Medical My Child Is In Pain, Help?

[Powder]

Feel free to move if necessary; I'm not sure where to post this.

My 5 year old daughter had growing pains, I think, in both legs, fell a bit on the school playground, and began to limp with just right leg pain. My hope is that the fall is the reason. The limp started the day of the fall, and has tapered off.

That was in January, and the pain has lessened. We've gone to the family doc for a physical evaluation and xrays. All fine. Bloodwork is next, to screen for Arthritis and Cancer or bone/joint infection.

I'm scared this could be something serious. With my PTSD, I worry about every medical thing; someone close to me died of cancer, so I worry about that in our genes. She is in regular muscular cramp pain on one leg only. I hope that it's just a pulled ligament or muscle. That is what it seems to be, but it's gotten worse again, and I have to give her Ibuprofen evening, bed, and morning, or else she complains.

I've been taking her to a PT/Massage therapist with years of experience and many certifications on various modalities.

She notes that the right leg is overly muscled in the back and not at all on the front of the leg. Tight hamstrings, butt, and calf. Weak quad and inner thighs.

Anyone have a child go through months of leg pain on only one leg?

I want to start her in Physical Therapy, as the Massage Therapist suggests.

Any advice?

 

[Julesnaz]

Is one leg shorter than the other? I have one that is by about 1/4 inch and I get pain in that leg, hip, and back if I don't wear a lift in my shoe for long periods of time. Hope you guys find out what it is soon.

 

[darrenS]

My second daughter had the same problem and would complain regularly , she went off to a orthopedic surgeon who stated that her tendons were the main cause of the problem as they were not stretching enough with her rapid growth and it would just take time...she is a lot better now but it went on for a good couple of years and we would massage her legs and apply linaments.

I also have a nephew with experiences the same things and has for years , his feet have a slight turn as a result , he is 14 and already 6ft and they estimate he will grow to 7ft (his father is 6'6") and all my family is tall (im a shorty at 6'2") but its the same reason for my daughter (she will also be tall..already is taller than all her classmates) My oldest daughter was diagnosed with juvenile arthritis at 10 and had a tough time and still does.

I would check out a orthopedic surgeon who specializes in children

 

[Chosen]

what about taking her to a chiropractor? That might help! just be wary of some of them--if they talk about sublaxation, they might be trying to sound smart and try to take too much money. (sublaxation is just like adjustments or something). Try to find one focused on medical--a graduate from Palmer Chiropractic grad school in Iowa will probably be safe.

 

[Rumors]

My son does the same thing. It ebbs and flows depending on his growth. He can go months with leg pain and wake up one morning and it will be gone for months. Hand in there. It was a source of many sleepless nights for me as well.

 

[WildMermaid]

@Muse does your daughter have any other oddities about the way she moves, or pain in any other body parts? Is she very flexible? Does her leg hurt her at night as well as during the day when it is in use? Is her pain consistent with her activity levels? Does she sit in funny ways, such as with legs up, or is she comfy with a normal sitting position? When I was little I had fierce "growing pains" even though I was diagnosed with failure to thrive. I would sit comfortably in what I now know where unusual and pretzel-like positions but had raging pains having to sit still and keep feet flat on floor. I have Rheumatoid Arthritis, Ehlers Danlos syndrome and am hypermoblie my connective tissue throughout my body is faulty and it causes some weird issues. I fell a lot as a child and was loose limbed and eventually my joints began to sublux (dislocate) regularly. I had many operations to try and keep it in check, but all were temporary fixes. If you suspect something is wrong with her joints, muscles, or connective tissue please take her to an Rheumatologist or and Orthopedist just to rule out anything more serious. Wishing you both lots of luck! :hug:

 

[GWhizz]

@Muse I had dreadful growing pains as a child. My parents weren't good parents so it never came up. But as far as I know I am fine physically in that regard and they settled when I was a teen. I was a tall child and grew pretty rapidly. I hope it's just a growth spurt. It doesn't sound like arthritis to me - that's moreso joint pain and there would be inflammatory markers raised in her bloods. Don't get too worried by the PT - they will pick up any and every tightness, gait unbalance etc - but these can be caused by something as simple as ill-fitting shoes.

 

[Queen Boudica]

There is no such thing as growing pains. You need to get her checked out. She could have low muscle tone or she may need orthotics. She needs a physio to check her out. Growing pains are a myth.

 

[Neverthesame]

When I was a kid I had something similar happen. Only one leg was affected, it was locked at the hip. Mine went away by itself after a week or so. I believe it was a sprain or a strain.

Your probably right about it being benign. Though the duration is a bit strange. I would suggest an ice pack on the affected leg, might also be an idea for her to take it easy until you take her to the doctor.

 

[Powder]

We have a Seattle Children's Hospital (a good reputation in our state) Pediatrician who comes to our area booked for a referral. I'm not given the appointment date yet.

Thank you to all who posted. This makes me feel a bit calmer. I think it's that she pulled her ligaments in her hamstring, or hamstring pull, but it's hard to get her to ice pack that area or stop jumping. :) I think if it's that, she may need physical therapy to strengthen the surrounding areas to help heal it.

Yeah, it's going on too long, and she wakes up with the pain, crying, wakes me up, and asks for pain meds. Occasionally (twice?), her other leg hurts, but that is likely because she's now overusing it to compensate for the injured leg.

I just want to find out how to help her and get her well again. The "skid" fall happened in January! My other child had to do PT for an ankle sprain this winter. I'm feeling confused about why both kids have soft tissue injuries that don't seem to heal well.

 

[WildMermaid]

@Muse it may be her connective tissue. Regardless you're doing right by her, and she's lucky to have you. :) Seattle Children's Hospital is very good, and also the one the Russell Wilson (Seahawks) visits regularly. #12 lol. ;) I'm in Washington too, most of my work was done at Shriner's Hospital for Crippled Children in Portland, OR. Wishing you nothing but the very best, and please keep us updated on her progress. :hug:

 

[Powder]

I'm sorry to hear all that you've been through @WildMermaid. EDS sounds like a real challenge. My friend has it and has talked to me about it. She has a limited diet and exercises daily to mitigate the symptoms and improve her quality of life.

Since my child's genetics on both sides include some autoimmunity disorders, I welcome the suggestion to check for that and other disorders.

Definitely, it seems to be coming from the ligaments in the hamstring, and it could be a growth spurt related injury to the tendons of the hamstrings behind the knee. Since she fell and overextended the hamstring during growth spurt, that is a high risk that she did that, especially as she limped that day and it was acute then.

But as you mentioned, sometimes what appears to be an isolated incident or injury is the tip of some other iceburg.

Thank you for your compliment and well wishes! I won't give up until we find her diagnosis and a treatment plan. I hope to include PT because if it is a pulled hamstring or hamstring tendonitis, her prognosis is best if PT is gently started as soon as possible and the DR is taking way too long.

My goal is to move this summer. This last few years has opened my eyes to the abysmal level of medical care in the central Washington area. In my town, the private hospital "owns" nearly every MD in town. This town is run by a few individuals. The medical care is not good and costs way too much and is too slow.