2 Year Old with a Limp??

Updated on December 17, 2010
L.O. asks from Sterling Heights, MI
22 answers

My 2 year old daughter suddenly started walking with a limp this week.. I dont think she fell or anything. But she has been walking funny for 5 days now.. I dont see any bruises or bumps..I will probably take her to the dr.. but the limp will most likely be gone by the time we get there.. Has anyone else had this happen to their child??

what could cause a limp in a small child.?

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J.A.

answers from Detroit on

Have her evaluated for Legs-Perthes-calves syndrome which has to do with the growth of leg bones. It can be corrected if caught early.
J.

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J.S.

answers from Detroit on

Did you look on the bottom of her foot? My son did this and then I noticed he had a cut on his heel. Hope she is well soon.

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K.V.

answers from Grand Rapids on

She needs to be seen by a pediatrician immediately. And DO NOT take your baby to a chiropractor until they have been evaluated by a medical doctor.

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M.W.

answers from Lansing on

Hi Lisa,

My son did the same thing when we were moving across the US in December. One day, he just started limping. We looked him over and moved his legs in different positions, but he said that nothing hurt. Since we were leaving the state, and it was Christmas, it was hard to get him into the doctor. We waited until we were in Michigan (keeping our eyes on him the entire way), and he was walking when we got back. Before he walked though, he went through a 1-2 day stage where he wouldn't even put pressure on his foot so he crawled everywhere. It was scary, but everything turned out to be ok. If we were at home, I would have definitely taken him to the doctor to rule things out, but things turned out ok. It's 4 months later and he's running like a champ!

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S.M.

answers from Saginaw on

My son is 22, but when he was 2 he also developed a limp. He would cry Owieee and hit his legs. His ankles started to swell after that. He was finally diagnosed with JRA. It was a mild case, and after the age of 7 it only flared up once in a while and very mild. But last year he lost part of his eye sight in one eye. The doc said it was related to the arthritis. I don't know if that is what is going on with your daughter, but the disease is much more common in girls, so keep an eye out for new symtoms so that you can tell her doc if need be. Good luck. PS watch closely for fevers, they are connected.

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J.W.

answers from Grand Rapids on

One of my 3 year old sons started limping one day and we took him to the doctor the next day. He fractured his knee cap and didn't even cry! We assume he did at the sitters house because that is hwere he started limping, but no one really knows how. He was in a cast for a 3 weeks.

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A.A.

answers from Kalamazoo on

When I was born I had a Congenital Hip Dislocation, but the doctors didn't ever see it. Sometime between one and two I started to walk funny and that's when it became evident. Usually these days they check for things like that, but it's worth a thought.

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M.D.

answers from Detroit on

Hi Lisa,
That happened to my oldest daughter for about a week when she was around 3, it was the strangest thing and scared me to death. My daughter said that it didn't hurt, but she was still limping. They did xrays and everything...they found nothing wrong. A few days later, she was walking fine again. They said it could have been from growing...but still to this day we are not sure why it happened. I wouldn't hesitate to take her in, just to be sure everything is ok.

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S.D.

answers from Kalamazoo on

I would definetly have her checked out she could have a small fracture or maybe a strained muscle. My son had just a slight sore rt arm and it was still bothering him i noticed 2 days later and we discovered it was broken! he was 10yrs young at the time. Its better to be safe and have it cked out then to be sorry later! I'm a cna and u would be surprised as to how many kids and adults dont think anything is broken, but it is!!! Good luck and let us know what u find out!!
S.

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R.S.

answers from Grand Rapids on

Hi Lisa,
I would certainly take her to the doctor to assess what is causing the limp. I have four kids, was an RN, but am retired now at an early age and wouldn't hesitate to take my own child in to rule out possible fractures, etc. It's not normal to limp but for her sake I would definitely get it checked out. Hope you get her in. : )

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K.B.

answers from Grand Rapids on

Hi Lisa-
I would definately have her be seen by your pediatrician. It could be nothing or early signs of other complications.

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R.R.

answers from Detroit on

Lisa, This could be caused from her back or hips being out of alignment. I don't know if you believe in chiropractors. If you do find a good one in your area that is experienced with children. They can work wonders. Good luck, R.

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A.S.

answers from Detroit on

I would seek medical attention. I had a student who developed strep in the legs. It is not uncommon, but causes pain. My student went about a week without complaining, then said her legs hurt. She was six. It is an easy fix if that is the problem. If not, I would want to know what is causing it. If it goes away at the doctor's office, it might have been for attention:) Good luck!

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L.N.

answers from Detroit on

Please take your daughter to a pediatrician ASAP and get a CBC with differential. Unexplained limp could be a sign of leukemia, as it was with my then 5-yr-old. She's probably fine, just keep an extra nonparanoid eye on her for any other unusual things like unexplained swellings, pinpoint red spots.
Sorry to scare you, but you asked.

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E.I.

answers from Washington DC on

this just happened to my 2 year old son, as well. no bruises, cuts or pain. just a limp. i've been reading this:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14880556/

going to take him to the dr. within the next couple of days to rule anything out. good luck! hope both our kids have nothing serious!

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B.G.

answers from Little Rock on

My son started limping 3 days ago and had x ray. They said all was fine though. What turned out to be wrong with your daughter?

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L.P.

answers from Detroit on

The same thing happened with my son around the age of 2. We took him to the doctor, had him checked out, had x-rays, and even blood tests. Nothing was found to be wrong, and a few days later started walking normal again. I would say have it checked out, but don't be suprised if they say nothing is wrong. Our doctor said that sometimes kids are just trying new things, or copying someone or something that they saw.

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T.

answers from Detroit on

My son was also diagnosed with JRA at the age of 18 months. He would get up in the morning and limp. Found out he had it in both knees. During the day it would get better. My doctor kept sending me to different specialists after xrays showed nothing..........I would say have it checked out.

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J.G.

answers from Detroit on

I'm sure this is so not what it is but my brother had leg-perthes disese, he had to wear a brace for several months and is now a totally functioning young man 34 years old. Here is some info....
http://www.nonf.org/perthesbrochure/perthes-brochure.htm
Please let us know.
J.

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A.H.

answers from Detroit on

HI Lisa
When I was little out of the blue my foot started turning in when I walked. It made me trip, and turned out to just be a muscle out of place. My mom had taken me to the chiropractors for an adjustment, and it took care of it no problem. (That can also cause bed wetting by the way)
If it's a strained muscle try a nice bath w/ epsom salt.
Best of luck to you, and I hope it's nothing.
A. H

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E.H.

answers from Los Angeles on

my daughter also does something similar !
she has been walking since she was 10 months ( now 18 months old ) but about 3 months ago she got up one morning and just screamed when i put her on the ground and fell into a heap, not knowing something was wrong i let her cry for a while as she is often sooky in the mornings after 20 min or so she crawled off to play, i remember thinking why is she crawling ? but thought nothing of it at the time... a few days later when i noticed she was still crawling more than usual i talked to my bf about it and we decited to wait a few days and take her to the doctor, in that few days we noticed she would not jump , ride her trike , dance.... any or the things she would usualy do that involved her legs... and other things like she wont bend her knees when she get up or sits down.. she will bend forward and use her hands to sort of walk down to a laying on her tummy position and swivel to sitting up from there... and do the same but reverse to get up theres alot of other small thing as well. We took her to the doctor who couldnt tell us anything so he ordered an exray for the following day but told us to go to the hospital if we feel it cant wait till then... when we got home baby girl was still in pain and nurofen did nothing to help... we dicited to take her to the hospital to have the exrays done.
The exrays came back normal ( hips , legs , feet )
so they did some blood test that were also normal ( as far as i know it was only 2 tests for basic blood work like white blood cell count etc ) they discussed but ruled out arthritis ( i dont see how when they didnt test for it ) we were given a refferal to a specialist, we went and saw him and he had a few thought about it, he said that given her size ( shes a big girl, 14k at present ) and that shes been walking since 10 months ( unnasisted ) her body might not be able to handle it or something like that... he also said she may have to much calcium in her bones because she drinks so much formula 5-6 250ml bottles a day and suggested we dilutle the formula a bit so instead of 3 scoops she now has 1 and the bottle is only filled to 200ml..... He also said that it could be a mental thing as in shes doing it for attention but i dont think this is the case as she is in genuine pain and i dont see a 15 months old ( at the time it started ) being smart enough to know that " if i pretend this hurts mummy will pick me up " or " ok when they touch me here ill cry " i know my daughter well... and i can see when she is in pain as any mother can with there child, i feel that because i am a young mother the doctors are not taking me seriously with this.... the specialist charged us $280 for that information and saidif we take his advice it should subside in a month or so...... its been just over two months and nothing has changed... i will be taking her to the childrens hospital as soon as i can see the local dr to get a refferal but i would love to hear some other parents thought about what's going on... it realy starting to get to me seeing her like this every day, theres times she will bend her legs with no hint of pain but a moment later she will be stiff again...

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D.J.

answers from Detroit on

My mother in law had a congenital hip disorder that was not found until she began to walk. Nowadays, however, pediatricians check the babies for it but can't hurt to mention.

Another possibility is arch supports. My son used to complain as a toddler that it "hurt" to walk, especially in the hip area. At his next shoe measuring, the man at the store asked if he ever complained about his legs hurting. It was ironic. He then suggested putting arch supports in his shoes and my son never complained again.

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