Posterior Dislocation of Hip

Posterior Dislocation of Hip

 Dislocation of the hip is a common injury to the hip joint. Dislocation occurs when the ball–shaped head of the femur comes out of the cup–shaped acetabulum set in the pelvis. This may happen to a varying degree. A dislocated hip, much more common in females than in males.

The location of many of the muscles associated with the hip joint and pelvic girdle depend on the action. The posterior side exhibits primarily hip extension with help from the gluteus maximus, hamstring muscles (biceps femoris, semitendinosus, semimembranosus), and the six deep external rotators (piriformis, obturator externus, obturator internus, gemellus superior, gemellus inferior, and quadrates femoris).

Nine out of ten hip dislocations are posterior. The affected limb will be shortened and internally rotated in this case. Posterior dislocations with an associated fracture are categorized by the Thompson and Epstein classification system.
In an anterior dislocation the limb will not be shortened as noticeably and will be externally rotated.
In both cases, the affected leg is virtually immovable by the patient, and is usually extremely painful.

Treatment that can be used on newborns or infants is called a Pavlik harness. The Pavlik harness is a soft harness-like device that has straps that hold the legs apart and bent at the knee, in an attempt to keep the femur (ball) in the acetabulum (socket) in the correct position. Another treatment method that can be used to fix the condition is closed reduction under anesthesia. This particular procedure can be done on children from the ages of six months to two years old. If the closed reduction treatment does not work, then open reduction (surgery) is another option to use. After the closed or open surgery is performed, the child may use a cast or brace in order to keep the hip bone in the socket while it is healing. By using one of these treatment methods the child can have normal hip joint function.

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