Hip Impingement & Labral Tears

Hip Care at UVM Health

Hip impingement occurs when the shape of your hip bone develops irregularly during adolescence. As you move, you may experience deep groin pain or restricted movements. Over time, the strong, fibrous cartilage that surrounds your hip joint (labrum) may tear. These injuries are called labral tears.

At University of Vermont Health, our hip specialists provide a full range of treatments for hip impingement and labral tears. Our team has specialized training in hip arthroscopy, a minimally invasive procedure that can restore your function and relieve pain.

Why Choose UVM Health?

With every treatment we have one goal in mind: to help you return to the activities you love, with less pain. As one of the leading orthopedic programs in the region, we offer:

Experience and skill: We perform more hip arthroscopies than anyone else in the region. You can trust your care to our surgeons’ experience and expertise.
Advanced training: Our surgeons have received fellowship training at some of the nation's top hip arthroscopy programs. This subspecialized expertise allows us to bring you the most advanced level of care available for hip impingement and labral tears.
Research emphasis: As part of a health system anchored by an academic medical center, our physicians are active researchers, many of whom are training the next generation of experts. We continually stay up to date on the newest treatment options, bringing you leading-edge therapies as soon as they become available.

Types of Hip Labral Tears

The type of labral tear you have depends on where the tear occurs. There are two types:

Anterior hip labral tear: These tears affect the front of your hip joint. They’re usually caused by repetitive hip motions, such as the motions common in golf, ballet or hockey.
Posterior hip labral tear: These tears affect the back of your hip joint. They’re more likely to occur after a traumatic injury, such as a fall, sports injury or car accident.

Symptoms of Hip Impingement & Labral Tears

The most common sign of hip impingement or a labral tear is hip pain. The pain may worsen when you exercise, rotate your hip or bend forward. You may also experience:

Clicking sounds or sensations in the hip joint
Groin pain
Stiffness
Unsteadiness

Diagnosing Hip Impingement & Labral Tears

Our specialists provide thorough evaluations to get to the root cause of your hip pain. We use an array of tools to accurately diagnose hip impingement and labral tears, including:

Health history: We ask about your symptoms, including how long you’ve experienced pain, what worsens symptoms and what (if anything) relieves them. Your provider will also ask about your family history, past injuries, activities and other health conditions.
Physical exam: We thoroughly assess your hip, looking for pain, gait problems or tenderness. Your provider may also use hands-on tests that evaluate your range of motion and test whether certain movements cause pain.
Diagnostic injections: Sometimes we use ultrasound guidance to inject a small amount of numbing medication into your hip joint. If the medication relieves your symptoms, it could confirm that you have hip impingement.
Imaging: Tests such as X-rays and MRIs can give us a detailed picture of your bones and soft tissues. We’ll look for labral damage that could point to hip impingement.