You might have heard about muscle and tendon tears as they are common sports injuries, but wouldn’t expect to find a cartilage tear, and that is what a SLAP tear is. SLAP stands for Superior Labrum tear from Anterior to Posterior, and in this article, you will learn what the labrum cartilage is, why is it commonly torn, and the surgical options made to fix the problem.

Defining labrum and SLAP tear
The labrum is a cartilage structure you can find in your shoulder articulation. To create this joint, the head of the upper arm bone fits into a socket located in the shoulder blade. The labrum is a ring-shaped fibrous tissue that surrounds the edge of the socket and provides stability to the shoulder joint. It’s also important because it receives a series of ligaments from the shoulder joint and one tendon from the biceps.
The biceps tendon attaches to the upper part of the labrum, and that’s the area commonly involved with a SLAP tear. As the name implies, it is a tear to the superior (upper) portion of the labrum, where the biceps tendon lies. It commonly affects the anterior (front) and posterior (back) portion of the attachment point, but sometimes it may also compromise the biceps tendon itself.

Why does it happen?
There are two main mechanisms of injury for a SLAP tear. It may result from repetitive microtrauma to the shoulder articulation or a major traumatic event causing a violent rupture. Falling with an outstretched arm, enduring a shoulder dislocation, and performing forceful motions with the arms placed above your shoulder are all situations that may increase the risk for a SLAP tear.
Thus, athletes who need to perform repetitive overhead motions such as weightlifting and throwing competitions may experience a SLAP tear as a result of an incorrect technique or excessive loads.
On the other hand, many senior patients may experience progressive wear down of this ring-shaped cartilage. A fragile labrum in patients over the age of 40 years old would be susceptible to tearing without significant trauma or heavy loads.

Surgical repair of a SLAP injury
In many cases, a SLAP injury might improve with over-the-counter medications such as painkillers to reduce swelling. You might also be recommended to rest your shoulder and perform rehabilitation movements and physical therapy.
However, when the pain does not improve after this conservative treatment, there are surgical options to fix a SLAP injury. The most common technique is arthroscopy, a surgical repair with very small incisions to insert a small set of instrument and a camera in your shoulder joint.
To repair the lesion, your doctor might need to reattach the torn portion or remove part of the labrum. He might or might not need to cut a part of the biceps tendon. It will all depend on the type of SLAP tear, and the only way to know for sure is after seeing the articulation and the real damage through the arthroscopic camera.
After surgery, you will need to rest your shoulder articulation for up to 4 weeks, and then you will start a physical therapy specially designed to regain flexibility in the shoulder and allow athletes to return to their sporting activities as soon as possible. If you are looking for a specialized shoulder surgeon in, call our office to schedule an appointment with Dr. Jeffrey Katzell, MD at 561-642-1219.