Traumatic Dislocation of the Hip in a High School Football Player

Background. Although traumatic dislocation of the hip often occurs as a result of automobile accidents, dislocations have been reported to occur during sports activities. Objective. Using the experience in treating a 17-year-old high school football player with a posterior dislocation, complicated by involvement of the sciatic nerve, this case report provides background information on hip dislocations and provides a description of the immediate treatment by the physician, followed by 6 weeks of immobilization, and a detailed account of the 5-month intervention. Case Description. The patient was injured while making a tackle during a high school football game when another player fell on him from behind. The case report describes his plan of care after immediate hip reduction surgery and 6 weeks on crutches. Generally, the program utilized a progression of non–weight-bearing resis-tance training and stretching in the initial stages of intervention and progressed to weight-bearing activities (on land and in the pool) as the patient was able to tolerate more stress. In addition, the treatment of the sciatic nerve using electrical stimulatio