The shoulder labrum is a ring of cartilage that provides structural support to the shoulder joint and is susceptible to being injured through overuse or trauma.
NYU Langone doctors design customized treatments plans based on the type and severity of shoulder labral tears, typically including rest, pain management, physical therapy and injections.
Stretching
The shoulder joint is a ball-and-socket arrangement in which the head of the humerus bone fits into a socket formed by its collarbone (clavicle) and shoulder blade (scapula). Due to its shallow socket, making it one of the more mobile joints in your body, and with repeated overhead motions such as those seen in baseball or tennis leading to overuse causing labral tears, which over time could become overused leading to shoulder instability and overuse leading to labral tears if overused due to overuse through sports such as baseball or tennis which cause repetitive overhead motions leading to overuse causing overuse leading to overuse causing overuse leading to overuse and eventual labral tear over time.
Perform shoulder exercises to increase range of motion and flexibility can help protect against future tears. Your doctor or physical therapist may suggest an exercise routine designed to gradually stretch and strengthen this area of the shoulder.
Stretching is a physical activity that involves deliberately expanding and contracting muscle groups to increase felt elasticity and achieve comfortable muscle tone. There are various kinds of stretching exercises, including static stretching which involves holding a position for 20-30 seconds at a time to improve flexibility and relax muscles after physical exercise; Static stretching works best after workouts to cool down muscles and promote flexibility; Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) exercises combine stretching with active contraction of target muscles to increase both flexibility and strength in one effective program.
Labral tear shoulder exercises to increase strength and range of motion may include side-lying shoulder flexion raises to alleviate stress on an injured labrum. To perform this stretch, lie on a flat surface with your hips and knees slightly bent; use one hand to reach across your body and grab your opposite elbow until a slight stretch occurs; hold this position for 30 seconds, repeat three sets with 10 to 12 repetitions each until all three sets have been completed.
Your physical therapist can design an exercise program using resistance training that will reduce stress on an injured labrum, including dumbbell exercises with light weights so as not to overstretch the injury. They’ll work closely with you in selecting an appropriate type of resistance and how much weight should be lifted.
Rotator Cuff Exercises
Rotator cuff muscles and tendons work to secure the humerus bone within its shoulder socket, so when they tear, other ligaments such as labrum can become strain and damaged as well. Though labral tears are painful, physical therapy and exercise will help strengthen shoulders to avoid further injury in the future.
Your doctor or physical therapist may suggest exercises to increase rotator cuff balance (known as scapular stability) and shoulder movement, including crossover arm stretch exercises such as this one which begins by standing in a neutral position and stretching the affected arm across your body in three sets of 20-30 repetitions multiple times weekly.
As another way of strengthening your rotator cuff in response to a labral tear, another good exercise for strengthening it is behind-the-back internal rotation. To perform it effectively, simply sit or stand with the affected arm in front of you and place it across your chest just below its elbow, using your non-affected arm’s hand as support in lifting up toward your back until its angle equals that of your affected one – an exercise which makes for excellent TV watching or desk work while not overstraining an already vulnerable shoulder!
Perform these exercises slowly at first to prevent further pain or damage to the shoulder or labrum. As your exercises become more comfortable, gradually increase intensity and repetitions until they feel right for you. As time progresses, light weight may be added but only up until the point that they impede performing an exercise safely.
Your physical therapist may give you exercises to regain the ability to raise your shoulder above your head without creating extra strain on the rotator cuff and labrum – this is particularly important if you rely on arms as part of your job, such as painters or construction workers.
Strengthening
The shoulder labrum is a ring of cartilage that helps support and stabilize the shoulder joint. It keeps the head of the humerus bone within its socket while also supporting rotator cuff muscles and tendons. A tear in this cartilage can cause significant pain when raising one arm overhead or engaging in sports that involve repeated overhead motions.
Labrum tears may be either traumatic or nontraumatic. Nontraumatic tears usually result from muscle weakness or shoulder joint instability. When these muscles support your shoulder joint but become weaker over time, more stress is placed on your labrum, increasing its susceptibility to tears. These tears can occur through falling onto outstretched hands, activities that involve repetitive overhead motion such as tennis, baseball, swimming or lifting heavy objects or through sporting accidents that lead to direct trauma to it like tennis, baseball or swimming.
Physical therapists can teach exercises to strengthen your shoulder and arm muscles, which in turn reduce stress on the labrum and allow it to heal more quickly. Your physical therapist may include strengthening exercises for the shoulder joint and shoulder-blade (scapular) muscles as well as balance/proprioception exercises in your shoulder.
Your therapist will begin with manual therapy, such as hands-on treatment and mobilizations of joints in your shoulder. They may then create a program designed to strengthen shoulder, arm, and back muscles to ease labrum stress while healing takes place. In addition, posture correction exercises or changes to work environments could also help reduce shoulder stress.
Your therapist will progress the scapular stability exercises, which may involve various positions from lying on your stomach to side-lying and sitting up exercises. Your therapist may incorporate rotator cuff strengthening exercises into their treatment program to further decrease shoulder pain and help protect against future injuries. They may use resistance bands to strengthen scapular stability and build rotator cuff strength. Example of scapular stabilization exercise is behind-the-back internal rotation. To perform it, lay on your bed or couch with one shoulder on top of a pillow while holding one end of a resistance band in one hand, using your other hand to lift and hold forward position for 30 seconds before repeating 10 times.
Surgery
The shoulder joint is a ball-and-socket arrangement, whereby your glenoid fossa (shoulder blade) fits into the head of your humerus (arm bone). A shoulder labrum acts as a ring of cartilage to increase depth of this socket and improve stability; when disrupted or frayed or torn it can cause pain as well as instability of this joint; labral tears often result from repetitive overhead reaching, throwing balls overhead, or sports that require raising your arm above head – in more severe instances it may result in impingement syndrome and chronic shoulder pain.
If conservative treatments fail to relieve your symptoms, your doctor may suggest surgery to repair the labrum. Arthroscopy surgery allows surgeons to make small incisions and view inside your shoulder joint using an arthroscope with camera attachment; during which, they use this thin tube with camera for viewing of damaged areas of the labrum before trimming or reattaching any sections that have become separated or frayed back onto its original location rim of socket of shoulder joint socket.
Bankart tears and SLAP tears are two forms of labral tears commonly observed in shoulders: Bankart tears occur in the front and bottom areas of your labrum near where the long biceps tendon attaches; these types of tears often accompany shoulder dislocations. A SLAP tear, on the other hand, occurs in the upper portion of your labrum and may pull on it, dislodging it from its attachment point on your humerus bone and leading to tendon detachments from it being detached from its origin point on humerus bone.
After surgery, your physical therapist will educate you on how to avoid stressing or straining the repaired labrum too much. They will teach you a range of exercises designed to move the shoulder without placing undue stress or pressure on it.
Your therapist will also instruct you in exercises designed to strengthen the shoulder muscles, including those found within the rotator cuff, which may help prevent labral tears in future shoulder labral tears from occurring. They’ll teach you good posture and scapular control techniques that enhance shoulder stability and aid recovery from shoulder labral tears.
