A bit of good news for hump day

Hip health is a major concern for many people with cerebral palsy. The reason behind this is largely because spastic (tight) leg muscles can pull the hip out of the socket, causing hip dysplasia where the ball of the hip joint isn’t fully covered by the hip socket. The surgery to correct this is a major one with a long, painful recovery.

In other words: this is something you want to avoid if at all possible.

This is why, against our local doctors’ recommendations, we decided to have Solly undergo selective percutaneous myofascial lengthening (SPML) last year to give his tight muscles a release along with alcohol blocks to help loosen them up. If you’re new to our blog, I wrote a couple of updates on SPML at 2 months and at one year post-op, and also gave an update on Solly’s hip health at 6 months post-op. This surgery was a game changer for Solly’s gross motor development, giving him the opportunity to move his legs more freely so he can now walk in a gait trainer and independently propel his tricycle.

And yet, despite all of these gains, I’ve still been worrying about his hip health. This is partially because I sometimes question my decision to have had SPML since so many of our local doctors advised us against it (this is largely due to a lack of education on their part), but also because it’s a worry for many parents of children with CP, so I’m constantly seeing posts on social media about hip health. When our 6 month check up with our local orthopedic doctor popped up on my calendar for today, I lost a little sleep last night and put on my fighting gloves this morning, expecting that I’d have to debate with our doctor about next steps for keeping Solly healthy and comfortable.

I quickly ripped off those gloves when the doctor walked into the examination room with a wide smile on his face. Solly’s hips are in great shape and he was pleased with all of Solly’s functional gains. (In fact, he was so impressed with the results we saw after our intensive at the NAPA Center that he jotted down its name to read more about what they’re doing there.) No need for a return appointment for another year.

That’s a major win for Solly and this Mama!