My daughter is 52. She has been to a Dr. for a sore hip. she s telling me he said it was a lapal tear. she s not sure. could you tell me anything about this? She has had several injections, she said were cortisone shots. are the shots harmful, or are they using something different?
Hello and welcome, Probably she has labral tear of the hip. The hip labrum is a ring like soft tissue that surrounds the hip socket. It provides stability to the hip joint and lubrication for smooth hip movements. Labral tear of the hip usually presents with clicking sound on hip movements, stiffness and pain.  Corticosteroid injections in the hip joint (e.g. cortisone) are used as a strong anti-inflammatory medication to treat labral tear of the hip. They usually provide long term pain relief by decreasing swelling and helping smooth movements. Frequent corticosteroid injections in the hip joint may damage the joint cartilage.  It is recommended no more than 3 corticosteroid injections in the joint in a year to prevent the cartilage damage. Besides corticosteroid injections other hip joint injections such as platelet-rich plasma injections (PRP) are used provide effective care. Injections nearby tissues of the joint are also used to relieve a pain.Your daughter may also benefit from physical therapy. It helps to maximize hip range of motion and stability. In some cases surgery is indicated to treat labral tear of the hip.  I hope the above information will be helpful for you. Please, feel free to ask me if there is anything else you need to know. Thank you, Malik Among MD