I’ve torn my rotator cuff and hurt my back.  I’m all better now.  Being a runner, I worry about hurting my back again, an Achilles injury and very painful Labrum tears.  Let’s talk about that one and how it relates to Illinois workers’ comp.

Labrum tears happen in the Shoulder and the hip. In the shoulder, the labrum is a cartilage disc attached to the socket of the shoulder. The labrum surrounds the socket and helps to stabilize your upper arm bone with in the joint. In the hip joint, the labral follows the outside rim of the hip socket and also stabilizes your thighbone in the joint.

Shoulder injuries of this type can happen at work by falling on your arm, a direct blow to your shoulder, a sudden pull when picking up a heavy item or even by trying to stabilize yourself during a fall.  Some common symptoms of this type of injury are first of all pain. If your shoulder is hurting, catching, making noises, and you feel a loss of strength, range of motion or it just feels unstable, you may have a labrum tear.  If you fell down and your arm dislocated— then the ball of the shoulder actually pushed the labrum off of the socket. This is called a Bankart or Perthes lesion.

If you believe you have a torn labrum due to an injury at work, you should first call a doctor. They will do some physical tests as well as x-rays. Some may also order a CT or an MRI scan to help look for the tear. Once a tear is found, the treatment could include anything from physical rehabilitation, to surgery to repair the damage.  If surgery is required you may require 12 weeks recovery time although if you use your arm a ton it could be months.  If you are a baseball pitcher it could end your career.

Hip injuries of this type can be caused by similar accidents at work. If you have fallen on your hip, or even if you do repetitive motions like twisting you could be at risk for a labrum tear of the hip. The symptoms are similar as well. Pain, grinding and other noises, limited range of motion are all indicators that you should see a doctor. The doctor will order x-rays, and sometimes CT Scans and an MRI to diagnose the tear. Once the tear has been found, you may be able to resolve the issue with basic physical therapy or you may also need surgery to repair or replace the torn piece of labrum. This type of surgery could require 8-12 weeks of recovery time or more.

If you have injured your  hip or your shoulder at work, make sure you go to the doctor. It is very important you explain your injury happened at work. From there it’s important to get timely treatment so your injury doesn’t get worse.

Questions? Are you bored by this?  We study the medicine so we can give you the best representation possible. If you’d like our help please call us at (312) 346-5578. We help with work injuries all over Illinois.