Hip cold in children: symptoms and treatment

Did your child wake up this morning with severe leg pain? So strong that he limps and can't put it down. Don't panic, this is certainly a cold of the hip, a viral inflammation that causes a spill in the hip joint. We will explain everything to you.

Harmless reactive synovitis of the hip, commonly called hip cold, generally frightens parents … Seeing that their little one has difficulty moving around, we imagine something very serious. Please note that in the vast majority of cases, this annoyance disappears quickly, between seven and ten days, and does not leave any after-effects. There is no need to panic if your child starts to limp suddenly, for no apparent reason, due to pain in the thigh, groin, or knee.

Nevertheless, a medical examination is strongly recommended to get an accurate diagnosis and be referred to the appropriate therapies. In addition, this will prevent more serious and dangerous pathologies from developing. So what is hip cold in children, what are its symptoms and how is it treated?

What is hip cold in children?

Infant coxalgia or reactive synovitis of the hip is an inflammatory process in the hip that causes pain, particularly in the anterior part of the thigh and knee, due to irritation of the obturator nerve. It mainly affects children from 3 to 10 years old and men (the ratio of men to women is 2: 1).

Synovitis is generally monolateral (on one leg), and more rarely bilateral. This disease is diagnosed with the "Thomas test" (hip flexion test performed directly by the pediatrician) to which an ultrasound can possibly be added. For children over 5 years old, an x-ray of the pelvis can also be done. Ultrasound and X-ray can rule out more important causes such as Perthes disease. It is a necrotic degenerative process due to poor bone vascularity that compromises the growth of the upper extremity of the femur and requires further treatment.

Symptoms and causes of reactive hip synovitis

Children usually experience the first symptoms of reactive synovitis upon waking. Pain due to the presence of overflows inside the joint cavity then invades them in the groin area. This leads to loss of hip movement, sluggishness and in some cases, inability to set foot on the ground.

In children with transient synovitis, the hip tends to remain flexed and turned outward. In this case, it is not uncommon to observe an increase in body temperature.

The causes of this disease in children are not definitively established, even if medicine is more oriented towards a viral origin. Indeed, many studies have shown that 70% of children affected by this pathology had contracted a respiratory tract infection with fever in the previous two weeks. Hip colds due to small lesions or taking a certain medication are much less common. Conversely, there may be a familiarity or a predisposition to this type of disease.

How long does hip cold last?

According to the history of the case and if the child has followed the appropriate therapies, the pain generally subsides in seven to ten days. Joint effusion, meanwhile, disappears completely in two to three weeks. However, even when the child no longer feels pain, it is imperative to rest for a while to avoid joint pain.

If it is a child who regularly practices sports activities that have a significant impact on his hip, he must wait at least six weeks to recover. In the event that the symptoms and effusion last more than a month, it is recommended to carry out additional instrumental examinations in order to rule out other more serious pathologies.

Note carefully: reactive hip synovitis tends to recur (about one in seven) in the same limb and in the other, usually within a year. If such an event occurs, follow up the same treatment as in the first episode. If the frequency of relapses is however excessive, a significant change in the child's sporting activity up to his 12 or 13 years may be required.

How do you treat hip colds in children?

No special treatment needed for childhood colds. The pain subsides quickly with absolute rest or, on the advice of the pediatrician, with the administration of mild anti-inflammatory drugs such as tachipyrin or other similar models. These drugs are prescribed to reduce inflammation and swelling in the hip.

In the initial acute phase, the load on the affected leg should obviously be limited and there is no need to worry if the child tends to keep the limb turned outward and bent. This position will bring him greater comfort and reduce pain. The pediatrician can also recommend the use of Canadian sticks for the first two weeks, but the use of special shoes for the child is not mandatory.

If even with these treatments, the pain has not completely disappeared after ten days, it is advisable to subject the child to more precise examinations. They will exclude other causes due to more serious and dangerous diseases such as the Perthes fracture (s) mentioned above, septic arthritis of the hip and bone tumors. These must be diagnosed in time to avoid serious complications.