Clicky hip - anyone had a baby with this?

[LKM]

At dd's 8 week check I was told she has a "clicky hip" and will need a scan at the hospital and possibly a sort of splint-nappy to correct the problem (depending on the scan results). I don't like the sound of this splint arangement - potential nightmare! Anyone else had experience with this? Is it really necessary to have the splint - I seem to remember reading somewhere that recent research has shown these problems generally fix themselves anyway.

LKM - no direct experience, but my niece had clicky-hip and had to wear a splint after her scan. I do know it was difficult for her mum to cope with at the time but niece is now six and has no problems. If your dd does have to wear a splint, post again and I will gladly speak to my SIL and ask for any hints/tips she might have.

Good luck with the scan.

LKM, my colleague's little daughter had clicky hip at birth and had a few hospital appointments early on, including a scan. She was one of the lucky majority whose problem did not need a splint and corrected itself quite quickly. The more serious and rarer sort of hip dislocation can lead to problems with mobility if not dealt with by splinting etc, apparently, which is why they are so careful about screening. I do think that they won't put your dd in a splint unless it is felt essential to do so - fingers crossed for you that she doesn't need it.

LKM- the scan will be to check the position of your dds hip joints. Often the "clickiness" is due to the socket being too shallow, or the ligaments too lax to hold the hip firmly in place. The idea of splinting is to put the "ball and socket" joint into the snuggest position, and over a period of time (8-12weeks) the ligaments tighten up. This is essential to allow for the proper development of your dds bones and hip joints. Its more common in girls than boys, often runs in families and has a wide variance in severity. About 1 in 250 babies is affected. Your dd may not need splinting but the dr wont know til the scans are done.
The condition is called congenital hip dysplasia. Hope this is helpful. Good Luck and hope the splints wont be necessary.

LKM, sorry to hear about the clicky hip thing..you're right, lots of babies' hips do sort themselves out spontaneously but it's good that they're onto it so early because if it does turn out that treatment is needed it's much simpler and less distressing for the child if it happens early. I did some research on it for my job recently - have a look at the STEPS website for some info about congenital hip dysplasia (if that's what it turns out to be)

I had CHD as a baby and according to my mum had a split and all sorts until I was 14 months old. She knows of people where it wasn't picked up and have never learnt to walk. So please don't panic, and follow dr's advice, if a split is necessary.

Thanks everyone for the info. I have yet to receive a hospital appointment but fingers crossed it will not need treatment. The doctor did say that most babies don't need a splint and that dd "looked" OK (i.e. I think she meant she couldn't see any hip displacement or crookedness, only hear the click) so I am probably worrying for nothing (I hope!).

LKM, eldest dds hip was dislocated at birth and she had to go into a 'frog-splint' at 4 days old. Sounds awful & wasn't fun, but did the trick & she's now outside skipping away happily. Haven't time to post now, but let me know what happens & I will fill you in. It's definately NOT the end of the world, just an inconvenience.
HTH

LKM - DD had to have a scan for a possible clicky hip - she was a big baby and had been squashed up inside me for so long her poor little feet needed to be massaged regularly to straighten them out, and they thought her hips could have been affected too.

Luckily, the scan was fine so we didn't need to do anything. By the way we went for the scan all prepared to strip her off etc, but they just removed a leg at a time from her babygro and pulled up her vest and worked around the clothes (it was March and she had many layers)! She was wedged in a foam block to stop her moving which worked very well - I wonder if they do them for toddlers????

Hope it all works out OK for you.

LKM, "clicks" in the hip joint rarely indicate a problem, so if this is all that the GP felt, the scan will probably be normal. If there was a "clunk" or sensation of the ball moving in or out of the socket, then the scan will show what the problem is, and how it should be treated. At this age, even a truly dislocated hip can be treated with some kind of splint or strapping arrangement pretty easily. If dislocation is not picked up till after walking age, things get pretty tricky. So, what I am saying is, don't worry, if there is a problem, it's good that it has been detected while it can still be treated easily!