A SLAP tear (superior labrum anterior to posterior) is a type of labral tear of the shoulder joint. Two joints in the body have what is called a labrum. The shoulder is one of these joints. The shoulder (glenohumeral joint) is a ball and socket joint. The shoulder blade bone (scapula) extends up to the top of the shoulder ending in what is known as the glenoid cavity, or the socket. At the top end of the upper arm bone, the humerus, is the humeral head which is shaped like a ball. The humeral head fits nicely into the glenoid cavity socket.

The glenoid cavity serves as the part of the shoulder that the humeral head fits into. In order to help the head of the humerus fit into the socket even better, the glenoid cavity has a labrum around its edges in order to make this socket deeper. The labrum is a soft ring of tissue that goes around the edge of the socket, in effect deepening the socket. The head of the humerus moves more easily with protection from the labrum. For the shoulder, tears of the labrum can lead to chronic aches and pain and impaired function. There are multiple types of a labral tear in the shoulder.

A SLAP tear occurs when there is damage to the upper part of the labrum which part of the site of attachment for the biceps brachii muscle. There are four different types of SLAP tears.

• Type I: fraying of the top of the labrum, but still attached, mostly commonly seen in older individuals as a result of normal wear and tear
• Type II: most common form of SLAP tear, labrum and the biceps tendon that attaches to it are completely torn from glenoid cavity
• Type III: known as a ’bucket handle tear’ where the labrum is torn but the biceps tendon remains intact
• Type IV: another bucket handle tear with involvement of the biceps tendon