DDH

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I have recently been diagnosed with osteoarthritis in my left hip. my x-rays also show some flattening of the femoral head & acetabulum it also indicates that the acetabulum is shallower in the left hip indicating a degree of hip dysplasia. i was alway aware that i was diagnosed with dysplasia (i assume thats what it was,my mother always called it a dislocated hip). however, it wasn't picked up until i was 21 months old & had started to walk. i was placed in a plaster cast in frog position for 9 months after which time my mother was told all was ok. I too thought everything was ok as i never experienced any hip pain althrough childhood & well into my thirties. i was very active playing sport etc. at age 35 i ruptured my anterior cruciate ligament...i walked on this damaged knee for 3 years before my knee reconstruction & significantly altered my gait to stop my knee from sliding out which was very painful. i also began to limp. the best way to describe the way i walked is to say that i held the leg rigid from hip to toe. I have read that ACL mechanics. After walking like this for about 2 years i started to develop pain in my hip for the first time ever. this continues to this day as i now have established osteoarthritis. I have also gained between 20-30 kilograms in weight adding further burden to my hip.

My questions are: could the late diagnosis of my hip dysplasia have meant that it wasn't repaired as well as it could have been, leading to osteoarthristis because of the added stress placed on my hip after my knee injury?

also could the dyplasia be responsible for the flattening of the femoral head & acetabulum...thats is, could they have alway been somewhat flattened because of the dysplasia?

-- Deliria (deliria@optusnet.com.au), September 22, 2004


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