Labrum, or to be more precise, labrum cartilage is that rim of soft bone around the shoulder socket. Its main function is to cushion the head of the humerus in to the shoulder joint. A tear in this area causes the human body to develop superior labrum anterior posterior lesion, or SLAP lesion in short.
This in turn, causes the shoulder to become unstable and if this condition continues, the shoulder eventually becomes dislocated. In this case, one of the ways of repairing the shoulder damage is through surgery: SLAP surgery. However, this is not the only singular process to healing.
There is a long, long recovery period that entails several grueling sessions of physical therapy afterwards, a lot of medications, and more visits to the doctor. You may not know it, but our shoulders may be one of the most abused body parts that we have.
We tend to over exert our shoulder muscles, often thinking that we are impervious to pain. However, like all muscles in our body, shoulders can be subjected to stress, damage and deterioration. One shoulder, however innocuous it may seem, is comprised of three bone structures, four bands of different muscle groups, and a host of tendons. All these are necessary for the simple process of shrugging one’s shoulders, to lifting heavy weights, to swimming the back stroke. Any damage to any one of these (i.e. a hairline fracture on one of the bones, or a tear to one of the muscles or tendons) can affect one’s range of movements. When any type of damage goes unchecked, it can create a lesion (or in extreme cases, layers of lesions) on the bone, muscle and tendon.
Lesions are abnormal tissue growths that surround any damaged area in the body. These are the ones that hamper normal muscle movement and can be very, very painful.
Since we are talking about labrum surgery, we may as well define what a labrum is. Labrum, or to be more precise, labrum cartilage is that rim of soft bone around the shoulder socket. Its main function is to cushion the head of the upper arm bone (called the humerus) in to the shoulder joint.
When there is damage to the shoulder, the more lesions you have, the more likely you will damage other areas surrounding the damage. This increases the possibility of eventually tearing the labrum itself. A tear in this area causes the human body to develop superior labrum anterior posterior lesion, or SLAP lesion in short. This in turn, causes the shoulder to become unstable and if this condition continues, the shoulder eventually becomes dislocated. Needless to say, this is a very painful condition.
In this case, one of the ways of repairing the shoulder damage is through surgery: SLAP surgery. However, this is not the only singular process to healing. There is a long, long recovery period that entails several grueling sessions of physical therapy afterwards, a lot of medications, and more visits to the doctor.
There are many types of labrum cartilage injury, and this means that surgery can be a simple process of chipping away excessive bone growth, to a full and complex process of cartilage suturing. Nevertheless, the basic procedure goes: bone and labrum are roughened to promote bone re-growth. Locations for the bone anchors are selected. The number of bone anchors to be surgically implanted depends on the severity of the damage in the first place. Often, one anchor is enough. Severe cases can have as much as 3 to 5. Bone is grilled and the anchors are implanted, and surgically sutured to remain in place.
The recovery process is a slow, stage by stage process. The first (and most rational) stage is to le the bones heal without adding further stress. Individuals are kept on slings (immobilizing slings) for a period of time – and this time is dependent on the injury, the extent of the surgery and of course, the health of the individual. The second stage is physical therapy, and this too is dependent on the three factors stated above; thereby, each case is different from one individual to the other. The third stage is about physical therapy with strength training. Most individuals reach the fourth stage – the complete recovery of the shoulder area, and the return of full movement without pain – in about a couple of years.
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