Daughter Unable to Use Leg.

As another Mama wrote, get some other opinions. Try another pediatrician and/or find out if there is a pediatric orthpedic doc in town. She may need something more definative than an xray, such as an MRI. Children's Mercy Hospital is a good source for information and referrals.

I would think growing pains,have they checked her for any serious medical conditions like bone cancer?My son gets growing pains that occur behind the knee caps in between his thighs or down his calves he is able to communicate to me where he hurts does your daughter have her hands in such places while she is crying look at her cues and report when they happen if it is growing pains I wouldn't think they would occur anymore than once a month for a day or two any more than that then yes I would be concerned as well.I wish you the best of luck.Growing pains are painful I had them along with charlie horses to the point on unable to walk.Make sure she is kept well hydrated.

Not to overreact, but you should always get second, third, even fourth opinions if the problem persists. She is only 20 months old. I cannot imagine she is being a "drama queen" as someone stated. She is not old enough to understand to be that way, unless she really is in some kind of pain. Best of luck.

My daughter used to have this problem when she was little, but it was mainly at night. She would wake up screaming because her legs hurt so bad. It ended up being "growing pains". Have you noticed that she is going through agrowth spurt when these happen?

Best of luck to you.

Good Morning A., My first thought was have a MRI it looks into the bones and tissues. Then the Over reaction Nana slowed down and thought well it could be growth spurt pain. I don't remember the pain myself :) but our 3 y/o grandson had some pain like that few months ago where he would cry or say Mama my knees hurt, then it was his shins, thighs, Hips etc..He wouldn't get on his knees to play, he didn't want us to rub them or straiten them out. It lasted off and on for a month. We gave him Tylenol and Motrin for the discomfort.
He never fell down though so that really baffles me. I know with myself if I am sitting funny one leg may go to sleep and makes me feel like I am going to fall when i get up. But I don't think ( well I'm trying to think) a child wouldn't understand the limbs going to sleep tingles.

Best advice, keep checking with your Dr. if the pain continues or get worse. Ask for more tests to rule out any really serious things.

God Bless you A., will be praying for your precious little Princess

K. Nana of 5

Although this can be what people call growing pains, this much of a reaction would certainly indicate the need to investigate it further. Growing pains happen because muscles do not grow on their own. Bones grow and the muscles are stretched by the bones. When there is a sudden growth spurt, leg cramps can happen. This is not very common in pre-schoolers, however, and is usually over in a day or two. If it is simple muscle cramps, she may not be assimilating or metabolizing nutrients, such as minerals, sufficiently.

There could certainly be a number of environmental or food sensitivities and/or allergies that can contribute to this situation and I see someone already suggested Doris Rapp's book. That can be helpful if your daughter's issue is an inflamatory condition. This book is very helpful in identifying such issues when a medical diagnosis is not forthcoming. I have come to understand that MDs are not trained to get to the bottom of all health issues. They are trained to run tests in search of a medical prescription. If you suffer from something that can't be proven to require one of their interventions, most MDs do not seem to take the time or interest in being a diagnostic detective. Yet, we commonly trust that if the MD doesn't find the cause, it can't be found. I have learned to be my own detective and learned I was able to figure out most of our health issues better than almost any MD I've ever met. I love the MD who said that if he fails to ask a mother what her instincts are about her child's condition, he has overlooked 80% of what he needs to make an accurate diagnosis.

All that said, the first thing I would do is take her to a good chiropractor who is great with kids. If you're in the St. Louis area and need a referal, I know a great chiro for kids. A chiro is more likely to get to the bottom of the issue and to help find solutions to inflamatory conditions, food sensitivities, or unique nutritional needs. If you see a chiro that does not take the time to get to the bottom of this, find a better chiro!

Under circumstances like these, I would also be very cautious about exposing her to vaccines, as they have been linked to increased allergies, asthma (especially after the DPT), environmental sensitivities, early onset of arthritis (even in toddlers), and a variety of neurological and developmental delays. I would not expose a child displaying this sort of difficulty to vaccines without knowing exactly what is causing it and how this might or might not increase her risk for an adverse vaccine reaction. If this began happening just after receiving a vaccine, the MD is not likely to help you understand that or to report it. There is so much fear among MDs about admitting when they see a child develop such conditions following a vaccine. They almost never even consider that as a possibility, even when it is obvious. The reason the CDC does not have sufficient data on adverse vaccine reactions is because parents expect the MD to diagnose it and report it. They are not likely to do so because of pressure from the medical community and because they naturally do not want to be implicated in causing harm. It is, actually, the responsibility of the parents to make such reports. If you feel this is a reaction to a vaccine, you can find the number to report it in the blue pages of the telephone book. In some cases, the federal government provides funds to support children who have been harmed by a vaccine.

So, although this may be a simple issue and I don't want to frighten you, I work with special needs kids and have seen a 2 y/o child with arthritis as a result of a vaccine. I, myself, developed calcification in my right hip joint at the age of 3 after an MD made the mistake of giving me an adult dose of a DPT vaccine in my right hip. It also caused me to faint easily and experience siezures. It caused cronic pain in my right leg through out my childhood. I was always told it was just growing pains and that I shouldn't complain, because that is what the doctor said. I used to hide so I could rub my leg and cry without being criticized. I was also told that my fainting spells were 'all in my head', again, because the doctor said so. I just wanted to help you consider a number of possibilties based on what I have seen and experienced.

I have learned to appreciate what people call 'alternative' therapies and to customize my diet to my needs. Live Right 4 Your Type is another book you might want to read. It will teach you what foods are most beneficial and what foods are problematic for each blood type. I am now 51 and am getting healthier and more pain free than ever!

Best of luck finding the answers for your precious little girl!

I have problems with my knee going out of place which causes me to fall on the floor and is very painful.It usually will go back into place fairly quickly but it is still too weak to put weight on my leg.It will not shoow up on the X-Ray,I had to go to a knee specialist and have an MRI done to figure out what was causing this.

I suggest that you take your little girl to a chiropractor. A regular doctor would not usually suggest this, and possible try to keep you from going. However, a chiropractor can usually tell if there is a pinched nerve or other problem that can be fixed rather easily. You would be surprised at the issues you can have when your back is out! I used to have symptoms of appendicitis, when my mom would take me to the Dr. they would say nothing was wrong. Then she took me to the chiropractor, it turned out I had a pinched nerve on my lower back.

I say growing pains. They can come and go in an instant and are very painful. I remember having them in elementary school. My mother used to tell me that i had them as a toddler also. Your daughter may go through quick bursts of growth that contribute to the pain instead of a slow, gradual growth.

Hi A.,
Another thought would be 'charlie horses' causing the problem. If so, you might want to give her more potassium throughout the day. Bananas are an excellent source of potassium. Even if it doesn't do the trick, it can't hurt to try...unless, of course, she hates bananas!
Good Luck!
lb

Hi A.,
Oh poor sweetie! It's hard to say what's cookin' here and the other posts have some great ideas...but if you think it's not a "drama queen" type act or when she's overtired (my 20 month old daughter is a little actress!) I would ask for a referral to a pediatric ortho and/or neuro. Yes, it could be her legs "falling asleep" (if she'd been sitting cross legged or on her knees?) or spasms (I hate those!), but until she's able to tell you...I'd have it checked into further.
One things we'd do at the office, if kids had an "owie" they were focused on...to really get to the "heart" of it, we'd distract them to see if the "owie" was still as bad...
(one little girl insisted she couldn't move her neck...she had her mom put a brace on it, etc.) someone came in with a guide-dog and I pointed it out (she loved dogs) and next thing you know...that head swung around to see the dog and she was ready to run out the door after it!) It doesn't mean that what they say hurts, doesn't, but rather, when the focus is off and attention is diverted, you can get a better idea of HOW MUCH it hurts.
Let us know how it goes!

Have you looked into Apraxia of the limbs?

I don't know if this will help or not, I am not a health care provider. When my daughter was born, her hip was displaced. The ball was not in the socket. Because babies bones are still "solidifying" it did not show up on a X-ray. I took her to Children's Hospital in St. Louis to see a pediatric orthopedist. It took the dr. to spot it.

I'm not necessarily suggesting your daughter has displaced hips, but you may want to take her to a pediatric orthopedist who deals with bones of children this young.

I would wonder if she is getting enough vitamin c in her diet. If so, what about calcium and magnesium. Magnesium can actually heal leg cramps, if that is the problem. If she doesn't get enough C, she can get scurvy, which would cause this type of thing, but that is very unlikely. How are her teeth and gums? Does she seem malnourished in any way? If not, then I wonder if a chiro appt would help her. She may have just twisted or bumped something in her back. My friend went for months with leg pain to find she had a slipped disc that whole time. So, it can come from the back.

Dear A.! What are you fooling around with this-get her to her doctor RIGHT NOW this is not a normal action and she should be looked at soon and if the doctor does not do something then "he" better be recommending other doctors to deal with it. Good luck hon and let us all know what happens. We care and this has to be taken care of...

If the dr can't find anything, in the meantime I will tell you what I did for my boys. They had growing pains, so we got them a hot water bottle, from Walmart. They are pretty inexpensive. We just put really warm water in them and let them lay them on the spot that hurt. It soothed them, and especially at night it helped them to sleep better. They grew out of it!

I'm thinking it's possible she is having leg cramps...I know it hurts when I get them and walk on them...they can make leg hurt most of the day too. Not sure what causes them tho, but it might be something to ask your doctor.

Could it be her hips are popping out of socket? When I was little mine would do that. I didn't even walk until I was 18 months old, b/c of it. Just b/c the xrays show everything is okay it could be that. They can pop out and back in shortly afterward. When they are out they can cause pain and make it hurt to walk or crawl. I would get another opionion from a specialist. My mother was told to take me to a chiropractor who put it back in correctly and told my mom to put me in dance to strengthen the muscles around my hip area. Good luck and God Bless.

There is a book at the Library IS This Your Child by Dr. Doris Rapp. It is about allergies and I read that a food allergy could make a childs leg hurt. You can get some info about the book on line.

sounds like her leg may be falling asleep and she doesn't know how to deal with it. Try massaging her leg to get the blood flow going when this happens. You may also ask the doctor if there is some way to check her circulation. I know some people have bad circulation but not sure how it is treated. My legs or feet fall asleep often and is so annoying. My arms and hands also fall asleep often when I sleep.

My sons would get something similar from time to time when they got really high fevers. When she's not in pain, get a good feel of her legs.....especially around the joints. When she won't walk, feel again and check for swelling around the joints. That what would be my sons' problems. Ther is actually a name for it, but it was one of those crazy medical terms I can't remember.

X-rays may not be good enough. You might need to get MRIs of certain areas, such as; lumbar area, or it could be a pinched sciatic nerve. I would ask your doctor to send you to a specialist.