Therapy | Hip pain in the child

Therapy

There is no proper therapy for growth pain. It is only important that the children do not get into the habit of adopting the wrong postures. Through physiotherapy or cold or warm compresses one can try to relieve the growth pains and prevent them.

Coxitis fugax can be cured primarily by resting. The hip should be spared for at least 2-4 days. In case of severe pain, NSAIDs such as ibuprofen can be given.

After one week the pain should have disappeared. There are several different therapeutic approaches for Perthes disease. In mild forms, conservative attempts are made to bring the leg into the correct position and leave it in this position with the aid of splints and orthoses.

An absolute ban on sports is also important; children should not jump or bounce, as this puts too much strain on the hips. In advanced stages, surgery is indicated. There are several procedures that can be used here, depending on the extent and anatomy.

In the treatment of epiphyseolysis capitits femoris, the severity of the problem is very important. Surgery is almost always necessary. Here, an attempt is made to hold the bone in the correct position against each other using so-called Kirschner wires or lag screws. In severe cases, the head is correctly re-inserted into the joint socket with the help of the Imhäuser operation and stabilized with plates and lag screws to prevent it from slipping out again.

Prophylaxis

For most hip pain in children there is no prophylaxis. Every child has growth pains once, but the severity depends on the speed of growth. Apart from changing diapers or relaxing baths, there is not much that can be done to relieve the growth pain.

Since the exact cause of coxitis fugax is not known, it is of course difficult to prevent hip rhinitis. Unfortunately, Perthes disease cannot be prevented at all. Epiphyseolysis capitis femoris is also difficult to prevent. However, it is noticeable that obese (overweight) children suffer from this disease. Therefore, it can be assumed that sport and a healthy lifestyle can help children to avoid this disease.