About SLAP Tear

SLAP “Superior Labral Tear from anterior to posterior” is a shoulder injury. In medical terms, it is an injury to the glenoid labrum which is the fibrocartilaginous rim attached around the margin of the glenoid cavity. SLAP injuries generally require surgery for recovery.

Cause of SLAP Tear 

People in sports that use the repeated shoulder motion are very much exposed to this type of injury. The various other causes associated with the SLAP Tear are:

  • Wear and Tear of the labrum due to various repetitive motions like in playing sports.
  • Other Shoulder Injuries or conditions like shoulder dislocation
  • Acute trauma from a motor vehicle accident
  • Hard hit to an outstretched arm In accidents or falls

About SLAP Tear

Symptoms of SLAP Tear 

Shoulder weakness and pain are the common symptoms. The other associated symptoms are:

  • Minor but exhausting pain in the shoulder joint in day today activities
  • Pain and inability to perform overhead active movements
  • Difficulty sleeping on sides because of discomfort.
  • Shoulder drop
  • Locking, cracking or popping sounds from shoulder movement

Diagnosis of SLAP Tear

There are twelve types (Type I – Type XII) of SLAP injuries, which have been described. All of which conditionally go through the following diagnosis procedure:

  • Physical examination which may include moving the arms in various positions and angles.
  • X-Rays to rule out possibility of factures.
  • MRIs to find out significant tissue stretch and tear or to check if the tissues are totally destroyed.

SLAP Tear treatment

Depending up on the injury, the initial treatment could be non surgical. An Upper Limb specialist may recommend medication to relieve pain which must be followed by physical therapy exercises.

Still majority of all SLAP injuries have to be treated surgically. An Arthroscopic surgery may be suggested for the damage repair. In this an arthroscopic camera is inserted into the shoulder by making a small cut over it. The injury is then treated by repairing the tear with help of sutures. The SLAP tear surgery has a very good success rate with up to 94%.

A SLAP injury may occur along with other shoulder injuries, which may require surgery. Ignoring a significant SLAP injury could cause further injury and hence the self healing option is to be avoided and an expert upper limb specialist’s treatment should be sought.

Recovery after SLAP Tear treatment

The major factors for SLAPrecovery are

  • Proper medication
  • Physiotherapy
  • Regular follow-ups

The physiotherapy will always be important and unavoidable in such injuries. It helps practice the movement of the shoulder to gain back its normal movement. A guided and experiences therapy is significant in each such case for quick and full recovery.

DR PARTH AGRAWAL at PLS WRITE THE COMMON LINE WHICH U HAVE WRITTEN FOR EVERYONE ELSEThe Upper Limb Clinic, Thane west, is dedicated clinic for all diseases related to Knee, Hand, Shoulder, Elbow and Wrist. Contact us today for SLAP Tearto get better and accurate treatment.