Mike Lowell has been talking quite a bit about his right hip over the last couple of days, and – rightly so – as there is some question as to how healthy the Sox third baseman is going to remain coming down the stretch run.

Despite his early exit from Tuesday night’s game after aggravating his right hip while fielding a short chopper and throwing on the run, Lowell continued to play for four innings afterward and sounded hopeful and optimistic on Wednesday despite dragging around the clubhouse with a pronounced limp.

He mentioned that doctors explained to him that the right hip labrum popped into the joint and then popped back out again, but he thought that was good news and was hoping that the hip would begin to feel like something he could play on again in a few days.

There’s a chance that will happen and Lowell will continue to display the ridiculously high threshold for pain that’s become such a regular part of his game that ‘Iron Man’ by Black Sabbath is played at Fenway when he comes to the plate. There’s also a chance that Lowell’s hip degenerated to a point where the pain and discomfort are going to chip away at his availability and effectiveness over the remaining 10 regular season games and playoffs.

It goes without saying that Lowell’s right-handed bat and Gold Glove defense –not to mention his leadership – are things the Sox can ill afford to replace with their postseason lives hanging in the balance.

With these questions swirling through my mind, I called Dr. Marc Phillippon, a renowned orthopedic hip surgeon who has done some revolutionary work in the world of hip surgery and undertaken extensive research to learn more about injuries associated with the hip. Phillippon is a partner at the Steadman Hawkins Clinic in Vail, Colorado and has repaired torn labrum hip injuries for such familiar names in the athletic world as Mario Lemeiux, GregNorman, Rick DiPietro and Luis Castillo.

Basically, Phillippon is considered to be to hip injuries what Dr. James Andrews is to elbow injuries.

With that in mind, I asked this great resource several questions and specifics regarding torn hip labrums. Phillippon’s biggest message was that it’s possible to play through a labrum tear if the area around the hip is stable, so perhaps Lowell’s labrum popping in and out of the joint isn’t such a good sign after all. That would seem to be a pretty big sign of instability, but perhaps his sheer force of will can allow him to grit his teeth through it. I just can’t help but think of Bill Buckner and Kirk Gibson hobbling through the postseason when I think of Lowell battling through October with thiskind of injury.

But then again, if anyone can play through something like this...it's the ultra-tough Lowell.

Here’s some of the good doctor’s interesting insight:

Can you just explain what a torn hip labrum is in layman’sterms?

MP: The labrum basically is the fiber of cartilage that lines the hip socket and when it’s torn it can cause pain.

Is the torn labrum typically something an athlete can play through, or is it pretty limited what a player can gut his way through?

MP: If it’s a stable tear they can play through it. A lot of athletes have a high pain threshold and they can play through it. Usually if the pain persists and it affects their performance, it’s better to fix it in the off-season if possible. I think the best thing I could compare it to wouldbe a torn meniscus in the knee.

You mentioned that if it’s stable an athlete can play through it…what happens when it becomes unstable?

MP: Yeah…when it becomes more unstable it can cause more pain and it can cause muscle spasms. So once it becomes unstable there’s more pain, more muscle spasticity and tendonitis, so usually that can really start affecting an athlete’s performance.

Is a cortisone shot a big part of the treatment when you have a professional athlete attempting to play through a torn labrum?

MP: The first line is to give them some anti-inflammatories like Motrin, Advil or Naproxen and some of the athletes respond very well to that. If the pain persists after that I’m not in favor of giving steroid injections. I’m against that. The injection will sometimes relieve the symptoms, but I personally prefer not to do it.

Is there any danger of further damage to the hip if an athlete is playing through a partially torn labrum?

MP: It depends on where it is, what kind it is, how big the tear is. I would compare it to guys with a meniscus tear in their knees. I would compare it to that. It is a similar kind of problem. The whole key to the thing is how stable the area is and how much his muscles can accommodate to it.

That’s the whole key. Some guys are very strong and their muscles are going to be able to accommodate [the injury] and the muscles will be able to adjust. Short term some players will be able to adjust to this.Short term. Not long term, but short term some guys can adjust to it and perform well. It all depends on how fit the guy is and what his pain threshold is. It also really matters how big the tear is. In general with a labral tear, short term they can play through it but long term it’s going to need to be addressed.

When do you have to perform surgery on a labrum tear in the hip, what’s the prognosis and recovery time?

MP: Prognosis is excellent and usually on average it varies from 8 weeks all the way 16 weeks.

Have you repaired labrum tears for a lot of baseball players?

MP: I’ve done a lot of hockey players and a lot of baseball players. Some guys that I’ve treated have gone on to win the Gold Glove and win the World Series. I’ve treated a lot of baseball players. I’ve actually treated a couple of Mike Lowell’s former teammates with the Florida Marlins back in2001 and 2002. Luis Castillo had a tear in his labrum that I fixed and then he ended up winning the Gold Glove and won a World Series after I treated him.

The injury is basically going to affect athletes in any sport where there’s [hip] rotation. Baseball players whether they’re at bat or the catcher and pitcher, or a second baseman who’s constantly in the flex position. A baseball pitcher they actually rotate their hips very forcefully when they pitch. It’s all about hip rotation.

The first guy I worked with that was pretty well known was Greg Norman, and I took care of him back in 2000. He’s a golfer, so he wasn’ tinvolved in contact sport. But he rotates his hip so forcefully on his swing that he tore the labrum in his hip, and it was really affecting his game so we went in and fixed him.

After we fixed him he went out and almost won the British Open this season.

Does age matter at all as far as recovery goes from an injury like a labrum hip tear?

MP: Age is not necessarily a factor. You might assume that older guys might have more wear and tear, but not necessarily. I’ve seen young guys with more problems and I’ve older guys with very good hips. Age isn’t always a factor.

Are there any genetic predispositions to labrum tears in the hip?

MP: That’s actually a very good question. I’ve done a lot of research on this and we’ve actually come up with a sub-group of athletes that we call “hip at risk” that have a certain geometry to their hips and the way they’ve grown…and they’re predisposed to the labrum tears.

That’s one of my big areas of research. I wouldn’t say its genetic, but there’s certainly – and I can say this for sure – a group of athletes that are at risk for a labrum tear and it’s all because of the way their hips are built. We’re learning a lot and I would say over the past five years we’ve gotten a much better understanding of these injuries and are able to put athletes on prevention programs for these labrum hip injuries.