So here's my story in a nutshell. I'm a collegiate tennis player. In september I started having shoulder pain in my right shoulder(serving arm) that I had never had before. I thought it was just overuse so i played through it in the fall season before taking a 3 month break which I thought would make it better. After the time off didnt work i went to a physical therapist who started treating me for impingement. The rehab never made my pain go away and it has persisted to today which is like 5-6 months. Last week I finally got an MRI(standard no dye) and it showed that I have a "small" tear in the labrum as well as a defect in the superior aspect of the glenoid. The thing about my pain is that the doctor I've been seeing doesn't feel that my pain is coming from the tear. She feels that for some or other reason my bodies mechanics have made my scapula unstable, which causes the impingement that I feel when I go over my head with my arm. The thing is, my pain is not unbearable. I basically only feel it as a pinch on the top whenever I serve the tennis ball or do overhead movements. Besides that its not that bad. I can still hit all of the other shots in my game freely without pain and sleep at night and basically exist normally (although i am concsious that my shoulder isn't right). And even the pain on my serve is such that I can play through it if I change my serve technique a bit. My tennis is extremely important to me and the thought of not finishing the season or possibly ruining next years season is horrible to me. When I read people's descriptions of the long and painful rehab proccess after surgery I wonder if its worth it in my case. The doc seems to think that If i do pt to stabalize my scapula and treat the impingement that my pain symptoms might go away, while in the meantime I would probably be ok at least finishing this season. The only thing I am worried about is that I could possibly tear my labrum more and make it that much worse or harder to repair. Like i said. the pain, though annoying is not that bad or debilitating, and i don't think I would want to make myself endure the recovery proccess if i don't need it. I guess im just wondering if i could possibly live pain free with a small Labrum tear as long as I am able to take care of the other symptoms ie impingement, unstable scaupla, body alignment and mechanics? My team and I personally could win a national title this or next year(even with my pain) and I would be devastated to have to ruin my college career. I meet with a surgeon tomorrow so I guess Ill know more soon. Im just kinda freaking out right now. Any thoughts?

I forgot to mention about the scapula thing that when the doctor stabalized my scapula manually (with her hands) i was able to have my full range of motion without pain. for real....it was like magic. It gives me some confidence in what she is saying. I guess for me I just would rather be really aggressive with pt and take as good care of my shoulder as I can (icing it, ultrasound and other kinds of stuff) rather than getting surgery and being out for 6 months to a year. Im a junior in college and i turn 21 next week. I probably am not good enough to be a pro so the next year and a half of college tennis will most likely be the most important and the end of my competitive career. Again, I am just wondering if it is possible to live with a posterior labral tear if i treat the other symptoms? What does the pain normally feel like from a labral tear? Anything to calm me down would be greatly appreciated.

I have a definite slap tear in my right shoulder that I have lived with for 8 years. When the shoulder was strong, I was an avid swimmer and rock climber without problems. I would really recommend you try strengthening and pt first.

Read this:
http://www.orthosupersite.com/view.asp?rid=23612

I, stupidly, just got another slap tear in my left shoulder. it's painful, but I am going the non operative route. I am trying to document my progress on this site...we'll see if that works out.

Kevin

Kevin, I'm interested to hear your progress. -Andy

I'm thinking I should make a blog of my progress -- I have this terrible problem with following through with what I think is a good idea.

My physical therapists thinks I have come a long way so far and my doc, who has his own slap tear he has managed non operatively, believes surgery is not necessary.

I love your site, but it really seems to be surgery focused. Maybe my little experiment will succeed--or I just end up demonstrating why your site is surgery focused

Kevin

Reading your post inspires me. It looks like it was posted over a month ago and I was just diagnosed.
I'm seriously thinking of taking the non-surgical route too. The physical therapist told me that those surgeries don't often give results which warrant having the surgery. I'm sure she sees alot more of those injuries that I do and has more experience.
After reading this board, it seems like post-op people have the same frozen shoulder problem and pain that I have!
I purchased a portable ultrasound machine online today after reading about it a bit. I'd like to try every possible thing first including going to a good masseuse before throwing in the towel.
I'll try to see if I can find more of your posts. If you decide to start a blog, and you read this please post so I can follow it. I'd be very interested to see your results.