Hip arthroscopy can successfully treat conditions such as labral tears and femoroacetabular impingement, but recovery is not always immediate and not every patient experiences complete pain relief after surgery.
Hip labral tears can be difficult to diagnose because the labrum is a small, complex structure located deep within the hip joint. MRI is an important tool for evaluating labral pathology, but a normal or inconclusive MRI does not always explain away persistent hip symptoms.
A hip MRI can provide valuable information about a labral tear, but the size or description of a tear on a radiology report does not always tell the whole story.
A dancer with effortless range of motion and a sprinter built like a coiled spring may seem like opposites, but both can develop the same hip pain for opposite reasons.
Two athletes walk in with nearly identical MRI reports: a labral tear, some cartilage wear, mild impingement. One can barely walk without pain.
