The hip joint is too loose in some babies and this can interfere with the usual development of walking as it prevents the hip joint developing normally.
Babies’ hips get checked out soon after birth, then again around the 6 to 8 week mark and when baby is 8 to 9 months old too. Hip Dislocation or even potential hip dislocation is a difficult condition to diagnose and this is why medical professionals check babies out at repeated intervals. A ‘predisposing condition’ is present in the vast majority of affected cases – for example, a breech birth, a Caesarean birth or a family history. In addition, for some reason clicky hips are also common with firstborn girls.
Children with ‘clicky hips’ often limp when they start walking. An ultrasound will then confim the diagnosis. In the vast majority of cases the treatment offered is a ‘spica’ which is a device that keeps the hips in a controlled position.
