What are the signs and symptoms of a SLAP tear?
Usually people complain of deep anterior pain or a feeling of instability in the shoulder. It is made worse when they put the arm into the “cocked position” ready to throw. Some may complain of pain in the shoulder on lifting heavy objects. A clicking sound and sensation may also be heard when trying to throw. How is the diagnosis made? Physical Examination Patients will often point to their pain occuring deep within the shoulder socket and at the back of the shoulder- rather than along the side of the arm which is more common in rotator cuff tendonitis. MRI MRI scans are typically used to evaluate the labrum. MRI was 59% sensitive and 85% specific for labral pathology using the arthroscopic examination as the gold standard. Physical examination was 90% sensitive and 85% specific for labral pathology in the same group of patients. By injecting dye (gadolinium) into the shoulder, the accuracy increases for the MRI. The sensitivity of enhanced MRI was 96% compared to 46% sensitivity of u
