Influence of the treatment of developmental dysplasia of the hip by the abduction brace on locomotor development in children

Purpose To assess the influence of treating developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) with the abduction brace on locomotor development in children. Methods One hundred children treated for DDH served as the study group. There were 80 girls and 20 boys. The children's average age at the beginning of the treatment was 8 weeks. The control group consisted of 100 healthy children with normal hips and without any locomotor system disorders. We have evaluated factors such as the age at which the treatment started, the duration of the treatment, the birth weight of the child and the time when the children started sitting and walking independently. Results On average, treatment with the abduction brace lasted 13 weeks (ranging from 6 to 26 weeks). The mean age at which the patients began to sit was 7 months, which was one week later compared to children from the control group (P = 0.28). The age at which they started walking was 12 months and 2 weeks, which was 3 weeks later than in the control group (P = 0.002). Conclusion For children with DDH, the abduction brace is a safe and effective method of treatment and, although the infants begin to walk about 3 weeks later compared to healthy children, this practice does not seriously affect the child's locomotor development.