If your kid is suffering from hip pain, especially after an intense sports practice, it’s very likely that he or she will need quick, though not emergency, treatment. However, recovering from a hip injury is always more complicated than treating the injury itself. Most common hip injuries in kids require them not to move around much, which most children dread like nothing else. Moreover, not all hip injuries are that obvious: your kid may feel pain in the knees or thighs, and only an X-Ray can guarantee a comprehensive diagnosis.
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The most common hip injuries in kids are:
Muscle Strain: overstretching of a tendon or ligament. There are several degrees of severity, but compression wraps, ice packs and heat packs can help alleviate most cases.
Hip Avulsion: the pulling away of a ligament or chunk of bone from the main part of the bone. Associated with high impact.
Hip Fracture: Breaking of one or more bones in the pelvis. Swelling may occur. Needs emergency treatment and immobilization.
SCFE – Slipped capital Femoral Epiphysis: slipping away of the ball joint in the hip from the growth plate due to a fracture. More common in children over 8 years old and overweight kids.
Hip muscle strain
Hip muscle strains are often associated with high physical activity and occur more often when sprinting or jumping without adequately preparing your body for the movement. Its most distinctive signal is as sharp pain in the affected area, which feels like a very intense puncture. There are many degrees of severity to hip muscle strains, and although minor strains can be home treated, you should look for a doctor if a kid shows signs of pain for over ten days.
Treatment: at home, applying ice pads every 2 hours, for 20 minutes at a time. Then, apply a compression wrap to limit movement. If you need to, administer pain relievers such as ibuprofen (advil) or acetaminophen (Tylenol). Severe cases may require surgery.
How to prevent:
It’s important for your kid to stretch and warm up before intense physical activity. In order to stretch the hip muscles, specifically, your child can try the seated butterfly pose or skater squats.
Hip Avulsion
Hip avulsion is a kind of fracture in which the tendon or ligament is pulled away from the main part of the pelvis bone, sometimes, a chunk of bone can break off, too. It is caused by excessive impact forces, both external – a direct tackle – and internal – like turning one’s body around too fast aggressively. In addition, damage to the tendon can happen combined with the avulsion itself, as it’s a very violent movement. Its one of the most common hip injuries in kids who practice sprinting activates or dancing.
Treatment: small avulsion fractures can be treated with rest and ice over the recovery period. Exercises to recover the full movement of the snapped ligament are also important. If the avulsion happens in the growth plates, however, surgery may be required.
How to prevent: your child should always stretch and warm up, but also war the correct protective gear to minimize impact damage to the hip area. Sports practice should also be supervised by a professional who can guide your kid through the safer movements.
Hip fracture:
Fracture are the most dangerous injuries you kid can sustain. Unlike arm or leg fractures, hip fractures require almost complete immobilization of the lower body through a Spica cast. The most immediate symptoms that a child has broken his or her hip bone is a deep pain and swelling, and applying ice packs frequently in our best bet on alleviating the initial pain. Don’t try to move the injured area and seek medical attention as quick as possible.
Treatment: immobilization in necessary to ensure the bones realign properly. This is crucial to help your kid grow safely, as ineffective recovery could affect the growth of our kids legs as well. Surgery in an option, but it ultimately comes down to correct physical therapy and gradual restoration of the movements.
How to prevent: frequent exercise is a strong component in improving your kids bones. High-calcium foods and vitamin D are also crucial in helping prevent bone fractures. For preventing hip bone fractures, specifically, avoid impact to the hip area.
SCFE = slipped capital Femoral Epiphysis
The SCFE is a more complicated injury to understand. Topical Talk sescribes it as akin to ice cream falling off its cone. It’s an apt description of this kids of fracture, which happen when there is damage to the growth plate, right under the ball joint in the hip. This affects the motor skills of your kid to the point they may need crutches, or be unable to walk at all. The highest risk group includes overweight boys who are over 8 years old.
Treatment: surgery is the most common option, and recovery is almost entirely guaranteed. Your child may, however, develop arthritis more easily in the future.
How to prevent: its important for your child to keep a healthy diet and od lots of exercise. Regular check-ups with a doctor will also help to prevent this condition, as it’s a fracture that doesn’t happen all of a sudden. Detecting points of accumulated stress in our kids joints and treating them may prevent SCFE altogether.
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