Acetabular Labral Tears of the Hip in Women Devyani Hunt, MD * , John Clohisy, MD, Heidi Prather, DO Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, Washington University, 4921 Parkview Place, 6th floor, Campus Box 8605, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA The differential diagnosis of anterior hip, groin, and pelvic pain spans many health care specialties from gynecology to general surgery to muscu- loskeletal medicine and orthopedic surgery. The list of possible causes of pain and dysfunction is extensive. These include causes involving osseous structures and their related soft tissues, as well as pelvic and intraabdominal organs. Structural disorders involving the hip joint itself is a known cause of anterior hip and groin pain. However, many extraarticular structures should also be considered when attempting to elucidate structural and physiological causes of pain. Furthermore, secondary pain and dysfunction may be asso- ciated with the complex relationship among the pelvis, spine, and hip, further complicating the diagnostic process and the task of achieving a resolution. An increasing number of reports suggest acetabular labral tears to be a frequent cause of anterior hip and groin pain. Acetabular labral tears were first described in 1957 [1]. In the last decade, labral disease has been increasingly studied. In addition to hip arthroscopy, better technology related to imaging has been a significant factor in improving the recognition of labral tears. Despite these improvements, patients with labral tears commonly go undiagnosed for several months and patients are often seen by multiple health care providers before obtaining a definitive diagnosis [2,3]. The diagnosis may go unrecognized because the clinical presentation of labral tears varies, especially once secondary changes occur in associated structures, such as the pelvis, the sacroiliac joint, and the related pelvic-floor * Corresponding author. Department of Orthopedics, One Barnes Plaza, West Pavilion Suite 11300, St. Louis, MO 63110. E-mail address: huntdm@wudosis.wustl.edu (D. Hunt). 1047-9651/07/$ - see front matter Ó 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.pmr.2007.05.007 pmr.theclinics.com Phys Med Rehabil Clin N Am 18 (2007) 497–520