Leg Braces?

Rebecca - posted on 10/21/2009

my dughter had club feet, she wears leg braces and has been in plaster for the first 6 mth of her life, i found if i kept the legs braces on all the time, she dont know any different, put socks or stocking over them so she learns to keep them on u can also go see a specialist and they will make ones with buckles to keep them on my daughter is 15 mths noW AND is doing fine

Sarah - posted on 11/07/2009

My daughter was born with both hips out of the sockets, and had to have a pavlic harness until she was 6 months old. While it was traumatic for me, she got used to it quickly and didn't seem to mind it. She is now 1 year, walking like a champ and just had her yearly xray and it looked great! It is much better to catch the problem now while they are little in hopes to avoid magor reconstructive surgeries down the road. Just keep in mind that while you will remember this time in your child's life, they won't, so getting things like leg braces and harnesses out of the way early can be a good thing! Good luck!

Barbara - posted on 11/03/2009

My daughter had to wear a harness 24/7 starting at 4.5 months. It is def hard to see when it first goes on. I cried and felt so bad. But babies are so adaptable and it really didn't bother her. As someone else said, as long as she had them on all the time it was easier on her. We were told we could take her out of it for an hour a day but I think that made it harder as time went by. After 6 weeks we were told we could cut back to just using it at night and it was really hard because she was used to being out of it. We'll keep monitoring her hips now for the next few years but we're done with the harness. I know it's hard but remind yourself that you're doing what is best for her. Good luck.

Chrissy - posted on 10/22/2009

my daughter wasn't born with anything wrong with her legs,but when she was about 5 years old,during kindergarten,she started to complain about her legs,and hips hurting.She would sometimes wake up at night crying because they were hurting her so bad. Her doctor said it was just growing pains,and it should stop on its own. i wasn't just going to take that chance,so i had him refer us to a specialist. Her first meeting with this doctor,he did xrays,and immediately notified us that it was not growing pains. What she had was a disease call Legg-calve-perthes disease. Her right hip bone was being ground by the leg bone. She had to wear a leg brace that kept her legs spread wide open so the bone would grow back without being damaged .She di not have to wear them to school,but was to wear them at all other times.This went on for a short time,it was only 6 months,but it really seemed like longer. She dealt with it like a real trooper,knowing she was no different from any other kid. The only problems we had,were the stares,pointing,and whispering by ADULTS when we went out in public.i was amazed every time she spoke up and would say"You know,it's noy polite to stare." All is fine now,it's amazing how resilient children are.Just hang in there!!!

Gina - posted on 10/21/2009

HI Sarah, My daughter was born with the same thing. When she was 2 days old they realized that her hips were dislocating. The Dr. told me to double diaper her and that seemed to work well for her. They told me that she would need a brace too. When she was 6 days old she had her first Shriner's appointment but they never put her in the brace. They just monitored the situation and it got better on it's own. Good Luck!

Robin - posted on 11/12/2009

My son was born with club feet, he was in casts for the first year, then had to have surgery, then casts again for 10 weeks...then....he had a brace that hooked his feet together. He was a trooper! And it didn't slow him down at all...he "crawled" with the casts and the brace.....your child will do fine, just don't treat them like something is wrong, and they'll get along just fine.

Chrissy - posted on 10/22/2009

it's amazing how things just hit you out of nowhere isn't it?! My daughter never once complained,or felt sorry for herself one time during this. Even though,everywhere we went in public,she knew there were stares,whispers,and pointing. It never one time affected her! She is perfectly fine now.

Sarah - posted on 10/22/2009

Only 8 weeks thankfully but we thought we were in the clear as she had no clicks or dislocations so this came out of no where for us, she has to wear it because he hip socket isn't curving at the right pace.

Alvernita - posted on 10/21/2009

Quoting Sarah:

Leg Braces?

My daughter was born breech with out complications and she is almost 5 months now and the doctors have put her in a brace, does anyone have any experience with this and has some tips they can share with me please and thanks.

my best friend's son had leg braces on both.. of course she will hate them but you have to be strong and patient with her.. if you have any more questions let me know how long does she have to wear them and what for?

Lainie - posted on 10/21/2009

Hi Sarah. My son had hip dysplasia (dislocating/clicky hips) when he was born and he got his first brace (pavlik harness) at 5 days old. It was horrifying when I first saw it and cried and cried but honestly it made hardly no difference at all to how I cared for him. I was not allowed to take it off at all for 3 months so he only got sponged bathed each night. I actually found him much easier to handle as his little legs were 'stuck' perfectly to fit on my hip. I got very used to the nappy changing after a little while and hardly noticed it. My only tip is to try and keep the fabric (if it's the pavlik harness) as clean as possible as it's hard to get the poo off and you're not allowed to wash it. Keep areas such as behind the knee, ankles, feet in general and under the chest plate really clean and dry as the skin gets a bit smelly and tends to get sore if they get sweaty. I also bypassed about 2 sizes of pants to accommodate the harness. My son had the brace off totally when he was 4 months and had no adverse effects. He walked at 9 months and all his check ups since have been fine. He is now 16 months old and you would never know he ever had an issue. I'm not sure if this is what your little one has but from what i've heard, it's very treatable if caught early enough (which your little one is still very young) I hope it all works out for you! Good luck!