Congenital Vs. Acquired
Congenital hip dislocation must be detected early when it can be easily treated by a few weeks of traction. If it is not detected, the child's hip may develop incorrectly seen when the child begins to walk. If one hip is affected the child will have a limp and lurch and with bilateral dislocation there will be a waddling gait. On physical exam, with the baby in the supine position, the examiner flexes the hips and knees both to 90 degrees, and, holding the knees, pushes gently downward, which may induce a posterior dislocation or subluxation. Keeping the baby in this 90 degree flexed position, the examiner then externally rotates the thighs. A normal infant will demonstrate no evidence of dislocation. It can also be detected with the Galeazzi test. Congenital hip dislocation is much more common in girls than boys.
Acquired hip dislocations are extremely painful and commonly occur during car accidents. They may be treated by surgical realignment and traction.
Read more about this topic: Dislocation Of Hip
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