Treatment of hip dysplasia in newborns. Symptoms, causes and degrees of the disease

Dysplasia of hip joints in children - degrees, symptoms and treatment

Dysplasia of the hip joints in children is a frequently diagnosed pathology that is detected in newborns. Such disorders of the functions of the hip joints can lead to serious consequences, up to disability. Pathology can be caused by genetic predisposition, hormonal influences, and tissue formation disorders during intrauterine development.

Parents should know not only about the methods of treatment, but also the symptoms of the disease, because the consequences of hip dysplasia affect a person's entire life.

Classification of hip dysplasia in a child

In medicine, three degrees of joint dysplasia are distinguished:

• 1 degree. It is most often diagnosed in premature babies, doctors differentiate it as a transitional state between a diseased and a healthy joint. Often, dysplasia of the hip joints of the 1st degree is detected in full-term children who were born with a low weight. This can happen if fetoplacental insufficiency was observed during pregnancy.
• 2 degree. This is already a dislocation of the hip joint, in which doctors note a change in the shape of the acetabulum. It is characterized by the fact that even with active movements of the legs, the femur does not leave the hollow, it remains within its limits.
• 3 degree. Differentiated by specialists as subluxation of the hip joint, changes in the shape of the head of the femur are very clearly visible, it is able to move freely inside the joint, but does not go beyond it.

Symptoms of hip dysplasia

Signs of hip dysplasia in babies are very characteristic, they are pronounced even in the first year of life. The doctor and parents should be alerted by the following symptoms:

• folds on the popliteal and gluteal hollows are asymmetrical
• when spreading the legs in a bent state, the baby shows clear dissatisfaction, cries
• breeding legs bent at the knees is problematic

For these signs, parents should consult an orthopedist, who will conduct a complete examination of the baby and prescribe an ultrasound examination of the hip joint.

The most pronounced symptoms of the third degree of the disease:

1. A "clicking symptom" is present. Such a sound will be heard at the moment of spreading the legs, bent at the knees, from the side, and a click is heard both at the moment of spreading and at the moment of bringing them together.
2. Asymmetry of skin folds. The child should be placed on the stomach or on the back, it is necessary to pay attention to the depth and height of the location of the folds. The number of folds does not play any role in diagnosis, since this indicator is variable even in absolutely healthy children.
3. Limitations when spreading the legs to the side. It is with the help of this symptom that congenital dysplasia of the hip joints is diagnosed already on the 5-7th day of the baby's life.
4. Shortening of the leg. You can check this sign of the disease as follows: the child is placed on the back, the legs are bent at the knees and the feet are placed against the table or other surface on which the baby is lying. If the child is healthy, his knees will be at the same level, if not, one knee will be slightly higher than the other.

Methods of hip dysplasia treatment

After diagnosing the disease, the treatment of joint dysplasia should be prescribed immediately - in babies, this process can be quick, and the result can be very successful. In the first month of the baby's life, wide swaddling for dysplasia of the hip joints, which is performed according to a certain algorithm, will be quite effective:

• a regular flannel diaper folds into a 15 cm wide rectangle
• the borders of the prepared diaper are laid with the baby's legs (they should be bent at the knees and spread to the side)
• the edges of the diaper should be near the knees
• with special ties, the diaper is fixed on the child's shoulders

The newborn gets used to this kind of swaddling quite quickly, endures moments of changing clothes completely calmly, and over time begins to put his legs in the right position on his own.

Wide swaddling is always combined with gymnastics for hip dysplasia in newborns. This procedure is elementary - each swaddling (or diaper change) should be accompanied by slowly spreading the legs to the side and returning them to their place. Swimming on the stomach will be very effective in the treatment of this disease.

You can learn more about how to perform gymnastics and massage for hip dysplasia in children on the pages of our website: Dobrobut.com.

In addition to wide swaddling, children with this disease may be prescribed wearing special orthopedic devices. In general, treatment is selected in a strictly individual manner, taking into account the degree of development of the disease, the age of the baby, existing general diseases and other factors.

There are surgical methods of treatment, but surgery for dysplasia is performed extremely rarely, only in advanced cases, with late diagnosis or ineffectiveness of other treatment methods.

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