My 5 Year Old Just Got Her Cast Removed and She Won't Walk

It will come, it will take a few days but she'll start to gain confidence and start trying to do normal things with it. But to be safe call the doc in the morning and discuss the actions with them.

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That is normal.
After removing a cast.... there is usually Physical therapy or the Doctor should have apprised you about how long full mobility will return.
Mobility, does NOT return right away.... because the muscles/leg were in a cast all this time.

If the limb is forced to do FULL activity, before the muscles have gotten full use... you can cause more damage/harm.

When a limb has been in a cast... the muscles actually sort of 'atrophy' and the muscles even shrinks. So, normal full use of the leg/muscles can take time. Medically.

all the best,
Susan

I just went through the same thing with my daughter. She didnt have her leg casted that high, but refused to walk on it after the dr took it off. He actually taped it back on sowe could leave the drs office. I have just been making her soak it in the tub ...aLOT. She seems to not be as afraid to use it in the tub when sitting and that is helping loosening it up. He said if we had access to a hot tub or jaccuzi that would be better.
She is now on it but walking funny. I mentioned it to a mom friend of mine and she said to give it a good two - three weeks from her experience. My daughter was only in a cast for 2 weeks too. I figured I will give it one more week and then call the dr to see if physical therapy might be needed.
Good Luck!

i know this is not the same as a child in a cast but i was in one from june 25,09 to 11,09 and when the cast first comes off it hurts to walk on it because of the muscle loss and also because it is stiff..give her time when she feels ok putting pressure on it she will my doc gave me a brace to where after my cast came off so that i would have support around the ankle because it was weak from the break...i spiral broke my fibia first and hopefully last broken bone..good luck to you and your daughter

Here's a thought: It could be that going to kindergarten will help to solve the problem, because your daughter is going to want to play with the other children. Perhaps bending her knee is a good beginning. And if she doesn't have a wheelchair, she'll be closer to walking even if she uses a crutch for a little while.

I can understand her fear! Several years ago I did a spectacular job of breaking my ankle, and was wheelchair-bound for quite a while. When the doctor finally said, "Now I'm going to put your foot into a boot, and I want you to walk on it," I responded with alarm, "But the last last time I did that I ended up in SURGERY!" I'm a little (ahem) more than five years old, but I was petrified at the thought.

If I were you I'd check with the doctor's office and perhaps with the kindergarten teacher. They may have some good suggestions. Your little girl isn't the first to be in a situation like this.

Thankfully I have yet to experience a cast with my child and I haven't had one, but I have had a knee injury and there is loss of muscle. If she likes the water what about taking her to a pool and letting her play with you in the deeper water so she can use her leg with little pressure. I loved working in the water to get strength back. When you are relaxed and having fun, sometimes you forget about the injury and are willing to try to do more stuff. Good luck.

HELLO!!! THIS IS A QUESTION FOR A DOC, not random people online!

I agree with the poster who mentioned lots of bath time. With warm water and lots of toys she may relax enough to begin bending it. I am sure she lost so much muscle over the 6 weeks. My 4 year old wore a cast for 3 weeks and she lost lots of muscle in her leg and limped for almost a month. Don't be alarmed right away if she limps. They told me it was normal for a certain period of time depending on break, cast, and other conditions. We were not offered PT and were told it wasn't that great for kids this young. They don't respond as well as adults. Not sure if that's true or not but we never got any. I did lots of small goals and rewards. I also agree not to let her see you worry or struggle but do sit her down and tell you that the reason you feel its important to start bending and moving is because of school. Do let the Kinder teacher know about this before hand as I assume she isn't going to be playground ready for months. I packed a small blanket and bag of toys for my daughter to sit on and play with during recess.

Just a little background on me, I have worked in Orthopedics for 5 years now, so I've seen a lot of kids come and go with full leg casts. Most likely she is scared, breaking a bone is scary and then not having the cast is scary because she relied on it to protect her. Plus her knee and ankle are probably stiff from being held in one position for so long. I highly recommend you get her in to a physical therapist (ideally one who works with children alot) Even a visit or two should help her see it's ok to move (kids seem to be more complient with a health care professional then they are with thier parents) You will probably need a refferal from her doctor, but they should be happy to fax one over.

Let me tell you two of my experiences. First, I had walking casts on both of my feed for 2 months. When I got them off, I was all excited to be able to walk normally again, but I had to use crutches!!! My muscles were so weak that I couldn't hold myself up without holding onto the wall or crutches.

Second, when I was little, I was a tomboy and every year would crash big time and rip my knees open. Twice I had stitches. And after I had them out and the bandages came off, my siblings made fun of me for walking with that leg stiff. I was so afraid of bending my knee because I thought it would hurt. And it kind of did because I hadn't bent it in so long. But it only lasted a few days.

She's little. She's really little! I didn't think of my oldest as so little until his kindergarten teacher kept reminding us parents how "little bitty" 5 year olds are.

Have you ever read Love and Logic? Basically, you let your kids make choices (the ones that they can make, based on their ages) and let them feel the consequences. If she doesn't want to use her leg, then I guess she'll have to hop around on the other one or lay on the couch all day. Don't treat anything else different, like if you wouldn't let her watch tv all day before, don't let her watch it all day now while she's laying on the couch. She ought to get bored (although it sounds like that might take a long time!) and decide it's no fun to be a gimp anymore. Also, she'll have to figure out how to get around from her room down to breakfast, then to the bathroom, all on her own. And don't cut her any slack about going on errands and other places that she'd usually go to. Go back to life as usual and let her figure out how to deal with it.

I applaud you taking away the wheelchair.

You can also talk to her about how she'll get around on her first day of school, and ask her if that's what she wants to do when she meets all her new classmates. Do you have Meet-the-Teacher this week? That will be a good practice and eye-opener for her. I bet she won't feel like hopping around on her good leg all the way through the school!

This sort of thing works well with my super stubborn 4 yr old. Except when he decides that natural consequences are just too unfair and he stands there and cries. But usually it works.

Good luck!