Skip to Main Content
Make an Appointment

Shoulder Labral Tears

Causes, Symptoms, Treatments, & Other Resources

The labrum is a cartilaginous cup that circles the shallow shoulder socket (the glenoid) to make the socket deeper.  The labrum supports and stabilizes the shoulder joint.

Shoulder Labrum
Shoulder Labrum

Causes of Shoulder Labral Tears

Injury to the labrum typically occurs from repetitive trauma in overhead throwers, such as in baseball.  It can also occur from a traction injury to the arm, such as lifting a heavy object off the ground or getting your arm jerked.

A glenoid labrum is a soft tissue rim that helps deepen the socket of the shoulder joint. Shoulder separation may affect this area, causing pain and difficulty with movement. The labrum’s anatomy makes it susceptible to damage during certain types of movements.

Symptoms of Shoulder Labral Tears

Typical symptoms include pain in the front of the shoulder or deep inside the joint.

Arm Pain at Night

Arm pain at night can be miserable.  The pain can interrupt your sleep and erode your quality of life. Irritability becomes increasingly more common.  What are the causes?  When should I worry about it?  What are the treatment options for arm pain at night? The neck is composed of 7 boney building blocks numbered 1- 7. Sandwiched between the bones is a disc that functions as an important shock absorber. The cervical discs are susceptible to injury due to trauma, degeneration, repetitive motion, and surgery. Common disc injuries include disc bulges, and herniations. The injured disc can compress or irritate one or more nerves resulting in arm pain at night. It can…

Read More About Arm Pain at Night

Left Shoulder Blade Pain

Learn to know the symptoms and causes of shoulder blade pain as well as the diagnostic tests to run for it and its treatment options. Shoulder blade pain can be a common, annoying, hard to diagnose problem. There are many different causes of shoulder blade pain and the exact cause of the shoulder blade pain will determine what type of treatments would be recommended.

Read More About Left Shoulder Blade Pain

Muscle Spasm In Shoulder

A muscle spasm, also known as a muscle cramp, is a sudden and involuntary contraction or tightening of a muscle or group of muscles. This can occur in any part of the body but is most commonly experienced in the legs, arms, and back. These spasms can last for a few seconds up to many minutes. Occasional muscle spasms may not be something to worry about, but chronic muscle spasms can be a serious issue. In the shoulder, there are many muscles that can go into spasm. These spasms or cramps can cause pain, stiffness, and limited mobility.

Read More About Muscle Spasm In Shoulder

Shoulder Pain When Reaching Across Body

Shoulder pain can make simple chores almost impossible.  Have you ever reached for an object high on a shelf only to have pain that takes your breath away?  What causes shoulder pain when reaching across the body?  What is shoulder impingement?  What does shoulder impingement feel like?  Can a shoulder X-ray show shoulder impingement?  What are the treatment options for shoulder pain when reaching across the body? ulder impingement and rotator cuff injuries are among the most common causes of shoulder pain (1).  Both can cause shoulder pain when reaching across the body. Shoulder impingement is a painful condition in which the bursa and muscles of the shoulder are pinched or compressed. 

Read More About Shoulder Pain When Reaching Across Body

Shoulder Pain When Sleeping

There are several reasons why shoulder pain at night occurs or is aggravated; The common explanations include: Sleep typically involves a static position lasting hours at a time with little or no movement. Sleeping on your side places additional pressure on the tendons and bursa of the shoulder. Sleep can cause muscles and tendons to settle in a slightly different position resulting in additional pressure and reduced blood flow. Identifying the underlying problem is important!  This allows therapy to focus exclusively on the exact problem or problems.  When appropriate conservative care is always the first line of treatment.  Focus is typically on strengthening and improving range of motion. 

Read More About Shoulder Pain When Sleeping

Why Does My Shoulder Hurt When I Lift My Arm?

Shoulder pain can be very non-specific, meaning that multiple structures and issues can cause identical pain in the shoulder. Most shoulder examination maneuvers are very limited in their ability to assess exactly what the problem is.  With pain when lifting your shoulder, it is critical to take a detailed history, good examination, coupled with imaging to fully understand what is causing the shoulder pain.  Many conditions can present with these symptoms

Read More About Why Does My Shoulder Hurt When I Lift My Arm?

Treatment Options

Treatment options initially include physical therapy which is designed to restore range of motion and strength to the shoulder.  Often times shoulder arthroscopy is recommended where the damaged labrum is identified and then repaired using suture anchors to sew the labrum back in place.

Surgical Repair of Labrum
Surgical Repair of Labrum

At the Centeno-Schultz Clinic, we have developed x-ray guided techniques to safely inject the labrum.  Once a small needle is appropriately placed, we inject a very small amount of contrast(dye) to confirm accurate placement.  The x-ray pictures below illustrate the labrum being outlined with contrast. There are two pictures one of which is looking from the side where you can see the thin black line outlining the labrum and an oblique view in which you are looking down into the cup.

Oblique View of Labral Injection
Oblique View of Labral Injection

If a tear is present, a patient’s own bone marrow concentrate containing stem cells can then be injected.  Regenexx allows a patient to have their own expanded mesenchymal stem cells (MSC)  injected directly into the damaged area.  Mesenchymal stem cells within the bone marrow concentrate will differentiate into the cartilage which makes up the labrum.

Doctors Who Assist with Shoulder Labral Tears

Christopher J. Centeno, MD

Christopher J. Centeno, M.D. is an international expert and specialist in Interventional Orthopedics and the clinical use of bone marrow concentrate in orthopedics. He is board-certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation with a subspecialty of pain medicine through The American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Dr. Centeno is one of the few physicians in the world with extensive experience in the culture expansion of and clinical use of adult bone marrow concentrate to treat orthopedic injuries. His clinic incorporates a variety of revolutionary pain management techniques to bring its broad patient base relief and results. Dr. Centeno treats patients from all over the US who…

Read more

John Schultz, MD

John R. Schultz M.D. is a national expert and specialist in Interventional Orthopedics and the clinical use of bone marrow concentrate for orthopedic injuries. He is board certified in Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine and underwent fellowship training in both. Dr. Schultz has extensive experience with same day as well as culture expanded bone marrow concentrate and sees patients at the CSC Broomfield, Colorado Clinic, as well the Regenexx Clinic in Grand Cayman. Dr. Schultz emphasis is on the evaluation and treatment of thoracic and cervical disc, facet, nerve, and ligament injuries including the non-surgical treatment of Craniocervical instability (CCI). Dr. Schultz trained at George Washington School of…

Read more

John Pitts, M.D.

Dr. Pitts is originally from Chicago, IL but is a medical graduate of Vanderbilt School of Medicine in Nashville, TN. After Vanderbilt, he completed a residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) at Emory University in Atlanta, GA. The focus of PM&R is the restoration of function and quality of life. In residency, he gained much experience in musculoskeletal medicine, rehabilitation, spine, and sports medicine along with some regenerative medicine. He also gained significant experience in fluoroscopically guided spinal procedures and peripheral injections. However, Dr. Pitts wanted to broaden his skills and treatment options beyond the current typical standards of care.

Read more

Jason Markle, D.O.

Post-residency, Dr. Markle was selected to the Interventional Orthopedic Fellowship program at the Centeno-Schultz Clinic. During his fellowship, he gained significant experience in the new field of Interventional Orthopedics and regenerative medicine, honing his skills in advanced injection techniques into the spine and joints treating patients with autologous, bone marrow concentrate and platelet solutions. Dr. Markle then accepted a full-time attending physician position at the Centeno-Schultz Clinic, where he both treats patients and trains Interventional Orthopedics fellows. Dr. Markle is an active member of the Interventional Orthopedic Foundation and serves as a course instructor, where he trains physicians from around the world.

Read more

Brandon T. Money, D.O., M.S.

Dr. Money is an Indiana native who now proudly calls Colorado home. He attended medical school at Kansas City University and then returned to Indiana to complete a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation residency program at Indiana University, where he was trained on non-surgical methods to improve health and function as well as rehabilitative care following trauma, stroke, spinal cord injury, brain injury, etc. Dr. Money has been following the ideology behind Centeno-Schultz Clinic and Regenexx since he was in medical school, as he believed there had to be a better way to care for patients than the status quo. The human body has incredible healing capabilities…

Read more
Empty Spacer

Additional Resources for Shoulder Labrum Tears

  • How To Release A Pinched Nerve In The Shoulder

    A pinched nerve in the shoulder occurs when a nerve is compressed or irritated anywhere along its path, from the nerve root where it emerges from the cervical spine to the area in the shoulder it supplies. This can lead to shoulder pain, numbness, and pins and needles, and can even affect the movement of…


  • Treatment For A Torn Rotator Cuff Without Surgery: Exploring Your Options

    Welcome to the Guide for Rotator Cuff Tear Relief Without Surgery. Rotator cuff injuries affect millions of people globally (1). The incidence vastly increases with age. Irrespective of the cause, there are many treatment options for rotator cuff injuries apart from surgery. If you want to avoid rotator cuff surgery, you’re in the right place!…


  • When Not to have Rotator Cuff Surgery? Know Your Options

    It happened as you were playing racketball. There was loud pop followed by immediate pain. Moving your shoulder is almost impossible. What is the rotator cuff? What causes rotator cuff tears? What is rotator cuff surgery? When not to have rotator cuff surgery? Let’s dig in.What Is the Rotator Cuff? (4 Tendons) The rotator cuff…


  • KT Tape Shoulder: Facts You Need to Know!

    KT Tape is used extensively for shoulder injuries. Dr. Schultz discusses what KT tape is, what it is used for, how it helps shoulder pain, whether it really works and a better solution.


  • Rotater Cuff Tear Surgery

    Shoulder Pain Shoulder pain can come in many different forms and be caused by many different issues. Many structures exist in a small area making it more difficult to accurately diagnose what is causing pain without spending appropriate time to diagnose the issue. Common causes of shoulder pain include shoulder arthritis, acromioclavicular (AC) joint sprain…


  • MRI Images Showing Torn Rotator Cuff

    What Is the Rotator Cuff? The Rotator Cuff is a group of 4 principal muscles that stabilize and support the shoulder joint. The four muscles, and their attached tendons that comprise the Rotator Cuff are the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, subscapularis, and teres minor, and any of these could be where we could find Rotator Cuff tears.…


Ready to get help for your Shoulder Labral Tears?

Get Help