A common sports injury, hip acetabular labral tears are injuries to the cartilage "O-ring" around the acetabulum (hip cup). Often injured in high demand sports with twisting and cutting (like soccer, ice hockey, gymnastics), labral tears can also occur in other sports like running, tennis, snow sports, and even yoga! Labral tears cause pain and a pinching or clicking feeling in the groin region, and the pain is often worse when the hip is flexed up. This is likely due to the neck of the femur (the head side of the hip joint), catching and impacting on the front edge of the acetabulum (hip cup), resulting in so-called "femoroacetabular impingement", or FAI.
Persistent pain from a hip labral tear and FAI may sometimes require surgery. This surgery can now be performed arthroscopically using a keyhole technique. Acetabular labral repair and refixation is now one of the most common reasons for undergoing hip arthroscopic surgery.