When examining the legs, with bend at the knee, one knee may be lower than the other, due to subluxation.

While abducting the hips feel for a click or clunk of the femoral head sliding in and out of a shallow acetabulum. Also, if the hip is dislocated, the hip adductors will not permit the thigh to be abducted fully, when the femur is held in 90 degrees of flexion.

Don't forget to check femoral pulses while you are in the area.

Children need to have a careful examination for subluxation or dislocation of the hip, up to age one year. Pathology may have been missed during an earlier examination, or the child may have developed more obvious findings due to continued abnormal positioning of the hip within the acetabulum or abnormal tightness of the hip muscle groups, as in developing spasticity. Check for leg length, since one leg may be shorter on the side of a dislocation. Also there may be extra or asymmetric thigh creases.

When examining the legs, with bend at the knee, one knee may be lower than the other, due to subluxation.

While abducting the hips feel for a click or clunk of the femoral head sliding in and out of a shallow acetabulum. Also, if the hip is dislocated, the hip adductors will not permit the thigh to be abducted fully, when the femur is held in 90 degrees of flexion.

Don't forget to check femoral pulses while you are in the area.