What is a SLAP Tear?
Superior Labrum from Anterior to Posterior Tear
A SLAP Tear is a shoulder injury that often occurs because of repetitive overhead motion – a major contributor being the overhand throwing motion.
Specifically there is a separating of the labrum (the ring of cartilage that circles the shoulder socket and serves to deepen it – in the image above, it is labeled “Glenoid Lig.”) from the glenoid (shoulder socket – labeled “Glen. Fossa” in the image above) in front of and behind the point where the biceps tendon attaches to the the labrum.
How a SLAP Tear Affects Your Pitcher
Here is a very good video by Dr. Charles Metzger explaining what a SLAP tear is, how and why it affects the throwing athlete, how to test your shoulder and what you or your pitcher can do to avoid this shoulder injury.
This video is no longer available – it was hosted on brightcove.tv, which is no longer online. I’ve yet to find another video which does as good a job of explaining a SLAP tear as Dr. Metzger does. I will keep looking and post something when it becomes available. If you know of a suitable replacement, please leave a comment directing me to where it can be found. Thanks – Chris M.
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