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shelbys Story

Shelby is a Level 7 gymnast at the North Canton , Ohio , YMCA.  She is 12 years old and has been doing gymnastics for 8 years.  When Shelby was 8 years old she underwent surgery for a condition called Leg Perthes Disease.  She spent two months from June 2000 to August 2000 in a body cast and then spent the next 3 months in rehab so she could walk again. 

Click here to read shelbys Story in her own words.

Leg Perthes Disease is an abnormal condition in the head of the femur (the part of the thigh bone that fits into the hip socket).  The problem starts when the blood flow to the head of the femur is cut off.  As a result, some of the bone tissue begins to die and the bone becomes soft and spongy.  Sometimes small fractures develop.  As the child moves and bears weight on the leg, the head of the bone flattens and loses its smooth, round shape to the point where it is no longer held in the hip socket.  Blood circulation normally returns to the femur within a few months.  It is not known what stopped or re-starts the flow of blood to the femur. 

Leg Perthes Disease occurs most commonly in children between the ages of 4 and 12 years old.  It is a rare disease that afflicts approximately 1 in 1200 children and only about 1 in every 4 cases are girls.  Most of the children are very active and often very athletic. 

Some of the symptoms of Leg Perthes Disease are usually a limp and perhaps pain in the hip, groin, or knee.  The initial diagnosis will require an x-ray, MRI, or bone scan.  Once the disease is diagnosed there are two options, non-surgical and surgical, for treatment of the disease.  The first is to wear a brace for up to 3 years.  The other is to have surgery and remain in a body cast for 2 to 3 months followed by several months’ worth of physical rehabilitation.  

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