Clicky Hips

(Two weeks old: modeling her brand new harness)

When Meadow was born and the nurses were poking and prodding her to make sure she was all right, they noticed that her right hip clicked.

Clicky hips occur for several reasons. The hip is a "ball and socket" joint, and various problems can affect the baby's hip as it develops. In Meadow's case, although the ball is in the socket, it can slip in and out of place, or the socket is so shallow that the hip can dislocate very easily.

The docs ordered x-rays and sure enough, something wasn't right. We were sent home with the instructions to triple diaper our newborn and to make an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon. At the time, I was freaking out on the inside... "will my baby ever walk?" "will she be able to play sports or take a dance class?" "will she be forever confined to a wheelchair while all the other kids her age make fun of her?"

We made the appointment, met with the surgeon, had more x-rays taken. She was then diagnosed with Acetabular Hip Dysplasia and fitted for a Pavlik Harness. The harness, shown below, consists of a shoulder harness attached to foot stirrups that keep the hips in the position of flexion and abduction, while allowing for a certain degree of movement within the "safe zone". This allows the femoral head (ball) to move within limits of safety within the acetabulum (cup), thus molding and deepening the acetabulum with growth.