Hip helpers

Question: Has anyone used hip helpers? The site is http://www.hiphelpers.com. These are shorts that are designed for low tone kids and really cheap in price.

Answer (from a pediatric physical therapist): I have been using them for children with Down syndrome for a good while and also recommended them for a little girl with PWS once she began to start pushing up on elbows when on her stomach. They should be worn when the child is awake and moving. They are designed to provide appropriate hip alignment, preventing widely spaced hips. When they are worn for movement such as tummy play, rolling, belly crawling, getting in and out of sitting, creeping on all fours they help promote trunk rotation over the pelvis which is needed for eventual adequate weight shift in the trunk when walking. Perhaps some of you have seen an older person with a diagnosis that includes low muscle tone (Down syndrome) that did not have the benefit of early intervention. Their gait pattern is one of very little weight shift from one hip to the other because they never developed adequate trunk rotation and now walk with either a leaned forward posture or a waddle. Anyway, enough technicality, the point I am concerned about is that these should be tight enough to hold the hips in neutral alignment (shoulder-width apart) without causing any red marks or constriction. If they are rising up they may be too big in which case you could put them on over a pair of thick pants. I don't recommend putting a baby to bed with them on because of the constrictive nature of the spandex material.