SLAP Tears in Volleyball Players

Volleyball, softball, and baseball are the most thought of sports when someone mentions “overhead sports.” With that being said, they are well known for injuries pertaining to the upper body, especially the shoulder. The elbow and wrist/hand joints are not out of thought but their injuries are less likely to be as devastating in comparison to the shoulder which houses a much larger amount of tendons, ligaments, muscles, and a greater number of joints overall. As mentioned in my first blog, shoulder impingement is an injury that is notable but it fails in comparison to a SLAP lesion in the shoulder.

SLAP stands for “Superior Labrum Anterior and Posterior” in which the labrum, the cartilage that cushions the shoulder joint, develops a tear.1 The humerus bone fits into the socket of the shoulder where the labrum stabilizes that end of the bone and allows the shoulder to move in all ranges of motion.1 SLAP tears mean that the top (superior) area of the labrum develops a tear and that tear occurs in the front (anterior) and back (posterior) portions.1 These injuries can develop by chronic repetitive motion of the shoulder, falling on an outstretched arm, or a shoulder dislocation, just to name a few possibilities.1

Common signs and symptoms that develop from this tear can be severe pain, popping or clicking in the joint, decreased shoulder strength, lack of range of motion, or the feeling that the shoulder is going to pop out of place.1 The best way to diagnose a SLAP tear is by a medical examination by a doctor which is usually followed by an x-ray and/or MRI imaging to get a better look at the joint.1, 2 The doctor’s examination includes a variety of tests to check strength, stability, and the range of motion that the shoulder can withstand.1

Treatment options can either be surgical or non-surgical depending on the location and severity of the SLAP tear.1, 2 The non-surgical approach focuses on medicine to decrease pain and inflammation alongside physical therapy to regain strength and range of motion to the surrounding muscles of the joint.1 The surgery option, arthroscopy, allows the doctor to make tiny incisions and by using a small camera and tools they can repair the tear.1, 2 Surgery is then followed by weeks of physical therapy and most of the patients return to their normal routines and activities about 3 months postoperative.1, 2

In conclusion, SLAP tears are not the type of injury you want to mess around with or delay getting the right route of treatment. It is best to find out sooner than later otherwise you could end up delaying your recovery time, or worse, you could increase the severity of the injury.

References:

1. SLAP Tears-OrthoInfo - AAOS. (2011, August 1). Retrieved October 30, 2015, from http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00627
2. William, S. (2010). SLAP Lesions of the Shoulder - SportsMedicineDr.com - Orthopedics and Sports Medicine. Retrieved October 30, 2015, from http://sportsmedicinedr.com/articles/slap_shoulder.htm