IDIOPATHIC CHONDROLYSIS OF HIP

A 13 Year old girl with history of pain in the left hip, stiffness, walking difficulty for one month. There was no history of trauma, fever and weight loss. Physical examination revealed left side antalgic gait and pelvic obliquity. There was restriction of abduction, flexion and external rotation on the affected side. Laboratory investigations for C - reactive protein, Rheumatoid factor and serum complement were normal. The complete blood profile was normal. Conventional Radiography of the left hip showed decrease in the joint space, decrease femoral head height, sclerosis and irregularities in articular margins. Her pelvis was tilted towards femoral side, femoral head was small and flattened with irregular margins. The young girl was treated initially with bed rest, traction, physiotherapy treatment including positioning, passive mobilization exercise, active range of motion exercise, static quadriceps contraction and Gait retraining. This case of idiopathic chondrolysis of hip is a rare clinical entity.