Hip Labral Tear

A lot of things can keep you up at night. Hip pain shouldn’t.

Stiffness and pain from a hip labral tear can not only keep you from getting the rest your body needs — it can also keep you from going out and doing the activities you love. Whether you’re a marathon runner, or just want to walk up and down the stairs, hip pain shouldn’t get in your way.

And it doesn’t have to. The experts at Cleveland Clinic can help. We offer a wide range of treatments for pain and stiffness that can help you get back to doing what you want to do — without the painful ouch that often goes with hip pain.

Why Choose Cleveland Clinic for Hip Labrum Tear Treatment?

Collaborative care:

A team of specialists will go over your medical history and test results and listen closely as you describe your symptoms. Then they’ll work together to build the personalized treatment plan that meets your needs and goals. Meet our team.

Virtual visits:

Many of our providers offer virtual visits for routine appointments. You can meet with them from your smartphone, tablet or computer at a time and place that works for you.

Quality focus:

We’re constantly learning and improving the way we care for patients with hip labral tears. Each person we care for helps us improve the quality and efficiency of our care.

National recognition:

Cleveland Clinic is a trusted healthcare leader. We're recognized in the U.S. and throughout the world for our expertise and care.

Diagnosing Hip Labral Tears at Cleveland Clinic

During your diagnosis and treatment, you’ll work with a team of expert providers. They could include:

Primary care providers.
Musculoskeletal radiologists.
Orthopaedists.
Physician assistants.
Sports Medicine Specialists.

Our hip specialists will carefully review your symptoms and give you a physical exam. We’ll take a look at where your hip pain is, what triggers it and how it’s affecting your life and ability to do daily tasks.

We often do imaging scans to confirm a diagnosis of a torn labrum in your hip. These scans also help us find out what caused it. Some of the most common reasons for a hip labral tear can include:

An X-ray and MRI will help us take a close look at the bones, cartilage and other soft tissue in and around your hip joint. Our musculoskeletal radiology team will work with your other providers to plan your tests and make the whole diagnosis process as easy as possible for you.

Providers Who Treat Hip Labral Tears

Locations

Our healthcare providers see patients at convenient locations throughout Northeast Ohio, Florida and London.

Hip Labral Tear Treatment at Cleveland Clinic

While most tears don’t repair themselves without surgery, there are a variety of other therapies that can help relieve your symptoms. You and you provider will talk about the risks and benefits of each type of treatment before working together to craft a personalized treatment plan.

Hip labral tear treatment without surgery

If your provider thinks you don’t need surgery, they might recommend:

Corticosteroid injections: We may use X-ray or ultrasound to help guide corticosteroid injections directly into your hip joint. This treatment helps relieve pain and inflammation (swelling).
Pain management therapies: Over-the-counter (OTC) nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or opioids can help with hip pain. Your provider can also tell you about nonpharmacological (without drugs) options for pain relief.
Physical therapy: Our licensed physical therapists can help you regain strength and the ability to move your hip. They can help you make changes to the things you do regularly so you can move with less discomfort.

Hip labrum repair surgery

Our hip surgeons specialize in minimally invasive arthroscopic techniques. Hip arthroscopy can help relieve the symptoms of many labral tears without major open surgery, which requires one large incision (cut). Instead, we’ll create two or three tiny incisions near the joint.

We’ll use an arthroscope (lighted tube with a magnifying lens and video camera) and small instruments to operate on your hip labrum without damaging the surrounding tissues. You’ll likely recover faster and with less pain when you have this surgery. Most people are fully back to regular activities within six months. It’s important to note that if you have arthritis in your hip, hip labrum surgery isn’t typically an option because arthritis can’t be treated arthroscopically.

If you have a torn labrum because of hip dysplasia, though, your surgeon might need to do an open surgery to realign your pelvic bones.

Hip labrum reconstruction

Our surgeons will recommend hip labrum reconstruction only when your hip joint labrum and cartilage are so badly worn down that they can’t be repaired. During this surgery, we’ll trim away damaged cartilage and use a tendon graft (usually from a donor) to rebuild the labrum. We’ll then attach the new tissue to your hip socket to make it more stable. In most cases, we can do reconstruction arthroscopically.

Taking the Next Step

Don’t let a hip injury change the way you live your life. Personalized treatments for your hip labral tear can help you move more with less pain. And the expert providers at Cleveland Clinic are here — from testing to treatment and beyond.