Hips, Hip Helpers & "Froggy Hips" - Are Hip Helpers Really Good?
This is a post from the DSTNI listserv by Carol in IL. This is basically a summary of what was discussed on the ES listserv -
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Also- PLEASE- carry your child straddled on your hips or in a carrier where their legs are wrapped around your middle. DO use the johnny jump up , walker and exersaucers!
DO NOT listen to PT/OT's who tell you to keep your child's legs straight down!!!!! That includes sitting with the legs straight out.
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Christine used to pop and 'thud' all the time! Now it's very rare she does that.
Her hips were also 40% subluxated, which means they were not seated in the socket very well. We did not get to the ortho til after her repair and I feel that I probably added to her problem due to erroneous information from PT/OT''s! At our visit to the ortho-ped I about dropped my jaw when I saw her x-rays. They took two views, one with her legs down straight & btw I held her legs and I can tell you there was NO pressure on them at all- then we took one in the classic 'frog' position. While in the straight down picture, the position ALL the PT/OT's told us to keep her in, it was painfully plain to see we were PULLING her hips out of joint!!!! When in the froggy position, they were seated beautifully!!! I asked the ortho about this and he was very perplexed as to why anyone would tell us to keep her legs straight at all times when in fact the cure for subluxation is to CAST kids IN THE FROGGY POSITION!!!!
So whatever you do - DO NOT KEEP YOUR CHILD'S LEGS DOWN all the time. If you
do, you are literally pulling the head away from the socket. He said short of casting kids, you can put on some HUGE diapers to keep their legs in that froggy position at night.
Also- is he walking/standing? Walking/standing is the very best way to strengthen the muscles that hold the hips in place. If he is not standing, start working on getting him to stand as much as he can tolerate. The upward thrust helps to seat the hip into the socket and will strengthen the muscles that help hold them.
Another thing that really, really helps is deep pressure massage of the leg, thigh and butt muscles. Low tone is a neurological problem and you can help it by stimulating those nerve endings many times a day. You have to really apply some pretty hard pressure. Squeeze until the child pulls away. Also use lots of sensory input in those same areas- you know, rub him down with a rough towel, a soft silky material, different furs, what ever you have around the house with textures.
Once I understood that keeping her legs together was CAUSING the problem and started an active program of the above with her- she started to improve and is now no longer in trouble with her hips. :-) Once she was up and walking all the time, things improved even faster. If you can find a pool with a depth that allows him to stand with his head above water and walk, go for it!! That really moved her forward fast! It supports their weight so they can use some of their muscles, there is resistance to the water helping to strengthen, and you can't beat the sensory input from the cool water!! We also used the walker and the exersaucer for more leg exercise during the day.
I had to fight this whole issue again when she entered school! The PT was having her sit on the floor with her legs straight out!!!! ARRGGGG.... much better for her to sit cross legged or even the 'W' position does far less damage then sitting straight out!!!
http://www.hip-baby.org/brace.html
Here's a site with lots of pictures of the position I am talking about.
If you could see an x-ray of the hips in that position, it would be clear as to how it helps and how straight down hinders.
I do remember Christine doing lots of the popping during the walking phase too.
But every child is different and it did not make her cry at all. Perhaps water therapy a few times per week would be the perfect way to help him over this rough spot. Horse back riding is another way to work those muscles, and he will naturally be in the best position too.
Start in the deep pressure massage. Do it as much as you can during the day.
Every diaper change at least. This will make a surprising difference for him.
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Be careful when using Hip Helpers (www.hiphelpers.com). You could be doing more damage, than benefits. There are some children that it *may* help, but it’s not a cure-all. We ordered Hip Helpers for my brother, but we did not use them much at all (besides him not caring for them that much, we did a bit more of research, from the lists mentioned above and found out the above info) - Qadoshyah F.
Also- PLEASE- carry your child straddled on your hips or in a carrier where their legs are wrapped around your middle. DO use the johnny jump up , walker and exersaucers!
DO NOT listen to PT/OT's who tell you to keep your child's legs straight down!!!!! That includes sitting with the legs straight out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Christine used to pop and 'thud' all the time! Now it's very rare she does that.
Her hips were also 40% subluxated, which means they were not seated in the socket very well. We did not get to the ortho til after her repair and I feel that I probably added to her problem due to erroneous information from PT/OT''s! At our visit to the ortho-ped I about dropped my jaw when I saw her x-rays. They took two views, one with her legs down straight & btw I held her legs and I can tell you there was NO pressure on them at all- then we took one in the classic 'frog' position. While in the straight down picture, the position ALL the PT/OT's told us to keep her in, it was painfully plain to see we were PULLING her hips out of joint!!!! When in the froggy position, they were seated beautifully!!! I asked the ortho about this and he was very perplexed as to why anyone would tell us to keep her legs straight at all times when in fact the cure for subluxation is to CAST kids IN THE FROGGY POSITION!!!!
So whatever you do - DO NOT KEEP YOUR CHILD'S LEGS DOWN all the time. If you
do, you are literally pulling the head away from the socket. He said short of casting kids, you can put on some HUGE diapers to keep their legs in that froggy position at night.
Also- is he walking/standing? Walking/standing is the very best way to strengthen the muscles that hold the hips in place. If he is not standing, start working on getting him to stand as much as he can tolerate. The upward thrust helps to seat the hip into the socket and will strengthen the muscles that help hold them.
Another thing that really, really helps is deep pressure massage of the leg, thigh and butt muscles. Low tone is a neurological problem and you can help it by stimulating those nerve endings many times a day. You have to really apply some pretty hard pressure. Squeeze until the child pulls away. Also use lots of sensory input in those same areas- you know, rub him down with a rough towel, a soft silky material, different furs, what ever you have around the house with textures.
Once I understood that keeping her legs together was CAUSING the problem and started an active program of the above with her- she started to improve and is now no longer in trouble with her hips. :-) Once she was up and walking all the time, things improved even faster. If you can find a pool with a depth that allows him to stand with his head above water and walk, go for it!! That really moved her forward fast! It supports their weight so they can use some of their muscles, there is resistance to the water helping to strengthen, and you can't beat the sensory input from the cool water!! We also used the walker and the exersaucer for more leg exercise during the day.
I had to fight this whole issue again when she entered school! The PT was having her sit on the floor with her legs straight out!!!! ARRGGGG.... much better for her to sit cross legged or even the 'W' position does far less damage then sitting straight out!!!
http://www.hip-baby.org/brace.html
Here's a site with lots of pictures of the position I am talking about.
If you could see an x-ray of the hips in that position, it would be clear as to how it helps and how straight down hinders.
I do remember Christine doing lots of the popping during the walking phase too.
But every child is different and it did not make her cry at all. Perhaps water therapy a few times per week would be the perfect way to help him over this rough spot. Horse back riding is another way to work those muscles, and he will naturally be in the best position too.
Start in the deep pressure massage. Do it as much as you can during the day.
Every diaper change at least. This will make a surprising difference for him.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------
Be careful when using Hip Helpers (www.hiphelpers.com). You could be doing more damage, than benefits. There are some children that it *may* help, but it’s not a cure-all. We ordered Hip Helpers for my brother, but we did not use them much at all (besides him not caring for them that much, we did a bit more of research, from the lists mentioned above and found out the above info) - Qadoshyah F.
