Dwight Howard’s Shoulder Injury: Why His Torn Labrum May Linger Until Offseason

The flare-up of Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard's torn shoulder labrum added insult to injury—or injury to insult, rather—following the Lakers' Wednesday night 106-93 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies (h/t CBSSports.com).

On Thursday, however, the Lakers received some good news, as according to Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times, Howard received clearance to play in the team's next game on Friday against the Utah Jazz.

Nevertheless, this is likely not the last time Lakers fans will hear about Howard's shoulder.

Howard suffered his original injury on Jan. 4—also against the Memphis Grizzlies—and re-aggravated it two days later, forcing him to sit out three games until Jan. 13. His most recent setback marks the second time his injury has forced him to the bench.

It also might not be the last.



Labral tears—similar to hamstring strains—tend to linger throughout a season. Yet while hamstring strains persist because the hamstring muscles are used with every single step an athlete takes, labral tears linger because they simply do not heal.

The labrum—like the nose, ears and knee meniscus—is made up of cartilage. As cartilage, the labrum's primary function is to help stabilize the shoulder joint. It does so by forming a deeper socket in which the head of the humerus—the bone of the upper arm—can sit.

For a better picture, imagine a golf ball sitting on a tee. The ball represents the head (top) of the humerus, and the tee represents the shallow shoulder socket made up by the glenoid—a part of the scapula (shoulder blade).



As many golfers know, a golf ball is very easily knocked from a tee, which in this analogy would represent a shoulder dislocation. The labrum is essentially an extra ring of tissue around the tee resembling a washer. It protects against dislocations by extending the surface ar...

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