Chapter 7, Problem 5CCS

45-Year-Old Female with Dislocated Hip

Kayla Tanner, a 45-year-old mother of four, was involved in a car accident. When emergency responders arrived on the scene and extracted her from the car, they found that her right thigh appeared shorter than her left thigh. They also noticed that even slight hip movement caused considerable pain. Suspecting a hip dislocation, they stabilized and transported her.

In the emergency department, doctors discovered a decreased ability to sense light touch in her right foot, and she was unable to move her toes or ankle. Dislocation of her right hip was confirmed by X ray. Mrs. Tanner was sedated to relax the muscles around the hip. and then doctors placed her in the supine position and performed a closed reduction (“popped” the femur back in place).

5. NCLEX-STYLE Mrs. Tanner is discussing her injury with you during recovery. Which of her remarks indicate a need for additional education about her injury?

a.“I dislocated my shoulder twice. I guess this hip injury is just the same sort of thing–I’m surprised it hasn’t happened before. I’m sort of nervous that it could just slip out any time!”

b.“I didn’t realize that so many of the hip bones were fused together.”

c.“The bottom of my spinal column is really different from the top!”

d.“When you look at how tight those connections are, it’s easy to see why I can’t move my leg around at the hip the way I move my arm around at the shoulder.”