Groin pain that lingers after your hip takes a hit
How a hip preservation specialist and a physical therapist see it
The hip labrum is a ring of cartilage around the hip socket. It helps keep the ball at the top of the thighbone sealed in the joint. A hard blow or twist can damage it. Symptoms may include deep groin pain, catching and pain when the hip rotates. Some people have a labral tear with no symptoms at all. After a serious crash, the first job is to be sure no broken bone or dislocation was missed. [1, 2]
Pinpoint where it hurts
Tell your doctor if the pain is in your groin, the outside of your hip, your buttock or your back. Note what happens when you get into a car, bend to put on shoes or turn on the leg. Ask what the exam and the first images showed. [1]
A specialist may order an MRI if your symptoms and exam point to the labrum. Ask how the result fits with what you can’t do day to day. Find out, too, whether another condition could explain those limits. [1]
Test a plan with clear markers
Some people get better with changes in activity and physical therapy. A therapist can help restore movement and hip strength without setting off catching pain again and again. Agree on specific measures, like how long you can sit or how easily you get in and out of a car. [1]
Pain may still hold you back after a fair trial. If so, ask whether an injection, more imaging or hip arthroscopy would tell you something useful. The decision on surgery rests on your symptoms and how well you function. An image alone can’t settle it. [1]
Return if the pattern changes
Questions to raise with your hip team
- Did my tests rule out a fracture and a dislocation?
- Does my exam fit a labrum problem?
- What change would make another treatment worth trying?
Track one trigger and one goal
Keep notes on one movement that sets off the pain. Add one daily task you want to be able to do again. [1]
Sources and further reading
- 1Hospital for Special Surgery hip labral tear
- 2American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons hip dislocation
General information from the fields of hip preservation and physical therapy. A labral tear is one possible cause of groin pain that won’t go away. Seeing a tear on a scan is not enough to prove it causes the pain or that surgery is needed.
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