Toddler Hurt His Leg

I have had a charlie horse that 3 days later I still could barely put any weight on my leg to walk- So maybe a charlie horse? My mother says I got them real bad most of my childhood and that when I was small and not able to talk hardly at all I would cry and hold my leg - and baby it (not walk on it) for at least a day. No one ever knew what it was till I was older and better able to communicate. Any way just a thought!

I want to say its growing pains. My son had growing pains as a toddler as well. He would cry or just go around leaping on leg for days to weeks. This happened a lot. Before I next guess it I would say make an appointment with his doctor and he can let you know right away if its growing pains or something is wrong with the leg , hip, joints.

I would recommend you get him to a Pediatric Orthopedic Specialist right away... when my son was 4 or 5, he started having problems with his leg and hip...it took a while to diagnose but he was finally diagnosed with Legg Calve Perthes when he was in kindergarten. It is hard to diagnose til it is to a certain point (prior to it finally getting to the point where it could be seen on xrays, we were told growing pains and to give motrin) but once it is progressed enough (and by then the pain is bad), they are put in a brace for a while... my son was in the brace for 4 years... feel free to call me if you would like to know more info about what the disease is, the symptoms, treatment, etc. He is now 18 and his hip is completely normal and has been since middle school. My # is ###-###-####... I would be glad to talk with you... I know how scary and frustrating it can be... been there, done that! T.

My daughter got a toddler fracture at about the same age. It is a spiral fracture and doesn't show up on x-rays. They suspected a toddler fracture, so they did an MRI and it showed up right away. A lot of times they don't do anything to treat it, and in our case it just healed itself up. If we had known they weren't going to cast it or anything we wouldn't have done the MRI because she had to be sedated and it was traumatic for us. I would specifically ask about a toddler fracture and see what they say. Your doctor might recommend an ortho doc.

Toddler fractures are very common. My husband saw our daughter get hurt. She was trying to kick a ball and twisted her leg as she missed it and fell. It didn't seem like a hard fall, but apparently it was just the angle when she fell. A lot of times parents don't even see how they get these fractures, it doesn't take a lot apparently.

I haven't dealt with anything like that before but it's concerning for sure. If it continues I would seek out another opinion. Hope he gets better really soon let us know how he's doing.

A similar thing happened to my 3 year old. he jumped off the bed and hurt his foot. The foot wasn't swollen or anything but he limped.I took him for xrays and they didn't show anything. I gave it some time but it wasn't getting any better so I took him to a chiropractor and she fixed it up right away. I see Dr. Laura Precourt in PLano www.drlauraprecourt.com - tell her I sent you! She is great.

W. -

If you rule out everything else and can't get answers, you might ask about the possibility of juvenile arthritis.

My daughter stopped walking at 22 months. It started with a slight limp, and then we noticed her ankle was swollen. The pediatrician thought she sprained it. He said kids this age often do sprain their ankles. So we were told to keep an eye on it. About two months later, it got worse to the point where she wouldn't walk unless she really wanted something. The doctor said she was overcompensating with the other foot. He said since both feet, ankles and legs weren't feeling good, she probably preferred not to have to walk if she didn't have to. She'd limp around the doctor's office so he didn't think it was that serious.

Two days later, she ran a 104 temperature and became rigid (& didn't want to be touched/held). We ended up going to the ER (and then admitted to the hospital for four days -- we were "quarantined" because they didn't know what was going on). They did all sorts of tests. We were fortunate the doctor at Medical City suggested it might be juvenile arthritis after ruling out everything else. Unfortunately many kids go undiagnosed for months and years.

Not all children present with JA the same way... running a high temperature is not required to have JA. I know other families who have learned about their child's arthritis because the imflammation wouldn't go away and the doctors ruled out everything else.

Can your son unbend his knee? I haven't heard of children with JA keeping their joints bent-- usually they're not able to bend them (they lose range of motion in their joints) -- so it sounds like JA might not be a possibility, but I wanted to share this with you so if you do not get answers, you can ask your pediatrician about it. Most pediatricians don't know much about JA though.

JA normally presents in children in either their toddler/preschool years or in their pre-teen years, and it is something you want to treat asap so as not to have too much joint damage.

I hope your son is better soon!!

S.

Hi W.,

My son did the exact same thing when he was 9 months old. We also took him to Drs and they could find "nothing" wrong with him. I was desperate so when someone suggested Chiropractic I thought it couldn't hurt to try. Well, it worked and never happened again. Hope this helps!!

Did they zoom in on the xray? A few months ago, my son pulled a concrete birdbath down on himself and had a bruise on his leg, but wouldn't put weight on it. We went to the ER and they first said there was no break, but then went back and zoomed in on the xray, and sure enough, there were hairline fractures in both of his lower leg bones. They were not visible on the regular xray. Perhaps there is something there that they aren't seeing?

I am sorry you and your litte guy are going through this. What ER did you take him to? If it wasn't Cook's or Children's Medical Center, I would do one of two things today-get him into his pediatrician or get him to one of the above mentioned children's hospital ER's. I know Cook's has an urgent care clinic on the same campus as the hospital.

This could be something relatively small or it could be something like a bone infection which can be very, very serious.

Good luck and I hope your 22month old is back up and getting into everything asap!

I would consult your pediatrician. Does he jump on trampolines? These things are hazardous and can injure children and not just by falling off of them. If they are "double bounced" they can damage soft tissues in the joints. X-rays won't pick up this type of injury. Can he bend the knee, foot and hip all directions while in non-weight bearing positions? Best of luck.

Take him to a chiropractor. The ER should release his x-rays to you and so the chiropractor can have a look inside without taking new ones. I don't know where you are located, but there is an AWESOME pediatric chiropractic office in Hurst with a husband and wife chiropractic team - Lifetime Family Wellness Center (Drs. Jim and Cindy Haggerton). I don't have their number handy, but I can't say enough about them and they may be able to help your little guy out. I also have a few other chiro recommendations if Hurst is too far. Let me know if you would like them.

This is going out on a limb and probably not the cause, but - when was his last vaccination, and which one was it? If he had one recently, you might research it further to see if that has been a side effect for anyone else.

Sorry he's having this, and I hope you find the cause soon.

W.:
A friend of mine's son did this at age 15 mos. They went to Cook's Children's and did X-Rays and found nothing but at Cook, they have the X-Ray's examined twice. The second dr., after examination, found a break the next day!!!!!!! They casted him for 2 weeks! The mother was sooo glad b/c they were looking at other horrible causes like polio, etc. after they rulled out break. The only "cause" she knows is that he played outside the day before, she was with him the whole time and he never fell, and when he slid down the slide he got up and started limping.

If you want an answer, get the X-Rays from the ER (you are intitled to them, you paid for them so ask for them at the hospital service desk) and find another dr. to read them or ask another dr. in the ER to look at them! You will be charged for the reading, but at least you will get a second opinion without paying for more X-Rays. OR, if you just want to rule it out and care of the possible problem yourself (if you think it is bone), you can make a splint and splint it up for 2 weeks (baby's bones heal fast, even my son's dr. said the same thing when he broke his wrist at 16 mos.), but this could be difficult at that age and size and I would not stop further testing for other possible causes while doing this! Ask the dr. what he would recomend you do "in the mean time" of all this testing!

Don't assume it is not a break just b/c the dr. didn't see it. It may not be, but it just as easily could be a break yet or just bone trama. Babies bones are very tiny and breaks are hard to see. Like the case above, when my son broke his wrist, it took the fourth dr. to see the "break" after much over-exposing the X-Ray and blowing the image up (they can do wonderful things with the image so tell them to do it), and really, it was not a break but a "thinning break". This is caused by the fact that babies bones are often rubbery yet (from birth) and the "rubber" can stretch (like silly-putty can stretch) with trama, causing an injury/less dense area of the bone or bone trama!

Good Luck with this! I went through the same heart-ache just 2 mos. ago with my son! They ended up find the cause and casting his arm after much proding from me and three weeks of run-around on how the heck to brace a "sprained wrist" on a 16 mos. old who keeps falling on it. The cast and dr. visits were some-what costly considering it was not an official break, but for me, it was worth it's weight in gold! He slept at night after it was on and I was assured it would heal correctly with no arthritus from an injury left un-treated! I could not find a way to keep a 15 mos. old from falling (they are still clumbsy then when it comes to walking/running) and re-injuring it, thus not allowing it to heal. They customized a cast and not even 1.5 weeks later the swelling was gone and he took the cast off himself! What a wonder just a couple of injury-free days can make, even if you don't realize they were re-injuring it!

Really, best of luck! So sorry both you and your son have to go through this!

T.

I agree with Lisa A in that this could be a blood disorder. My nephew had a similar problem when he was a toddler, He went to bed fine, and woke up the next morning unable to walk. Tests revealed that he has a rare blood disorder and at only 4 years old he had suffered a light stroke sometime during that night. He bounced right back and is now a happy 22 year old young man.

I would go see a pediactric orthopedist. That is not normal and should be seen by a specialist for a second oppinion.

he could have a pinched nerve in his back, I have a sliped disk in my back and it causes extreme leg pain...

its worth getting another oppinion about. use your gut and never just take one explination for something that does not seem right. :o)

Good luck
A. J

Please...Please take him to Children's Medical Center and have him thorughly tested. I hope it is not, but those could be early signs of a blood disorder. My son, who is now 3 1/2 had the exact same symptoms when he was 14 months old. After 1 week of tests X-rays and extensive blood work his pediatrician was baffled, dismissed me and perscribed Motrin for pain. At the advise of a co-worker I took my son to Children's Medical ER early the next Saturday morning and we remained there for 3 months. My son was diagnosed with Acute Myloid Leukiemia. He received extensive Chemotherapy and is now healthy, happy and in remission.

W.,
I agree with Tanya F., My daughter hurt her leg at 15 mos old and at the cooks children's they could not find a break because she was so small. They casted her for two weeks. Took x-rays after removing the cast and they showed a small fracture in her left tibea. As it heals you can see it. Good Luck. God Bless. E.

I am with everyone else I would take him to your pediatrician. I also noticed, with my son, that if he gets hurt, that he tends to "baby" it. For example he hurt his foot last week and he favored it for the rest of the day, I guess because he remembered the pain. It wasn't serious, actually very minor. That is what he did, I know its find of different than your situation but I thought I would share anyways. I don't know. Good luck.

I would recommend that you go to a Cooks pediatric orthopedic doctor in Fort Worth. My daughter had fallen and hurt her leg and the emergency room doctor had said she was fine. A few days later, I had taken her to the pediatric orthopedic and they were able to determine that she had a fracture in her growth plate. Apparently with little ones it is hard to notice on some x-rays.

My son did this on Fathers Day. He did fall though, but they said he sprained his hip and his knee. The doc said they don't have to fall to do this, they can just twist it wrong. It took a couple of days, but everything went back to normal.

I had a similar thing happen to my son, around his 1st birthday. I came home from work one morning, and noticed that he was limping. Wasn't crying or anything, just limping. I took him to his pedi's office, and he asked if he had a fall, or someone dropped hime, etc. I told him that none of that had happened, so he sent me to get x-rays and blood work. All of which came back o.k. He said that it was probably a viral infection of the joint in his hip, and that the limping should go away in a week with no treatment. And sure enough it did, no ill effects. Hope that information helps!!

Was he recently vaccinated???? Please read more on vaccinations if he was. There are books like Dr. Sears new one on vaccines or Stephanie Cave or Dr. Tenpenney.
I have been reading that same symptom has been caused by vaccines and the doctor will not agree with it! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE READ for your child!
L.

This is just a guess, but check him for bug bites??

Take him to a pediatrician. ER doctors are specialized in trauma - heart attacks, stab/gunshot wounds, strokes and lots of things that need immediate medical attention. If you have issues with anything more than serious emergencies for your son, I'd take him to the pediatrician because they are specialized in children and things that go wrong with them. If they don't know what it is, they can refer you to someone who can help you figure out what it is. They should at least be able to get you pointed in the right direction. Just stick with your gut feeling, but keep a level head about it. If you really feel like it's more than the pediatrician seems to think it is, push him to do more or get a second opinion.

My son had this when he was little. I can't remember the name but I was worried too and it was nothing. As long as they took blood and did x-rays, and found nothing, don't worry. Give him some Motrin for the pain. The dr. had a scientific name for it but I call it growing pains.

I hope it's nothing major but here are two ideas - one
I was just reading an article about how thousands of Americans are affected by blood clots masquerading as leg pain. That seems like more of a thing older people would be affected by but it might be something to look into.

Also, my obgyn was telling me a story about how he took his son to the radiologist to get his arm looked at and the radiologist didn't see any breaks and the obgyn being a dr himself pointed out two small factures the other dr had missed. So I would just say - take him to another dr (like people suggested, a pediatrician or someone) and insist on them looking at him again. Good luck!

Well, My 24 month old daughter and I went through the same thing this past Friday. My little dare devil jumped out of the window of her little playhouse, only about 8 inches off the ground. She cried and would not put any weight on it. So I took her to the afterhours clinic Saturday morning. I spent 3 hours at Care Now taking x-rays of my daughter's right foot, both hips and everything in between. She has limped for approximatly four days. The doctor thought she bruised something, he did not know what. However, your situation is a little different. He mentioned a condition where blood flow is blocked in the hip area of very young children. I certainly hope this is not the case, however, if your child is still limping, you might want to check into it. It is most likely a sprain. Of course, there is also the possibility that the x-ray tech errored. Use your instincts, if you feel something is truley wrong, go to the pediatrian and voice your concerns. Broken bones always are accompanied by massive swelling and bruising. I hope I have not worried you sick. Best of luck! I am sure it is just tender, and he will start walking on it soon.

Dear W.,

So sorry about Your little Boy... I would suggest You get into an Orthopedist. My son at about the age one time had what they call a " green stick fracture" a thin fracture line up the lower leg and he reacted like Your son...wore a cast about a month... just jumped off something and factured it.

There is also another problem , called " Legg Perthes Disease" that makes a child have hip and leg pain and is hard to diagnose in the beginning... The GOOD NEWS is it heals itself ( with a brace) over a period of time, ( in our case , one year)... It is caused by a deterioration of the head of the femur, but IT HEALS ITSELF!!!!!My son had this at age 6, many children have this, mostly boys.

I don't know if any of this will help You, but do get into see an Orthopedist ( Our Dr. wasn't even a Pediatric Specilist in our small town )

Hope this helps,
V.Still

When my daughter was 1 she had an issue walking one Sunday, & we thought she had fallen. On Monday morning it was worse and noticed her ankle was swollen. Our pediatrician sent us to Children's & they did Xrays & tests & found nothing alrming. We gave her Motrin & by Tuesday afternoon she was wanting to run around again. They said it was an infection & is more common than you think. She has not had an issue since.

I fell about three years ago in my driveway on ice. I could not get up and a neighbor just happen to see me. I walked for three months with one leg in a limp. Everyone thought maybe I broke something but I was sure it was just bruised. It was soon I started to not notice it anymore and I walk fine. We walk a certain way to protect ourselves and pain reminds us we have to. It is probably just a bone bruise and also I had a child run down my hall with her brother chasing her. I took her aside and told her someone will get hurt please do not do that again. Well she did it again and he followed she turned back sharp and ran over him. He crawled and kept his leg up for about a week. I now have the kids gated in so they can not do that anymore. He will be fine. God Bless G. W

I would make an appointment as soon as possible to see his pediatrician. Also, besides not walking or straightening his leg, is he crying with the pain or is it a more mild pain? I would continue to check for bruising, etc that might show up later until you can get him to his doctor. We'll pray that it's just growing pains! My son had issues with that when he was little. But it was mostly pain in his shins.

My son did this awhile back when he was around the same age, and after a couple of days he quit doing it. Maybe it's just growing pains. I've heard that they are much worse for boys than they are for girls.

My 3yo did this recently, too. He only did it for about half the day, though. Just didn't want to put any weight on his foot/ankle/leg. He would fall over if he tried. It was the weirdest thing. Then it just went away. Maybe growing pains like the other poster said. Dunno. Hopefully your son's problem will just disappear like my boy's did. I'm thinking you did (and the hospital did) everything you could. I would just monitor it for swelling and if it continues for more than a couple days, take him to the pedi. Who knows why they do these things? I hope and pray for you that it's nothing but growing pains.

My son broke his leg when he was 20 months. All he did was slip on a rug and then fell down. We took him to the ER b/c he wouldn't stop crying. They said that it was not broken. He still would not walk on it, so I took him to the pediatrician the next day and she got me into an orthepedic surgeon that day. I took the original x-rays with from the hospital and sure enough, he had a broken leg - the er doc just didn't see it. Fractures in children are very hard to see b/c their bones are still so soft. I would suggest you take him to an orthepedic doctor just to be sure. If you can't get in, have your pediatrician call. We (my son and husband) Dr. Humeniuk in Plano ###-###-####.

I remember when my daughter was a toddler, she would cry out in the night and hold her leg (before she could talk). After she began to speak, she would tell me her leg hurt. I later found out that during growth spurts that often the bones in their legs grow quickly and cause pain or aches as a result. My pediatrician advised to give her baby tylenol just before going to bed when she has an episode, and keep her on it for about a week. That seems to help her. She just turned 3 and is still affected by the pain in her legs, but it seems to occur mostly at night. Don't know if that helps, but you may check with your pediatrician - they may have more insight than an ER does with little ones.

He may just be scared to put weight on it, as at first it may be sore and hurt when he does even if not broke. I am assuming if something was out of place, but not broke, that it would show up on the x-ray.

Could the pain be from 'growing pains'? I am not sure of a cure, I have heard that bananas will help because the potassium in them is good for this type of pain. Good luck!

Hi W.,
My son (6 years old) had a similar thing happen in December. We thought he was having growing pains because he was limping and he kept telling us his leg was hurting. I took him to the doctor and told her I thought he was having growing pains. He showed her where it hurt (by his left hip) and she moved it around and told me that he needed blood work and x-rays. She thought he had toxic synovitis. Sure enough there is a certain blood test that she did that showed an elevated level in something and he had toxic synovitis. It is treated with motrin for the pain and inflamation. She had me go to a specialist to check him out as well and he told me the same thing. It lasted about 7 days and we kept him at home and still and just let him get better. If I can remember right she told me that it is caused by a virus. Maybe call your peditrician and ask about it. Good luck and I hope this helps. Prayers to you!

Thanks,
J.

Hi W., I come from an extremely large family & I know from experience that xray machines don't always show broken bones. I would take him to another facility & have him rechecked. I also I use to work at a hospital & I know they make mistakes. Babies his age don't just give in to pain like that. My little girl went with a broken arm for 3 days before we found it for sure & my brother-in-law had a broken neck for 3 weeks before he went somewhere else & found out so anything is possiable.
I pray you find an answer soon & get him some relief.
God Bless you & yours.

In 3 days I would take him back for repeat xrays if he is not better.. Keep an eye on where he may be swollen so they can narrow in where to xray again. My son was 2 and not quite talking when he broke his right tibia, called a toddler fracture. He is fine today. I hope he gets better soon.

Take him and the x-rays to his pediatrician.

My little boy hurt his leg when he was about that age. He was in play gym at Braum's with another little boy and from I was able to figure out was that (because he wasn't talking yet either) the little boy pushed him down the slide. According to the doctor, he probably hyperextended his leg. He was not able to walk on the leg and the doctor ended up putting a custom-made "cast" or "boot" on him. He wasn't able to walk without it for about a week. Hope this helps.

Has he had a virus recently? The first two years, my son, would get post viral swelling (usally appears 2 wks after virus). You didn't mention swelling, but sometimes my son's was mild. It would also cause him to favor the leg and not walk on it. I was told that post viral swelling is not very common, but after xrays and bloodwork, our pediatrician consulted w/ an orthopedic dr and decided that's what was going on.

Good luck and keep pushing for answers. Our pediatrician was great w/ working with our concerns.

When my son was three he fell off the bed and hurt his arm. When we went to the ER, the dr. took x-rays also and told us that nothing was wrong. He would still not put any weight on it and still favored it so before we left, I asked the dr. to look again. He found, after looking more closely, a buckle fracture in his wrist. It looked like a small fold in his bones. PLEASE have someone look more closely at the x-rays. If I had not been pushy, we would have never known. You KNOW something is wrong. Don't stop because one expert says there is nothing!! Keep pushing. You are your child's only advocate!

Ask the doctors about the posibility of Osteomyelitis. A friends daughter had this and she started out the same way and then one morning just would not walk on it at all. It took a lot of testing but they took her to Childrens Medical Center and this is what she had. It was difficult to diagnose.

He might not have fallen but could have bent his knee backwards the opposite direction. My 10 yr old son did that on the trampoline. He pulled his growth plate away from the bone. His knee was swollen for 3 days and very tender. We took him to the orthopedist who found the growth plate problem. He was on crutches for 2 months waiting for the growth plate to re-adhere. It did he is fine. Back in gymnastics. Less tramp at home playing stupid games that started it all.
That is just something to think about. He may need another set of xrays looking for a different source of the problem like a seperated growth plate or even a hairline fracture that didn't show up the first time. I wouldn't think a hairline fracture would hurt that much. When my other one had that in his arm, he really didn't have much pain except when you pressed directly over where the little fracture was. He was just in a sling for a couple of weeks, no cast. Arm rest only.
It could also be a charlie horse or knotted muscle that is sore. I get a crick in my neck that can be sore for several days. Since you say that he didn't fall or seem to hurt himself, it could very well be a soft tissue injury. Which means that he could have twisted etc. when you didn't see, but just didn't feel it till later.
I would take him to his primary doctor and let him look him over. You are his mother and can surely tell when something is wrong. If the ibuprofen doesn't work after a day or two, then I would have him re-evaluated, but at a different place by his doctor that is more familiar with you and your son.
Good luck,
L.