The bizarre stiff hip. Possible idiopathic chondrolysis.

Idiopathic chondrolysis of the hip is characterized by pain and limp in adolescence, with progressive loss of articular cartilage space and stiffness of the hip. In our five cases, the best results were obtained in those patients immobilized in a position of function. Those cases in which range-of-motion exercises were carried out resulted in ankylosis in a position of excessive flexion.