Patient Stories

The years seem like days with Hip Dysplasia

Hi, I am Holly and I am 17. I was first diagnosed with Hip Dysplasia at 5 weeks old. My left hip was fully dislocated and my right was deemed immature. So I was put into a Palvik harness for four months. This had worked and I was checked up on until the age of 2 where I was declared “hip healthy” and that was the biggest lie I have ever been told…

At 7/8 I had moderate left hip pain and I was referred to a physiotherapist where I was told it was likely growing pains and with physio it seemed to improve over 8 weeks where I was then discharged. Again at 11/12, I was back in physio after a snapping and clunking sound when doing High Jump and the same was said. Then at 15/16 I had left knee pain and I was back in physio – practically my second home by now – it was yet again thought to be growing pains. 

Then in my first year of sixth form I started to experience severe bilateral hip pains. I was finally sent for an xray and more physio. The xray came back as nothing outside of the normal range, so I was working hard on physio in hopes of improving, but it just worsened. It took 5 months of physio until someone spotted the clunking of my hip joints where I had a referral to orthopaedics. In May I saw the orthopaedic consultant and he suspected Hip Dysplasia (yep, its back!) labral tearing and FAI. I had a MRI to confirm the tearing but it came back as very mild so it was now a waiting game for diagnostic hip injections to check the pain was due to the hip. In August I had hip injections which relieved pain for 5 days and was then referred to a young adult hip specialist. 

Fast forward to now and I have been diagnosed with persistent femoral neck anteversion on background of developmental dysplasia of the hips. I am waiting on femoral osteotomies in a hope this will bring my long hip journey to an end. Im not sure it will, as it all seems so complex but I can hope.