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Labral Tears
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The labrum is a lip of
cartilage that goes around the rim of the glenoid, or saucer portion of the
ball-and-saucer shoulder joint. The presence of the labrum helps to deepen
the saucer and therefore provide some stability to the joint. Also, this is
the structure through which ligaments that connect the ball and saucer to each
other pass. Consequently, when there is a tear in the labrum, the shoulder
joint can become unstable. Also, the labral tear can itself be painful. |
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Labral tears can be
difficult to diagnose, even with the latest imaging techniques such as MRI.
Sometimes they can only be suspected and not reliably diagnosed until actual
inspection of the joint through arthroscopic surgery. Fortunately, most labral
tears are amenable to being addressed through arthroscopic surgical
techniques, in the hands of those surgeons skilled in arthroscopic surgery.
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