Exercises
Within the framework of therapy for childhood hip dysplasia, there are various exercises that parents in particular should perform at home with the child to activate and stress the muscles, tendons and other tissues in the area of the hip joint so that normal development can be promoted and subsequent damage can be counteracted. Especially since the child has to immobilize the hip for a long time and cannot move freely, a continuous and consistent performance of the exercises is essential for the success of the therapy. The exercises are explained and demonstrated by experienced physiotherapists so that parents can safely perform them independently at home.
The exercises include, for example: 1) Massage to relax the muscles Massage your child’s abdomen and hip muscles for 1-2 minutes according to the therapist’s instructions. This reduces the tension on the hip joint and keeps the tissue supple. 2) Mobilization Lay your child on his or her back with the legs facing you.
Take the feet in your hand and bend the legs gently towards the baby’s stomach and then back into extension.In the following articles you will also find further exercises for mobilization and fine motor skills: 3) Cycling Take your child’s feet in a supine position in your hands and ride the bike gently with your legs. This supports the development of the muscles that will be used for walking later in the development process. Are you looking for other exercises that can help with hip dysplasia? Then take a look at the following pages:
- Mobilization exercises hip
- Hip mobility training
- PNF (Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Fasculation)
- Hip dysplasia exercises
- Hip dysplasia physiotherapy
- Exercises for a child’s hip dislocation
Can spreader pants bring improvement?
To immobilize the child’s hip joint after repositioning, there are various types of systems that are designed to make this possible. One of them is the spreader pants. Depending on the severity of the hip dysplasia and the speed of healing, it is possible that the child may have to wear the spreader pants for several months.
The spreader pants are only taken off for a short time for bathing or changing diapers to ensure the success of the treatment. In general, there is a choice between two types of spreading pants: Spreading trousers according to Becker: With these spreading trousers, the child is placed in a splint padded with strips of fabric with wooden struts or metal strips, which is fixed in place with thigh straps and a shoulder strap. However, there is a major disadvantage with this type of spreading trousers, namely that the strong frog position of the legs (Lorenz position) reduces the blood supply, so that there is a risk of femoral head necrosis.
Active Spreading Pants: As the name suggests, this type of spreading pants allows children greater freedom of movement. They are made of a plastic material that is narrow at the top and wide at the bottom. The special shape allows children to bring their legs together the closer they pull them towards their stomachs.
A complete spreading takes place only when the legs are stretched. The healing process is also positively influenced by the additional movement possibilities in the active spreader pants. The active spreader pants are fixed with a shoulder strap and Velcro fastener.
A major disadvantage of all spreader pants is the poor air circulation in the legs, trunk and buttocks of the child, which is why alternative splints with better ventilation are increasingly being used nowadays. You can read the article Treatment of a child’s hip dislocation on this topic.
- Spreader pants according to Becker: With these spreader pants, the child is placed in a splint padded with strips of fabric with wooden struts or metal strips, which is fixed with the help of thigh straps and a shoulder strap.
However, there is a major disadvantage with this type of spreading trousers, namely that the strong frog position of the legs (Lorenz position) reduces the blood supply, so that there is a risk of femoral head necrosis.
- Active spreading trousers: As the name suggests, this type of spreading trousers gives children greater freedom of movement. They are made of a plastic material that is narrow at the top and wide at the bottom. The special shape allows children to bring their legs together the closer they pull them towards their stomachs.
A complete spreading takes place only when the legs are stretched. The healing process is also positively influenced by the additional movement possibilities in the active spreader pants. The active spreader pants are fixed with a shoulder strap and Velcro fastener.