Lake Charles Dr Geoffrey Collins and Dr John Noble

At Lake Charles Orthopaedics, the doctors seek to provide cutting edge orthopedic care in a friendly environment. Our physician believe in developing long-term relationships with their patients. The Lake Charles physicians work hard to ensure that their patients understand their condition and work together with them to achieve the best possible outcome.

The physician will first take a history of the patient's injury in order to learn how it occurred. As mentioned earlier, the pain from a labral tear is located at the site of the injury, and is usually referred to as being deep inside the shoulder. A thorough physical exam may reveal other sources of injury or another disorder. During a physical examination of the shoulder:

the physician will measure motion to reveal any stiffness, which can be a sign of a labral tear.

an instability exam will be performed.

the O'Brien's test which focuses on the biceps and reveals pain, can help diagnose a labral tear.

X-rays will rule out other problems such as arthritis, fracture, impingement, or malignancy.

The confirming test for a labral tear is an MRI preceded by an arthrogram. This procedure greatly enhances the diagnostic accuracy by allowing tears of the labrum to be seen more clearly.