Help, I Don't Know What to Do.

Now is a good time to develop his computer gaming skills. My son is 3 1/2 and loves Wii's Mariokart and his PC Reader Rabit and Putt Putt games. Good luck with healing.

You gotta be kidding about being on a waiting list to see a pediatrician. Please see another pediatrician. There are many wonderful pediatricians in Memphis.

C., the same thing happened with my daughter when she was 2. There was a tender spot on her leg but no bruising. I took her to an orthopedist. Even though the break did not appear on any x-ray, it was still broken. He touched it, she screamed. The dr. put her in a cast and she healed quickly. He explained to me that kids do not choose not to walk unless something's wrong. Good luck!

It is very possible that your son has a stress fracture at that site. it won't show up on a regular xray. One of my 5 year old boys went through something similar to that a couple of years ago. Their dr. told me that a lot of times you don't even know that they have one and that they are very common among active children. He told us to try and keep him from doing too much running and jumping (as if that's possible!) and that it would heal on its own.

Good Luck!

A WAITING LIST????? who put you ona waiting list????? bless your heart. what area are you in? are there any Urgent Cares in your area?

Is it just the skin that hurts or does he say it hurts on the inside? if it's the skin, could it be dry skin or ecsema?

Oh, i hope you find out waht it is soon. poor thing!

hi, i would call the ped. and tell them what is going on and see if you can get him on in. if not maybe you should go somewhere else/ don't really have a clue what it could be but i don't like the sound of it. good luck. r. uhls

Hi C.,

An xray cannot show muscles, tendons and ligaments, only bones. He may have pulled a muscle or something along those lines. It is also possible that he got stung or bit by something that is causing his muscle, tendon, whatever pain.
Good luck to you and him!

If he is in a lot of pain and I would not wait on the pediatrician I would take him to the emergency room or urgent care, depending on your insurance. I could not sit around all weekend with my child in pain. I would be presistant that they find out what is going on. If you don't like what they say get a second opinion. Not all doctors are created equal.

My son has had the same issue and it turned out to be his muscles. His pediatrician was not able to diagnose it so i took it upon myself to take him to presbyterian hospital PICU. they ran a few test and then they realized that it was his muscles weakening on him.

I hope this helps.

Take him to the ER or an urgent care. Get an MRI. Insist on a referral to an orthopedic physician. Look for another pediatrician. If you are lucky enough to be near a pediatric hospital, take him there immediately.

C.,
It sounds as if he has a hairline fracture. It's not easy to see on an x-ray. I'd call the dr and ask him/her to look again. Good luck to you!

So far, you have received some very good replies. I would not let it rest, particularly if you have a child who does not complain without reason. Sometimes the parent needs to push an issue when a doctor is ready to dismiss it. This can be tricky, but also can be necessary.

It sounds like it would be wise to treat it as if it were a more serious issue (i.e., fracture or sprain) to give it time to heal.

Also, if it is from growing, we found that additional calcium, in a chewable form, can help alleviate some of the pain for "growing pains". If you do this, make sure if it is an adult dosage that you cut it in half or see if you can find a calcium supplement in a children's dosage.

I hope you find a solution and/or explanation soon. It is difficult to see our little ones suffer.

So grateful you found the fracture and it is not serious!! Your plea fits the daughter of my friend - hers turned out to be leukemia - so we'll take a fracture anytime - right?

J.
www.joyboudreau.com

C., I work in a podiatrist office. A stress fracture can take a couple of weeks to show up on an xray. We have done xrays that didn't show anything, the patient is treated for a stress fracture and a couple of weeks later, the stress fracture show's up on another set of xrays. Also, your doctor may order a MRI if he can't find anything on xray. Maybe he twisted his ankle? You may want to see a orthopedic doctor if you haven't already.

My nephew had pain in his legs and they found out he had lyme disease. It is treatable with an antibiotic (a very strong one) and for a while after when it rains, he would get the pain back. Defintaely see your doctor. I hope it isn't something too bad. Those things typically can be treated easily with medication. I will say a prayer for your son.

C.,
This is so strange, but my nephew had to go to MUSC because of pyloric stenosis and while waiting for the surgery, my parents met this couple, who had brought their son to the facility for similar problems such as the ones you described. They were told that he had an infection that had spread to his leg. The child's previous doctors, before going to the children's hospital, had done x-rays and did not see any broken bones or inflammation. I would contact your child primary doctor and ask for a referral to see a specialist. Your child may have an infection.

Take your son to a pediatric orthopedist. I recommend Dr. Christophersen at Tennessee Orthopedic Alliance in Nashville.

A friend of mine's daughter had this same problem and it turned out to be a fluid infection in her him that was causing her pain so you may want to check that angle, she was treated w/ an antibiotic and got better.

Have you tried chiropractic adjustments. Since the xrays with the ped was clear, I would schedule him an appointment to get adjusted. Chiropractics aren't just for people with bad backs. Regular adjustments have many benefits. http://www.icpa4kids.com/

X-rays only show the bone structure (for fractures, breaks, etc.) I really advise you to take him to get an MRI or CAT scan. These show what is inside the bone, muscle etc. If you need a referral for insureance purposes be assertive and demand that your doc. gives you one. There are certain cancers that occur in the leg and some that are in the bone so don't just push it aside. Good luck and you will be in my prayers. Let us know what you find out.

M.

My friend's son (almost 5) just had something similar happen. It ended up being a viral infection and he was treated with ibuprofen. I think she went to the orthopedic to find this out. Best wishes!!

My two oldest children suffer from pains that are unexplainable too. My oldest daughter has chest pains (which were really scary at first) and after taking her to the best pediatrician in the group he said it was growing pains from where her chest is expanding to continue her growth. She is 11. My 9 year old son complains that his knees hurt and after going to the doctor it was determined that they too are growing pains. But I would not leave this alone until you are satisfied with this. We went through x rays and MRIs and appointment after appointment to come up with this. This wasn't something that we just chalked up to growing pains because no other alternatives were provided. It took months of going to the doctor to rule out certain things. Just remember that you are the parent and you are solely responsible for the well being of your children and you need to be persistent with the doctors and put your foot down to get things done. Check with your insurance and make sure what their policy is about referrals. The best answers I got were from not waiting for the referral because my insurance does not require referrals and I would just make a specialist phone call myself. Just find out who the best specialists are and go for it if you don't need one. Just remember to be proactive!

C.,
I would say that is a very valid concern. You might try another person and set of x-rays. My Mom stepped off a curb wrong and had broke her ankle. First set of x-rays never showed it. After 2 weeks, another set of x-rays, there it was! Is it unbearable, or can you wait for the pediatrician. No bites, bumps or swelling, so... the doc will be your best bet.

C.
Has your Son witness anything like someone got hurt on the leg? maybe you can ask him if he seen this happen. Maybe on tv or something.

God bless.

I can't guarantee it, but it sounds like shin splints. Our son had these and our grandson has them. Try a heating pad, but monitor it carefully! Little boys will be little boys.

It could be that he bruised a nerve. We were convinced that my daughter had a broken wrist but nothing would show up on TEN xrays. She had the same reaction to touch, jumping away from us like we were trying to torture her. Our family doc referred us to a pediatric orthopaedic doctor and he said it was a bruised nerve. After 5 weeks it finally got to the point where she could actually use it to do things like hold a bottle of water, pencil, let someone touch it. Before that the pain was too intense.

he is old enough to point to the exact area it hurts and also to tell you maybe what kind of hurt it is. Sore, burning, etc Maybe he bruised it from the inside. maybe he sprained it. Maybe growing pains....does he not have a regular ped that you can see sooner?

Go to another doctor or go back to the doctor you saw the first time. Breaks don't always show up on xrays right away so it could be broken. Anything that is hurting your little man that much needs to be addressed by a doctor until an answer is found. I used to work in the ER and I just want to say don't be afraid to be the nagging mom in the doctor's office or hospitals. They were always the moms that found hidden problems with their kids. No one knows your son as well as you do!