What does "globular appearance of the anterior inferior glenoid labrum suggesting chronic tear" mean? "arthgrom of shoulder performed". also says "no acuteor displaced labral tear is identified".

It : It really depends on your age. If you are over 50, it often represents early degenerative wear of the shoulder. If you are younger than age 40-45 with no history of arthritis in your shoulder, it is more indicative of an injury to the glenoid labrum. Your symptoms dictate whether you need further treatment; but clinical experience and data suggest that an mr arthrogram will not add to your care. If you are unable to do things you need or want to do and have tried measures including rest, over the counter medication and physical therapy, then seeing an experienced shoulder -elbow or sports medicine orthopaedic surgeon is the next step.

I : I am a physician. Sometimes even with a medical background, when I am receiving very much information at one time from my doctor, i may not remember some of the salient features. This is especially true if unfamiliar medical terms are being used. You are smart to inquire if there are issues you are uncertain about. An approach I use with some of my patients is to suggest that they write down their questions when they think of them. We can either review those questions at a patient care visit or sometimes over the phone. I hope that the information provided by the orthopedic surgeon was helpful.

It : It means exactly what it says. If you want someone to explain it to you in detail as it pertains to you, perhaps you should go back to the doctor who ordered the study for you?

Complicated but...: Sometimes when things tear, they can ball up and look globular. This often happens when something is chronic in nature. Just remember that the MRI is only one piece of the puzzle. You must correlated what the MRI shows to a good physical examination. Not everything listed on the MRI is always the cause of the pain. I would ask your physician to explain it more.