The Effectiveness of a Hip Abduction Orthosis for Perthes Disease

Perthes disease is a rare childhood disorder of femoral head affecting 5-10 per 100,000 children. Prognostic factors remain uncertain after age five which requires careful evaluation of subject, planning for treatment always associated with a slow recovery. Orthoses are provided as a conservative treatment to reduce weight bearing stress across hip joint, maintenance of joint congruity, allowing safe and pain free ambulation for school growing children by keeping the limb in abduction and internal rotation. Though there are different number of orthoses used earlier, the present literature does not provide sufficient evidence to support its use in Perthes disease. We report a case of 8 years old active school going subject with Perthes disease of right hip who was fitted with an ambulatory trilateral hip abduction orthosis and assessed by radiographic examination with satisfactory resul