme pain in the groin and hip plus ankle. MRI shows swelling in hip and ankle, but I am not getting any anwers really. It is suggested I have an anesthetic block which I have scheduled. This is very frustrating as walking, sitting, and sometimes even laying down is very painful. If anyone has NYC or NJ doctors they have had success with I'd appreciate the names. Thank you.

-- barbara (batbf@aol.com), October 04, 2004.

It's me again. I had my second hip arthroscopy three weeks ago. My last one was six months ago. They found another labral tear and found I had a chondral defect grade IV...which is the worst it can be. Why didn't the first doctor find it? Just thought I'd let everyone know that I feel for them. DON'T GIVE UP...SOME DOCTOR WILL EVENTUALLY HELP!

-- Stephanie (Sscott43526@aol.com), October 06, 2004.

I am from Venezuela and I have hip labral tear. I am from Venezuela and I found a Doctor named Vijay Vad, in New York City, he is excellent and help me a lot. His phone number is 212-606 13 06.He is the doctor of all the famous tennis players and golfers and is an excellent sports medicine doctor. I was desperate and now I am back to my normal life. Good luck! Bettina

-- bettina beckhoff (bbeckhoff@cantv.net), October 12, 2004.

I too personally suffered since end of May 2004. I had groin pain going to the hip. I thought it was due to running. I had to go through 4 doctors. 3 orthopedics and a Neurosurgeon to tell me I might have a possible labral tear.

After having a MRI done of my hip and spine along with x-rays one of the doctors said the groin pain was due to arthritis and degeneration in S1 L5 lumbar and recommended a shot of cortisone. Time for second opinion.

Went to a neurosurgeon because I thought it might be a pinched nerve in the back. Nope. The neurosurgeon recommended me to see the former Hartford Whalers trainer. The trainer said I had an overuse injury due to running and he recommended another orthopedic doctor. This doctor after looking at my hip MRI said I had adductor tendonitis due to an overuse injury from running. He wanted to give me a shot of cortisone if PT didn’t work. Then I then went to a Ct Hip surgeon. After waiting 2 weeks to see this doctor, he took another x-ray of my left hip because he didn’t like MRI’s. Geezzzzzz??? He said I had arthritis in the hip. Enough is enough!!!

At this point I didn’t know what to do. I pulled out an old address book and found an orthopedic surgeon I use to go to in the late 70’s and early 80’s. I didn’t think he was still practicing. He was. I have not seen him since 1984 (John Fulkerson Unconn Medical Center) for a running related injuries He’s one of the best knee arthroscopy surgeons in the country. Within seconds of him looking at my Hip MRI, he notices a possible labrum tear. Unbelievable. I wish I would of seen John from the get go. I even went back to the Doctor that wrote the report of my Hip MRI so he could see the tear for him self so he could attach an addendum to the original MRI report.

Your right.. Go to the best in the world. John said there is no one in CT qualified to perform hip arthroscopy surgery to fix this. He recommended Marc Phillipon from Pittsburgh/Ft Lauderdale Florida or Tom Byrd from Nashville. These two guys pioneered the tools for the hip surgery procedures done all over the world. I would have seen Phillipon but he doesn’t take Aetna HMO. So I sent my Hip MRI and film to Dr. Tom Byrd and waiting to see if I’m candidate to get this fixed. Can’t wait.

Just to let every know, I personally called all these doctors that screwed up with their diagnosis other then John Fulkerson to let them know how I feel. I told them the next time they read a MRI report or read a MRI film; make sure it’s accurate before making a final diagnosis. I just don’t want anyone to go through what I went through. Again if I would have seen Dr Fulkerson with my June 30th hip MRI. I could have probably had this fixed and back to running.

I’ll keep you posted.

JAG Connecticut

-- JAG (webmaster@webizz.com), October 13, 2004.

I thought I'd put my two cents in! I am 23 and I have been having moderate to severe hip pain for the past 2 years. I also have spondyliolisthesis at L5 S1 and the doctors refused to look at my hip pain and considered it a back problem with radiating pain. I met with one of the orthopedic doctors in South Bend Indiana who works with the U. of Notre Dame football team and he was the first to tell me about a possible labral tear. I have recently moved to the DC area and searched on the internet and found a doctor in Baltimore named Frank Ebert. I just returned from his office and I've scheduled to have the surgery as he found a labral tear. I am interested to know if anyone has had contact with this doctor and what the result are. I am also interested to know the extent of rehab of the surgery and how long I will be out of work/play etc.

-- M.Slavin (mslavin@gmail.com), October 21, 2004.

Hi all- I have been a 4 season athlete my whole life playing, soccer, Ice hockey and lacrosse in high school and the rugby, ice hockey and lacrosse in college. I have had hip pain for the past 6 years. All through college I treated it has a muscular problem with heat, ice, wrap, etc. Now I am 25 and the pain has increased! I have seen 6 different doctors who have told me that I have a labral tear that has been cause by my bone abnormality in my hips. They claim that I was born with hip dysplasia that was not discovered as an infant. I am going to have my scope done next week by Dr. Joseph McCarthy at the New England Baptist Hospital. He has an excessive amount of experience doing this proceedure and has written a book on this proceedure as well. I am so excited to have this done because I am so tired of being in pain. I can't wait until I can function with out pain. I know I will have to change my lifestyle and stear clear of impact sports and running, but to be pain free will be a great relief! Well, at least I am hoping the pain will be gone. By reading the responses above it seems that being pain free isn't an option. Where are all those optimistic people? have some faith in modern technology. I want some positive feedback. But at the same time, I guess if all is going well you wouldn't be reading this web page. Just be thankful that we aren't dying of some deadly disease.

-- Laura Merino (lmerino@partners.org), November 01, 2004.

I am scheduled for a hip arthroscopy 1/24/05 wtih Dr. Phillipon. Frankly, I cannot wait. I have gone from very active to the only sport I play now is online poker. (poker must be a sport, it is on ESPN) My pain seems to be less than that of others I read about, but it definitely there. The reports on recovery time from the surgery have ranged from I can be walking around in days to Phillipon's view that I will be on crutches for 4 weeks. Any comments?

Wish me luck.

-- Mark Solomon (Marksolomon67@yahoo.com), November 17, 2004.

I have had several labral tears which I thought were from injuries and accidents. I have just recently been diagnosed with a congenital hip deformity which has been recently discovered by a doctor in Switzerland. Apparently my hips are tilting forward causing the tears and cysts. The surgery to correct it is pretty severe so I am going to hold out as long as possible. You may all want to have 3D CT scans done to rule out this possibility. Good Luck.

-- robin selig (robinmselig@aol.com), November 18, 2004.

Hi Everyone,

This injury is brutal. My symptoms are severe going pain (on the inside top 1/3 of my legs), hamstring tightness and soreness and hip tightness - not hip pain. So, you can imagine, that it took a year and 3 physical therapists who all treated it as a groin injury, before I finally got an MRI done and it showed a hip problem...a labral tear.

So, I just got back from my appointment today with the surgeon to see if an arthroscopic surgery would solve my problem. He said I also have a hip impingement, but that there was a 50/50 chance the torn labrum was mostly or totally responsible for my upper leg pain and causing the instability and trauma to those muscles. I am taking this next week to think things over and research and I was wondering if anyone had similar symptoms? My bad hip also 'clicks' when I walk and I feel like I have to pop it a bit before I can do any kind of moderate activity so it will loosen up. I can't do ANY lower body weight lifting or it will feel like a ran a marathon the next day!

I am a former national team athlete and there was never 'one incident' but just a lot of over use. One day, I just started getting soreness that wouldn't go away in my groin and hamstrings. After about 5 min of running, my groin pain sets in and I can't do any more. I used to train 7 hrs a day, so this has really impacted my life over the past 2 years. I was also told I had arthritis, when in fact, I didn't and 3 doctors later confirmed this. They are so quick to think that. If anyone says this to you, get a second opinion. It can be devasting to think you have it for even 1 second.

If anyone has similar symtoms or any advice or comments, I would really appreciate it. I am calling the surgeon back in less that a week to decide whether or not to book the surgery. What do you guys think? I am also in my mid 20s, so this is an athletic over use thing, not something that has hit me with age.

Yours truly, Merrin Merrin2@gmail.com

-- Merrin (Merrin2@gmail.com), December 01, 2004.

Hi,

I have had increasing left hip discomfort in the last 2-3 years. I finally got diagnosed with a labral tear. I have been told this has been caused by mild left hip dysplasia.

I am focusing on strengthening muscles around hip and will get a scope surgery done to repair this in the next few mths. I am interested if anyone has had lasting success from this surgery? So far my surgeon has advised my dysplasia is mild and once the labral tear is repaired..i may have no further troubles (ie joint issues, hip replacement ) till my 60's if i take care of myself.

-- Kas Bernt (kassa_ber@hotmail.com), December 04, 2004.

Hi. I am a Med Student from London currently in New Zealand doing some research in to the long term outcome of arthroscopically repaired acetabular labral tears. I note that many of you are worried about the outcome of such surgery, and indeed there appear to be some of you who have had unsuccessful arthroscopy. As an independent researcher, I will post the results of my research on this website - perhaps it will help you to be able to make an informed decision.

-- Laura (lcm99@ic.ac.uk), December 05, 2004.

Hi to all..

I've been on this thread back in October 2004 and thought I would come back and share an interesting thread on the Runners world site. This thread is about many who had the labral tear worked on and some ready to get this done like myself. Thought it would be helpful..

Jamie

http://forums.runnersworld.com/thread.jspa?forumID=22&threadID=216388

-- Jamie Gomez (webmaster@webizz.com), January 09, 2005.

Have Been Diagnosed with 2 tears and am confused by 1.- Surgery and 2.-Which Dr. It seems this is a fairly new technique. DR. phillipon in Pittsburg no longer takes patients and Ive heard about a Dr. Byrd in Tenn. I live in NY and have a appt to see DR.Bryan Kelly. Any Info would be appr. Any info I can give I will ! Thanks Rich

-- Rich Fellegara (chehead@aol.com), January 17, 2005.

I have been experiancing increasing pain to my right hip, groin area and a certain tightness in my thigh muscle that radiates to my knee. I thought I was crazy! So many symptons to a small portion of my body. I had an MRI done and it showed a little fluid, which is suspisious for some kind of disease process. Also sitting and laying down aggrevated it and increased my pain. I am a registered nurse and try to be very cautious with my complaints to the Doc. Just yesterday he suggested an Arthrogram MR of my hip. Said he suspects a labral tear. Here I thought I was losing it and becoming a hypochondrate. But after reading this web page I found too many similarities with the signs and symptoms and degree of pain. I think my Doctor is on the right track. I hope to go to Doctors Hospital in Coral Gables Fl. which is a known sports hospital for alot of the football players.So.. I hope for the best, I need to keep working, and nursing is a very physical job. I'm glad I found you guys and I wish you all good luck... Thankz Dianne Fox Flyfox3@aol.com

-- Dianne Fox (flyfox3@aol.com), January 20, 2005.

Hi...

I feel everyone's frustration. I am now on my third orthodedic surgeon. I have pain in the front of my hip joint, catching when I rotate my hip from sit to stand, and lots of pain and weakness after activity. I was a hurdler in high school and college, (am now 23) so my hips took more than their share of abuse. The first doctor took two MRIs, X-Rays and still hadn't an idea what the problem was. The second diagnosed me with an acetabular labrum tear, requiring hip arthroscopy and performed a hip arthrogram (which is quite painful, by the way). For a second (or third) opinion, I saw another specialist who thought it might just be hip snapping disorder. I'm currently going through physical therapy, but not responding to it. After two more weeks of therapy, I'll have to go back and consider surgery. Anyone know good doctors in Florida or Pennsylvania? Good luck to all the hip suffers out there...

-- Rachel Williams (Rleigh1682@yahoo.com), January 28, 2005.

I too have many of the symptoms that have been mentioned in here. I have had 2 arthoscopic surgeries to clean up labral tears. It's taken a total of 10 doctors to come to the conclusion that I have hip dysplasia and that it is the cause of all of my tears. I am now scheduling a PAO for April to realign my joint to stop the tearing and the arthritis from getting worse. If the only problem is a labral tear I think arthoscopic is the way to go, but remember that there's a reason the labrum is tearing and without a fall or injury something else in the joint is going on. Good Luck!

-- Mary (lisbeth_00_2000@yahoo.com), February 06, 2005.

Hi Everyone,

I to have been dignosed with a small labral tear in my right hip. I actually remember doing it while kickboxing. Just felt a crunching sensation in my hip . As with a lot of people spent a year been treated for Bursitis and groin strains by my doctor, none of which I had. In the end went to another consultant who sent me for an MR arthogram, which confirmed it. Have had to give up my sports as in to much pain. Im from Ireland and have been told that Knowbody treats this injury in my country. My doctor has told me you need someone who does Hip Arthroscopy regularly. Has anyone any suggestions or names of doctors in America I could contact.

Stephen

-- Stephen Cullen (cullymush@yahoo.com), February 13, 2005.

Hi Stephen and everyone,

Just want to say that I was diagnosed in November with a labral tear. I went for 14 months in chronic pain with my hip. I do Tae Kwon Do and assumed that my hip was just irritated and would heal with time. I finally decided to go to the doctor when I found myself limping around for a day after a strenuous workout. My doctor is awesome. It took him all of 3 minutes to diagnose the tear in the labrum. I then went for an MRI & hip arthrogram (extremely painful) to confirm it. I just had arthroscopic surgery on Tuesday Feb. 15th. On Thursday I was already doing 20 repititions of 5 different leg lift excercises. I haven't taken any pain medication since Wednesday night and I'm not using crutches. Yes, I am extremely sore but am getting better everyday. I will have about 3 weeks of physical therapy 2 times a week and then we'll see how I'm doing. So, Stephen, many people have told me that my doctor is the best hip orthaepedist in the city and I believe it. His name is Chris Larson and his office is in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. His phone number is 952.944.2519. And let me just say that I am extremely optimistic that I will have a complete recovery. Don't worry yourselves with everything you read or hear...we're all different. But do make sure you have a good doctor. And rehab, rehab, rehab!

-- Dana Neve (dananeve@mn.rr.com), February 18, 2005.

Wow! Although I hate what each of you are going through, it is so nice to know that I am not alone. I am 25 and for the past two years I have had extreme pain in my right hip. This pain began immediately after I was in an MVA. I am about to graduate with a degree in nursing and am not ready to accept that I will have to deal with this pain for the rest of my life. I too, can perform minimal physical activity without my pain becoming severe. My pain worsens if I am standing/walking for more than an hour at a time, and if I have to sit for longer than 30 minutes. I take IBProphen 3 times a day, which helps me get through the day, and fall to sleep with ice to my hip everynight.

The first ortho doc I saw said that I had soft tissue damage and sent me through six weeks of PT. The doctors that I have visited since then have blamed my pain on many things, including pinched nerves in back which is causing pain to radiate to my hip (they tried an epidural block to relieve pain-- did't work), bursitis (which I received numerous steriod injections for---something that worsened my pain and had me limping for several days) and one told me that it was all in my head. Like Robert Mitchell, I heard about and read Dr. John Sarno's book on the effects of TMS. I tried to read this with an open mind and tried to apply his methods to see if I received any relief. Unfortunately, I did not. I also did some research and began taking glucosamine and chondroitin which are to help joint spacing from decreasing. Nothing has changed for me since I began taking these meds, but I will continue to take them.

A year ago, my third orthopedic doctor found a large hump on my trochanter neck of my right femur... my question is why he was the first to see it, when looking back at the MRI's ,CTs, bone scans and XRays I'd had previously all contained this abnormalhump. He sent me to a specialist to rule out a bone tumor. Thankfully, I was diagnosed with a healed stress factor instead of a tumor. I questioned why my previous doctors had not seen this malformation. The doctor believed that because this stress factor was healed, it was not the cause of my pain.

I'm sure you guys have all experienced the same thing that I have... some doctors are complete pricks and have no people skills whatsoever. My last doctor referred me to yet another doctor who he felt would be able to help me. So, this past week, I traveled to meet Dr. Thomas Byrd in Nashville, Tennessee. After Dr. Byrd examined me, he decided to have an Arthrogram done, injecting dye and some numbing medication. For severaly hours after my injection, I felt no pain at all.... this is something that I have not felt in 2 years. I did not find the arthrogram to be painful at all, like some other experiences posted here. After my MRI's were complete, I took my films over to Dr. Byrd's office. He diagnosed me with a labral tear in my right hip. I was shocked to see it with my own eyes on the film because my other MRIs have never shown anything. He is very optimistic that arthroscopic surgery will help. I fully trust him and am scheduled for surgery after graduation this summer.

One thing that I would caution others who are in this same predicament--- I have heard some doctors state that you can receive arthrograms where they inject steroids and marcaine into the intraarticular space several times a year. I was recently told my another doctor that it is only safe to receive steroids intra- articularly 3 times in your life. After doing some research mysefl, I found that the later is true. While steriods decrease the inflammation in your joint and relieve pain, they can also have the adverse effect of breaking down bone. Just beware if a doctor wants to give you multiple steroid injecitons.... ask questions and educate yourself!

Laura from London, I would love to see the results of your research study when you have finished them.

If anyone has had surgery with Dr. Byrd, I would love to hear how it went. I will revisit this site regularly, and will let you know how my surgery goes.

Thanks for your support. And know that you are not alone :) Hang in there....

-- Pennie (Sixcents24@aol.com), February 23, 2005.

I fell at work across a stack of stock landing on my back and left hip injuring what I thought was my lower back. I had an MRI of my lower back and it was determined that I have a "slight bulge at L4/L5" (nothing serious)I have complained of mostly hip and groin pain from the start. It orig started in my left hip only and severe groin pain in my left side, as well as my buttocks is extremely painful with muscle spasms and nerve pain extending from my hip to down the top of my leg to my knee. Then after apx 1 month I also noticed groin pain in my right side as well. I was told the groin pain was from waliking with a limp from having a "stiff hip". Now, I have only been able to see workman comp doctors and I am feeling like I have been gettig the run around. They look at me like I am crazy because with a back injury you dont have hip or groin pain.

I ran across an article in a magazine about labral tears and was suprised that they were referring to the same pain I am having and this comp "ortho" doc has not even considered this as an option.

Can any of you please tell me if you have similar pain with the groin area (1 or both sides) and any suggestions you might have will be extremly appreciated. I just can't take much more of this, without answers. I just wanna heal and get back to a normal lfe again.

Thanks for your help

-- Lori Good (madona9963@yahoo.com), February 25, 2005.

I would really be cautious of some of these doctors that aren't even mentioning labral tear. I've read too many articles on people going from doctor to doctor for years trying to diagnose hip pain only to finally find out that it is a labral tear. It seems like a good ortho. would check that out first. The first thing my doctor did was had me lay on the table and try to bring my knee up to my chest. My left leg (the good one) came right up with no problem. My right leg didn't go far before I felt extreme pain in my hip. The first thing he said was labral tear and the MRI confirmed it. Try to find the best doctor you can so you don't have to waste your time.

-- Dana Neve (dananeve@mn.rr.com), February 25, 2005.

Hello.

I have just been diagnosed with a labral tear. I play alot of hockey goalie which may have contributed to my injury however i also had a fall down some stairs which is when the onset of the pain started. It has been 7 months since the fall, I am able to function with my day-day without much pain, however i would really like to get back to playing hockey and i am still in some pain when i attempt to play. My Dr. told me that surgery may be an option however living in Toronto, Canada he is not aware of any doctors that perform that type of surgery. If anyone knows any doctors in Toronto, or Ontario can you please let me know.

Thanks,

-- corey (coreyn@look.ca), February 28, 2005.

I haven't been diagnosed with a labral tear, but I've got a "snapping hip" which started out just annoying me, and now causes excruciating pain if I'm walking for more than 10 or 20 minutes. My MRI didn't show anything, but I'm told that labral tears don't always show up. Physical therapy hasn't helped, so next step is to try some cortisone injections. Hopefully it'll work. If not, my doctor says he's going to start severing tendons in my joint. I think it would be worthwhile to do a scope and see if there is anything else (like a tear) going on before he starts springing my tendons loose. Anyone have a story like this?

-- Kristi Paetzel (kristi@clearreach.net), March 01, 2005.

This website is amazing. Like all of you, my case is very similar. I came down with sudden pain in my right hip after sitting in a car for a long time or sitting on a stool for a long time. I'm a teacher and at the age of 27, it was hard for my students to believe that such a young teacher would have a hip problem. It would literally cause me to limp in front of the classroom. I also played a lot of basketball and would literally drag my leg up the stairs after I came home. Finally I went to a doctor who told me I had "tendonitus." He sent me to P.T. They worked me out to no avail. I went back and he told me that my back was the culprit. I went back to P.T to no avail. They were clueless. The specialist to his credit guessed labral tear but sent me to P.T again. To no avail. Finally after a year and half, I received an M.R.I. The doctor saw nothing but "abnormalities." He sent me to another specialist who admitted that another person in Boston could read the M.R.I. He sent me to Dr. Busconi out of Worcester. This doctor looked right at it and discoverd the small tear. He told me there are always risks with surgery but I could either live with it or take the small risk. He does about 30-40 a year I believe. I am going under the knife in April. Has anyone ever heard any good things about this doctor? He seems very good but it is scarey to see how many of you have had bad experiences.

-- troy gray (capehatteras@email.com), March 01, 2005.

I dislocated my hip 3 months after giving birth. I was very active. While running with kids I simply tripped and my hip popped out. I was on an island and it took 5.5 hours to have it relocated. This was last July. I have never been completley without pain for very long periods of time. Dye-injected MRI should a "possible" tear. Two other radiologists didn't see the "possible" rear. So, the pain keeps gettting worse. 6 days ago they injected cortizone into the joint and the pain is worse. The pain is in the groin, down the front of the hip and everywhere inbetween. Activity worsens it. I need help. I have 2 kids and I am only 35. Any advice? ~Kari

-- Kari Jones (Kari@bufflehead.net), March 03, 2005.

I have just had the marcaine/cortisone injection into my left hip as a diagnostic tool to determine the cause of the pain that I have had in my left hip, down my thigh and including my knee over the last four weeks. Originally the hip pain was a nuisance to me and I thought it might be arthritis (though I am only 46) so I went to my PCP who suspected it/was likely a musculoskeletal sprain/strain. I then took a fall and landed on my left side and suffered severe lower back pain a couple of days later. Initial xrays showed the presence of kidney stones in my left kidney, subsequent CT scan confirmed them, then an MRI showed a mild annular tear in the disc at L5 S1 with no leakage of disc material. The back pain has improved but the hip pain worsened to the point where it went down my thigh including my left knee. I haven't seen anyone mention the knee pain, but I have to say my knee is the most painful part of my body at this point. It feels like I scraped it open and the skin is being pulled tightly over the kneecap. I have had xrays of my back, hips,knee, CT scan for the kidney stones and MRI prior to today's injection. The orthopedist I am seeing suspects a labral tear. I just want to know definitely what is causing this pain. I am scheduled to see a neurosurgeon next week after I see the orthopedist, but may not really need this if it is a labral tear. The disc tear is not likely to require surgery and I have been seeing a chiropractor who seemed to help my back pain. He also combines physical therapy with chiropractic. My kidney stones are not obstructive nor causing symptoms and hopefully will remain that way forever. I am starting to be afraid of going to another doctor for fear they will find something else. Does this sound like separate problems that have been uncovered because of my hip problem? I really want to hear some success stories about arthroscopic hip surgery for labral tears, it sounds disheartening so far. Thanks, Kathy Bango (kaitmb@yahoo.com)

-- Kathy Bango (kaitmb@yahoo.com), March 03, 2005.

To those of you who have been told you might have hip snapping disorder; get a second opinion. That was what I was originally diagnosed with, and sent to PT three times a week for two weeks. The pain intensified to the point where everytime I stood up I would get the catching in my hip and pain when I walked. A second opinion (which is really the fourth doctor) confirmed it was a tear from the arthrogram. Best advice is to see a good doctor who has experience with labral tears the first time... I'm 23 but feel like I'm 80. Here's hoping surgery works. Good luck to all of you!

-- Rachel Williams (Rleigh1682@yahoo.com), March 07, 2005.

Hi All,

This is a GREAT discussion group! Like most of you, I have had persistent, increasing hip/groin/leg pain on the left side for more than 8 months. My original injury wasn't even mildly athletic: I just stepped down hard, and felt a "slipping" pop, with immediate, knife-like pain. I too have been misdiagnosed with disc problems, tendonitis, tight muscles, and "mild" arthritis. The contrast-MRI was negative for labral tear, but I did some research to find out that the test is at best 89-95% accurate, and thre are no stats on the radiologists' opinions. After PT, rest, NSAIDS, cortisone injections, and months of limited activity, I have not improved. My second ortho doc is going to do an arthroscopy and an ischial bursectomy (the bursa on you seat-bone). If I can contribute anything to the group of fellow labral-tear sufferers, it would be to EDUCATE yourselves about hip problems. Some very useful sites I have found include: http://uconnsportsmed.uchc.edu/patientinfo/whathurts/hip/ and http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi (PubMed). With a good medical dictionary, you can find out a lot of info, and speak intelligently with your docs. By the way, Dr. Byrd in TN is well-represented in the literature, and my doc here in Charleston, SC, (Keith Merrill) suggested I look at review articles he has written. Good luck everyone, and I'll be sure to post again with my (hopefully successful) results.

-- S. Noel Hymel (hablabgirl@yahoo.com), March 09, 2005.

I had repair for left hip labral tear apx. 8 weeks ago. Walking and wieght training causes mild pain. Running on the other hand is very painful and I can only manage a few hundred feet. Does anyone have an idea of how long total recovery should be? Thanks - Robin

-- Robin Graham (h2o4u2@hotmail.com), March 12, 2005.