Perthes Disesase

Perthes is a condition mostly in children, that happens when the blood supply to the hip is lost. The hip is a ball and socket joint and when the hip doesn't receive and adequate supply of blood they ball part of the bone dies. The area then becomes inflamed and irritated. Perthes disease has many stages of process. Treatment requires periods of immobilization and limitations on activities. Perthes disease is found in children 4-10 and is more seen in boys than girls. Its commonly referred to child arthritis in the hips. Symptoms include irritation and pain when the hip  is having spasms from the swelling around it. Pain can also be felt in the groin or knee and is more noticeable when rotating the hip. Rest is a must when you have intense pain. There is non surgical treatment which is taking anti inflammatory pills regularly and going to a physical therapist to do hip stretches to work on rotation. Surgical treatment is for the more extreme cases where the pain is very intense. The surgery establishes the proper alignment of the bones of the hip. In some cases the socket is made deeper. After the surgery children are put in a cast for 6 to 8 weeks from chest to toes. After the whole process, children go through physical therapy to learn how to only bear weight on their normal hip. X-rays of the bones will be taken throughout all the stages to make sure healing goes under way.