Developmental Dysplasia of the Hips in Humans: Risk Factors and How to Detect It

When you do a Google search of hip dysplasia, you'll usually find articles about hip dysplasia in different dog breeds. These search results may be misleading, however, since hip dysplasia is a problem that affects humans as well. So, what exactly is developmental dysplasia of the hips?

In short, developmental dysplasia of the hips is a condition in which the hip socket is not fully formed, or formed correctly. In mild cases of developmental dysplacia of the hips (DDH) the ligaments and other soft tissue around the hip joint are not tight and therefore allow the femur to move around more than it should in the hip socket.

In more severe cases of DDH the hip joint is loose enough to allow the femur to come part of the way out of the hip socket, which is called subluxation. Actual 'dysplacia' is the most severe form of the condition, this is when the hip socket is too shallow which allows the head of the femur to slip partly or fully out of the hip socket, causing a dislocation.

Developmental dysplasia of the hips can affect both or one of the hip joints. While causes are unknown there are certain risk factors for DDH such as family history of the condition, and a baby's positioning while in the womb.

Developmental dysplasia of the hips is found in about 1 in 100 newborns in some form, a complete dislocation is found in about 1-2 in 1,000 newborns. DDH occurs about 5 times more often in girls than in boys and if only one hip is affected it is 3 times more likely to be the left hip.

So, now that you know what developmental dysplasia of the hips is, you may be wondering how you can detect DDH in your newborn. Well, if you notice that one of your baby's legs appears to be shorter than the other or that they have extra folds of skin on the inside of the thigh you may want to consult your child's physician. If your child is older, you may notice that they walk with on the toes of one foot, with the heal of that foot off of the floor (because one leg is shorter than the other), you may also notice they walk with a limp or waddle.

If you feel that your child may have developmental dysplasia of the hips you need to consult a physician, do not try to solve the problem on your own by placing your child's hips in certain positions, as this may lead to your child's hips developing incorrectly.

Sources:
hip-baby.com
emedicine.com/radio/topic212/htm
http://children.webmd.com/tc/developmental-dysplasia-of-the-hip-topic-overview