Hip disorders in children who have spinal cord injury.

Little has been written regarding the assessment and treatment of hip disorders in children who have underlying paralysis. Each year approximately 2000 people younger than 20 years of age suffer a spinal cord injury (SCI). This compares with a larger number of children who have other forms of neurologic disorders, such as myelodysplasia, which affects approximately 6000 newborns annually in the United States, and for which there is a large body of literature describing the natural history and treatment of hip disorders in children who have myelodysplasia. This article focuses on hip disorders in children who have SCI, although there is clearly commonality in hip disorders that transcends many neurologic disorders.