I was just wondering if any other DDN'ers have ever had a labral tear, and how you dealt with it. What my orthopedist originally thought was just my bone turned out to be a small tear in my labrum, as discovered through my MRI. It doesn't hurt at all, but it uncomfortable when my leg is extended a la seconde (from about 80 degrees upwards).

I've heard/read about arthroscopic surgery for labral tears, but mine isn't that bad, as my doctor did not even discuss surgery with me. However, spring semester of school starts up on January 17th, and I'm taking 2 dance classes for credit. I needed another unit for next semester, and dance was my only option. If you've had a labral tear, how do you prevent yourself from further injury/injuring yourself again when you're dancing a lot? I'm doing physical therapy now 3x a week, but once school starts up again, I won't be able to go.

I have had two labral tears - one in each hip, and have recently undergone arthroscopy for the second hip. My tears were quite large and I also had FAI. After the initial injury (A jump in over split) it was approximately three months until anyone suspected a tear. One showed on MRI, the other didnt. The one that didnt ended up being larger than the one that did - it was almost a relief to know that I wasnt imagining things!! I danced for a year with the tears. Whilst I was somewhat limited, I could still jete to my hearts content and have my legs hanging round my head no problem. Im unsure as to whether I may have done more damage this way, but I refused to become inactive. I feel my biggest problem was sitting for long periods of time, but that probably came more from the impingement. Needless to say the sharp pain and catching became very irritating. I had a few unsuccessful cortisone injections and surgery was suggested about a year after the injury. Throughout the time I was dancing, I had plenty of PT. Although it didnt ease the pain from the tear, it was wonderful in that it helped me to strengthen the muscles around the joint. I cannot stress how important it is to routinely stretch the hip flexors - I was constantly using these to compensate for the strength I didnt have and they constantly got so tight and sore. If you find you cant go to PT because of other commitments, you will still be able to stretch and strengthen. Due to the poor blood supply to the labrum, tears to this structure often do not heal. Yours thankfully is only small, so it may potentially heal without any intervention. You could try cortisone injections, although as stated they didnt work for me. If worst comes to the worst and you do require arthroscopy - do not fret! In both instances I have experienced very little pain and was back excersising within a month. I had the full deal - repair and osteochondroplasty. I wish you all the best - it's such a frustrating injury to deal with because no one quite knows how to treat it successfully and sonservatively.

Good luck!!