Extension-Abduction Contracture of the Spastic Hip

Patients with cerebral palsy and fixed hip extension are often unable to sit and therefore lose social and educational opportunities. At Texas Scottish Rite Hospital (Dallas, TX, U.S.A.), 29 patients had hip extension-abduction contractures. Eleven patients with mild involvement were managed with physical therapy. Six patients had moderate involvement and required wheelchair modification to maintain sitting. Twelve patients demonstrated severe contractures that required major soft tissue releases and often femoral shortening osteotomies to regain flexion. Patients with athetosis or rigidity were identified as those most likely to develop extension-abduction contractures either spontaneously or following adductor releases.