Shoulder Labrum Tear Treatment – Miami, FL

4960 Southwest 72nd Avenue, Suite 408 Miami, FL 33155

The labrum is a cup-shape rim of cartilage that lines and reinforces the ball-and-socket joint of the shoulder. It’s the lip of the socket of the ball and socket joint. It helps to connect the socket part of the scapula with the head of the humerus. It makes the socket deeper, creating space for the bones to move, and coats the surface of the socket area with soft cartilage, enabling the shoulder to move more freely and painlessly.

A shoulder labrum tear can be caused by a direct injury to the shoulder or as the result of prolonged wear and tear.1 While labral tears can occur in big traumas, like a car crash or a serious fall, shoulder instability is a cause often missed. 2 Instability can slowly increase after an old injury or a seemingly less traumatic event.

Imagine that the ball of the humerus is a bowling ball and that the labrum a barrier between the lane and gutter.  When the shoulder is stable, the ball stays on the lane. When the shoulder is unstable, the ball continuously goes towards the gutter and hits the barrier (labrum).

Shoulder joint anatomy highlighting the labrum
Labrum – shoulder joint anatomy

The common surgical intervention for labral tears often involves an invasive procedure to reattach the biceps tendon at another location. Labral repair tends to be followed by a long, painful recovery with extensive physical therapy — often with no improvement in mobility and function. Also, labrum surgery frequently fails to address the subtle instability of the shoulder joint that caused the tear, so the shoulder remains unstable and subsequent injuries may occur. 

There has only been one high-level study that compared surgical labral repair compared against a fake surgery. It did not show any difference in outcome between the labral repair surgery and the fake procedure 3. In another study looking at posterior shoulder instability, surgery edged out physical therapy, but the patients knew what procedure they were getting 4. We don’t have much solid evidence that a shoulder labral repair procedure works.

4960 Southwest 72nd Avenue
Suite 408
Miami, FL 33155

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Doctors

Dan Marin, MD grew up as an athlete in the outdoor sunshine, playing every stick and ball sport possible as a kid. When not doing that he was fishing and diving in the South Florida Paradise.

His fascination with this environment, lead him to high school at MAST Academy where he excelled in Science and Math. In sport, he migrated toward rowing where he was a stand out leader and athlete. He was recruited to row in college, and was a division, 1A varsity collegiate rower at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts.

His interest in science and the human condition led him to obtain his first degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Miami, where his lab work focused on protein analysis of intercellular GAP junctions. He wanted to be engaged with humans and science, which drove him to medical school at the University of Miami, where he was accepted and matriculated.

His interest in the surgical and medical side of being a physician led him to a transitional internship at Yale New Haven Hospital.

His interest in sport, biomechanics, and treating “the whole human” led him to residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, where he excelled and was elected Chief by his peers and faculty.

Spending much time as a resident at the world renowned Emory Orthopedic & Spine Center, and being exposed to mentors like Michael Schaufele MD and Kenneth Mautner MD, led him to a fellowship and career focusing on Interventional Spine, Sports and Non-Operative Care. While there he performed and published research in the area of outpatient interventional outcomes and safety.

Eventually, after being a faculty member at the University of South Florida in the Department of Neurosurgery, as well as consulting and in development of the arena of the human component in Motorsport; he and his wife moved back to South Florida where Dr. Marin, began private practice. Here he had the great opportunity to form a clinic based the musculoskeletal model/ chain, of which we all naturally live by. This was the foundation of ProformMD.

Dr Marin believes “deep down, we are all athletes, our cells/ body, want us to exercise, and this is the key to longevity… it’s our job as clinicians to provide the tools and remove obstacles for our patients to meet their goals and live better.” His professional directive has been to build an environment with all the highest quality professionals to accomplish this task.

Dr Marin has said, “When someone suffers an initial injury this can be an obstacle for function for the rest of their life.”

Proform ACTIV, aka ACTIV, was started to address this specific issue. Knowledge of regenerative tissue science and use of Orthobiologics through interventional orthopedic techniques to un impede patients and put them on the path to recovery is the philosophy of this component of the clinic. This is the first step to get back to your “athletic-self” if you have encountered injury, degenerative wear, or overuse. After treatment, focus can then be on getting back into normal motion, and then on raising the performance bar.

Dr Marin remains passionate everyday about making his patients the best musculoskeletal version of themselves science, technology and training can provide.

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Dr. William J. Bonner was born and raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia, PA. He attended Georgetown University in Washington, DC where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Physics with a minor in Mathematics. After college, he earned his Doctor of Medicine from Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia, PA. He completed an internship in Internal Medicine at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, NJ, and subsequently he completed Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation residency at the Temple University Hospital and Moss Rehab program in Philadelphia, PA where he was elected Chief Resident during his final year of training. Following residency, he pursued a fellowship in Spine, Sports, and Musculoskeletal Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA. Dr. Bonner is board certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation by the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. He is also board certified in Pain Medicine by the American Board of Pain Medicine.

In his practice, he provides comprehensive, interventional spine and musculoskeletal care. He performs ultrasound-guided and fluoroscopically-guided interventional procedures for various causes of pain. He has taken a special interest in the exercise-based rehabilitation of spine and musculoskeletal injuries and uses his knowledge of these methods to provide patients with long term solutions to their ailments.

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Areas Treated

Cervical Spine (Not Upper Cervical or CCI)*, Elbow, Foot & Ankle, Hand & Wrist, Hip, Knee, Lumbar Spine, Shoulder, Thoracic Spine

*This provider is NOT authorized by Regenexx to treat the C0-C1 or C1-C2 levels of the neck or CCI (craniocervical instability).

Woman in telemedicine consult with physician to see if she's a candidate for Regenexx for knee osteoarthritis.

Regenexx procedures are non-surgical treatments that use your body’s own healing agents to treat shoulder labral tears. Our patients benefit from reduced pain and improved function, helping them avoid shoulder surgery.

Am I a candidate?

Regenexx’s percutaneous labralplasty is a nonsurgical procedure that uses precise imaging guidance and your own healing cells to promote natural healing. Regenexx procedures can be a better alternative for people looking to avoid surgery, lengthy recovery, and overuse of prescription pain medication. They use either platelet-rich plasma or bone marrow concentrate (which contains stem cells). 

The nature and severity of your labral tear (classification type) generally determines if the treatment is right for you. An evaluation by a Regenexx physician is the first step.

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I tell people about it all the time, and they find it so hard to grasp…100% and no scars, no downtime….I am so happy with my results and just wanted to say THANKS once again.”

Pilates lover with an active lifestyle Full patient story

Number 8 [at 3 minutes and 35 seconds] is Matt scoring the winning goal for Penn State lead over Cornell. He had 2 great goals! THANK YOU…he feels great:)”

Mother of a college athlete Full patient story

Note: Like all medical procedures, Regenexx procedures have a success and failure rate. Not all patients will experience the same results.

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Webinar: Alternatives to Shoulder Labrum Surgery

Learn the latest about regenerative medicine, and how Regenexx procedures can treat your shoulder labrum injury.

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Yes, not everyone experiences pain when their labrum is torn. In 2016, a study performed MRIs on patients without shoulder pain who were 45-60 years old, a staggering 55-72% of these people had labral tears. 5 

Yes. When the tear is in the upper part of the labrum, the area where the biceps tendon attaches to the lap of the socket is also commonly torn. When this happens, it’s called a SLAP tear (Superior Labral Tear from Anterior to Posterior).

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