Labrum tear in shoulder

The short answer is no, it can't. Acupuncture may help with pain relief, but should not improve the defective labrum. Since pain relief and not alteration in shoulder function is usually the issue, acupuncture is worth a try, though.

Jonblank: Thank you for the quick reply. Re. your answer, do you know this from experience? According to my doctor, the MRI revealed a tear. It may not be "shoulder alteration," but it has altered me. If I do over the head activity, it hurts. Therefore, it is not only pain, but I believe it needs to be repaired whether by orthoscoptic surgery or acupuncture or whatever...so I can resume the overhead activities. ece

Accupuncture will not repair a torn labrum.

gull80: Thank you. Like me, are you assuming this or do you know this from experience? ece

I am a physician (but not an orthopedist). Check out this link: www.physsportsmed.com/.../richards.htm Two years ago I had an MRI (without an arthrogram) which did not show a tear, and eventually I "recovered" with physicial therapy. However, I suspect (but cannot prove) that I had a small tear of the labrum which was missed by the MRI (and healed with conservative/nonsurgical treatment).

I had a glenoid labrum tear in the late 80's. There was a long loose flap that would get caught in the joint when I moved my arm. My shoulder also subluxed and it was very painful to swim as each freestyle stroke entry my arm would start slipping out of the socket. Had reconstructive surgery. It took a while to recover even with extensive physical therapy and I had to have a followup procedure to remove a loose screw a year later. Had dramatic improvement from the surgery especially after the screw was removed. With the original injury, I could not raise my arm more than a foot away from my side. A couple of days on some anti-inflammatories and I regained full range of motion, but still had pain due to the derangement. Not all tears are the same. I would think acupuncture's effects would be limited to pain relief and perhaps reducing inflammation.

Hello: Like you, I fell outstreched arm and had immediate tightness on swim and post pain; first consult PT thought labrum tear; how long should I wait to see if it improves (it's been three weeks); can not imagine life without ocean swims! How are you now after much time has passed post surgury? I am 59, surfer/ocean swimmer live in HI. 1031group@gmail.com

IMHO A Labrum tear in shoulder can not be healed with acupuncture. Have you ever met someone with one confirmed by an MRI, treated solely with acupuncture and have it healed and confirmed by an MRI? Acupuncture may resolve the pain (don't know this by experience just what some people have said), but it doesn't reattach/repair cartilage. Regardless, I wish you a quick recovery.

I have a labral tear in my shoulder and am facing surgery in a few weeks. I've tried rest, ice, heat, long hot soaks in a bath tub, physical therapy and acupuncture. The physical therapy just aggravated the injury even further. The acupuncture has helped the pain and inflammation immensely! I think acupuncture works for some folks and maybe not for others. My acupuncturist agrees with my orthopedist and physical therapist in that the torn labrum will not heal itself. All the research I've done to date points to surgery. I'm not looking forward to it, but I am looking forward to being able to swim without agonizing pain again one day.

I have a labral tear in my shoulder and am facing surgery in a few weeks. I've tried rest, ice, heat, long hot soaks in a bath tub, physical therapy and acupuncture. The physical therapy just aggravated the injury even further. The acupuncture has helped the pain and inflammation immensely! I think acupuncture works for some folks and maybe not for others. My acupuncturist agrees with my orthopedist and physical therapist in that the torn labrum will not heal itself. All the research I've done to date points to surgery. I'm not looking forward to it, but I am looking forward to being able to swim without agonizing pain again one day. I wish you the best. I go in for surgery in 2 days. At this point it does not appear I have a labral tear so my surgery is to relieve an impingement. If he finds more he'll fix it while he is in there. Have you checked UTube for videos of the surgery that might be performed on you? You may find them helpful (if you are not the squeamish type). Surgery is never fun, but I have been lucky enough to have had some great results in the past.