I tore my labrum in May playing baseball and after 5 months of complaining to my doc about groin pain I finally got an MRI. The 1st MRI was inconclusive and said that I had some inflammation but not hernia. I got another one with dye and something else and it showed a tear of the labrum. Now in the past 2 weeks I've had really bad back pain in my lower back on the right side, opposite side of the torn Labrum. And to top it all off my sciatic nerve is bugging me off and on these 2 weeks as well. My question is could my torn labrum have a direct effect on these issues?? My ortho doc said that I could still do PT (exercise) because once the labrum is torn I can't tear it any worse. So I've been running 1.5 miles 3X a week along with push ups and sit ups. It does effect me but if I shorten my stride I can block the pain out. Playing other sports where I need to cut quickly is out of the question!! Curious to see if I've damaged it more and if the new back pain/sciatic is due to this or is it a whole new set of problems??
hard to say...both my hip labrums are torn. I haven't heard that once it's torn you can't tear it again, perhaps that is true, I just haven't heard that before. PT probably won't do anything, the labrum is avascular so it will not heal by itself. Have you discussed surgery?
hard to say...both my hip labrums are torn. I haven't heard that once it's torn you can't tear it again, perhaps that is true, I just haven't heard that before. PT probably won't do anything, the labrum is avascular so it will not heal by itself. Have you discussed surgery?
yes i have discussed surgery with my doctor. however i'm in the process of getting a doctor who's expertise is actually in hips and not feet like the one my referal was for.
I have torn labrums in both my hips. Initially I had only pain in the crest of my hip on the right side which eventually went away but it took about 9 months. The pain then centered more in the joint which now catches when I ride my bike or sit or turn wrong. The left hip just got diagnosed with a labral tear also but it mostly hurts in the crest of the hip once again. I also torn a rotator tendon in the front too. Its been 5 weeks with the rotator tendon and about 1 year with the crest of the hip pain. I also have pretty bad low back pain and have ever since it all began. I can get muscle spasms completely around my lower body with it and sometimes sciatic pain too. That seems to come and go. So I would say yes, low back pain could definately come with the labral tear especially if you are favoring one leg. I think that is what happened to me. I have gotten an MRI of my low back to see if that was indeed the problem but since there is no evidence of anything there the doctor can only suspect its all coming from the hips. I have gotten a couple of cortizone shots in both hips and that seems to help for a while but it just comes back as I am really active or try to be. I have not heard that once you tear you can't tear anymore either but who really knows. What I do know is that the tear can move into your joint and that is what causes the catching. It does progress as far as I am concerned and no amount of PT has ever helped me. My doctor suggests surgery but it is a huge commitment.Just try to keep as strong as you can and maybe if you are lucky the muscles will take over and keep you fairly comfortable. I too am searching for answers other than surgery really.
Location: San Francisco, California, United States
Posts: 701
Re: Torn Hip Labrum
You can absolutely re-tear a labrum! You can also have hip surgery and later re-tear the labrum. You're right about seeing a hip doctor -- try to find one who specializes in hips only and who has done multiple hip arthroscopies, as opposed to just replacements. If you have an underlying bone morphology that contributed to the tear, it should be addressed during the surgery, too.
Push-ups and sit-ups are poor choices for anyone who has had a hip injury, even post-surgery. Also, no taking stairs two at a time, no three-inch heels (maybe not a consideration for you), and NO lunges. The two things you want to avoid are put your hip into a closed-seated position and putting your full body-weight through your hips, as you would do with planking or push-ups.
I suspect that running will irritate your back. Aqua-jogging or stationary biking (with the seat up high) are better options. I have a long-standing very sad right hip. I have also had an extruded disc at L4-L5, which the hip injury may have contributed to. I suspect that your lumbar/sciatica issue may be triggered by your hip injury.
Very recently, I went to a PT who was interested in getting to the bottom of my continuing back spasms. She put me in a partial-weight bearing treadmill and looked at my gait. I twist my back to hike up my bad hip, rather than striding through my gait naturally. She said she was glad to have analyzed my gait, because she and the other PTs had theorized the compensation I was displaying.
By the way, if you locate a great doctor, the sooner you have your hip repaired, the better your chance of full recovery. I went undiagnosed for 15 years, and by the time I had my third hip surgery, a little more than half of my labrum had detached from the bone.
You can absolutely re-tear a labrum! You can also have hip surgery and later re-tear the labrum. You're right about seeing a hip doctor -- try to find one who specializes in hips only and who has done multiple hip arthroscopies, as opposed to just replacements. If you have an underlying bone morphology that contributed to the tear, it should be addressed during the surgery, too.
Push-ups and sit-ups are poor choices for anyone who has had a hip injury, even post-surgery. Also, no taking stairs two at a time, no three-inch heels (maybe not a consideration for you), and NO lunges. The two things you want to avoid are put your hip into a closed-seated position and putting your full body-weight through your hips, as you would do with planking or push-ups.
I suspect that running will irritate your back. Aqua-jogging or stationary biking (with the seat up high) are better options. I have a long-standing very sad right hip. I have also had an extruded disc at L4-L5, which the hip injury may have contributed to. I suspect that your lumbar/sciatica issue may be triggered by your hip injury.
Very recently, I went to a PT who was interested in getting to the bottom of my continuing back spasms. She put me in a partial-weight bearing treadmill and looked at my gait. I twist my back to hike up my bad hip, rather than striding through my gait naturally. She said she was glad to have analyzed my gait, because she and the other PTs had theorized the compensation I was displaying.
By the way, if you locate a great doctor, the sooner you have your hip repaired, the better your chance of full recovery. I went undiagnosed for 15 years, and by the time I had my third hip surgery, a little more than half of my labrum had detached from the bone.
WOW, thank you sooooo much for that insight I really appreciate it. Gives me some comfort knowing that I am not crazy.
