[The stiff hip (post-traumatic ankylosis)]

The partial or total ankylosis of the hip joint caused directly by an injury or indirectly as a consequence of a trauma is a severe and permanent handicap for the subject concerned. This is due to the fact that, because of its special position at the connection point between body and leg, a not functioning hip joint involves a permanent restriction in many fields of every-day life, above all at the working place, but also in private life. Not only the walking movement, but also the walking performance is restrained, and even the sitting capacity is disturbed, which also has unfavorable consequences. Contrary to ankylosed peripheral joints of extremities, the possibilities of compensation are limited. There are considerable secondary effects to other parts of the body, above all lumbar spine, contralateral hip and both knee joints, which partly will appear much later, when the possibilities of correction are already restrained by the altered function of the affected structures, the muscles especially. Some types of posttraumatic hip ankylosis can be prevented, others need specific therapeutic measures. The pathogenesis of the posttraumatic hip ankylosis does not differ fundamentally from other etiologies. This is why the results of contracture research are also valid for the functional conception and treatment of the posttraumatic hip ankylosis.