Anterior glenoid labrum damage: a painful lesion in swimmers.

The diagnosis of swimmer's shoulder has long connoted a malady usually perceived to be impingement syndrome. However, as greater understanding of shoulder mechanics and diagnosis has been applied to the shoulder of swimmers, it is apparent that they too suffer from a variety of problems common to all overhead sports. This paper describes the functional instability problem of labral damage in the swimmer. Isolated labrum damage is part of a spectrum of anterior shoulder problems. This lesion is particularly disturbing to the swimmer, and its successful management through arthroscopic means is a boon. Correct diagnosis is paramount if a treatment is to be successful. The lesion in swimmers is described as well as its diagnosis by examination and computerized tomography (CT) arthrography.