Labral tears: understanding the significance of acetabular rim lesions

The expanded use of arthroscopic hip procedures in the late 1990s has led to an increased understanding of the pathophysiology of arthritic hip disorders. The management of early hip disease has become one of the new frontiers of sports medicine and early intervention in arthritis surgery. However, some misconceptions have arisen – for example, that labral tears commonly occur in isolation. The purpose of this paper is to shed light on some of these misconceptions.