Running, jumping, playing soccer, or being a member of the cheer squad can all lead to fatigue or pain. But when do these symptoms become more serious?
Have you noticed the following in your child:
- Decreased ability to participate in sports or recreational activities due to hip pain or fatigue
- Increasing pain in the hip or groin
- Decreased endurance
- Hip joint catching or locking
- A limp or change in the child's gait (how they walk)
- A difference in leg lengths
Symptoms vary from mild to severe. They are usually progressive and worsen over time. Mild cases of hip dysplasia may only require activity modification or rehab, but if surgery is needed, enter the Sky Ridge International Center for Hip Preservation.
Hip Preservation surgery or periacetabular osteotomy (PAO) is a subspecialty within orthopedics in which Sky Ridge's nationally known surgeons perform a procedure designed specifically to preserve a patient's natural hip joint rather than undergoing a hip replacement. This procedure generally is aimed at either re-shaping the hip joint or repairing/replacing damaged tissues.
Saving the natural hip joint is often better than having a total hip replacement. Whenever possible, we recommend that younger, more active patients consider procedures designed to preserve their hip joint rather than replace it.
Sydney Potkanowicz started experiencing hip pain at the young age of 12. "It felt like my hip joints were slipping in their sockets. It was a constant painful, uncomfortable feeling," she says.
Sydney's mom blamed her daughter's aches on growing pains, puberty, and an active lifestyle. By the time Potkanowicz started Fossil Ridge High School in Fort Collins, the pain had made playing sports unbearable. She gave up both basketball and softball.
"I told people I didn't like those sports anymore, but the truth was that it hurt too much to run," she says. Potkanowicz ultimately had successful PAO surgery at Sky Ridge and returned to the active lifestyle she was missing.
Sky Ridge Medical Center is Here for You
Since its opening in 2003, Sky Ridge has grown to become a 284-bed destination hospital with a reputation for clinical excellence and world-class service. Sky Ridge offers compassionate care through patient-centered programs.
The Sky Ridge International Center for Hip Preservation is part of the Sky Ridge Spine & Total Joint Center, a Joint Commission Center of Excellence for hip, knee, and spine surgery. For more information, call (720) 225-HIPS.
10101 RidgeGate Parkway
Lone Tree, CO 80124
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