Parents, be watchful for signs of hip disease in child

In awareness, we thrive.

Within our culture, there is pervasive sense of fear for the inevitable pandemics. For a period of time it was swine flu, and we forced our children to get vaccinated. Then there was Ebola, whose rumored spread paralyzed the country, but the real medical conditions deserving of our attention are those affecting people every day.

Legg-Calvé-Perthes Disease (LCPD) is a condition caused by poor blood flow to the hip's bone tissue, resulting in a deformed femoral head which in turn leads to pain, limping, limited range of motion, muscle loss, and shortening of the leg.

LCPD commonly appears in boys from the ages of 4-10 and affects one in 1,200 children. When a child is found to have this disease, they are subjected to bed rest, physical therapy, and sometimes receive a cast or brace.

"My doctor told me I couldn't jump or run without damaging the bone further," explained Cale Carter, a LCPD patient. "I wasn't allowed to play baseball until I was 8, and even then, I had to play with kids three or four years younger."

The re-ossification and healing of the bone takes many years, but the earlier parents are able to pick up on their child's symptoms, the more likely they are to end up with a normal hip joint.

Chloe Thomas

Bradenton

This story was originally published February 3, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Parents, be watchful for signs of hip disease in child ."