My Three Year Old Is Limping Without Obvious Reason

Too bad he doesn't have sufficient sophisticated language
to explain precisely what hurts, why, where, etc.
His KNEE hurts.
He can't straighten his leg.
When you try to help him straighten his leg, he cries with pain.
How do you know there was no injury?
Maybe try taping up his knee with an ace bangage
and see if that eases his discomfort.
Instead of trying to straighten his knee,
why not (like a game) try some imitation.
Do some different positiions, sitting, squatting, etc.,
and see if he can imitate you.
Tell him it's OK if he can't.
Have him tell you if/when anything hurts.

Hi, I'm a pediatric physical therapist, so I hope I can give you some helpful advice. This kind of unexplained limping is not always a problem. Some kids injure themselves and don't know it or don't complain until the next day when it's sore. You may want to give him some motrin (or tylenol, but motrin would be better for an injury) and try to have him rest it for a day or two and see what it does over the weekend. If he's still limping Sunday night, I'd probably take him to see the Dr. on Monday for an x-ray and/or some blood work. If you see his pain and limping getting worse you could always take him to the ER, but in my experience their own Dr. is often better for kids if you don't have a pediatric hospital nearby. There's lots of things that could cause a sore knee, from rheumatoid arthritis to even a hip problem. I've known lots of kids to walk around with a broken bone for days before seeing a Dr. (and they have good parents, not bad ones) because it just doesn't seem too bad. Sometimes, though, it's a mystery in kids his age. If it goes away and comes back in a few days/weeks/months I would DEFINITELY get it checked out. (True ligament injuries are actually rare in kids, which is why they break bones more often.) Hope he feels better soon!

I'm not a doctor so I can't tell you what's wrong with your son's leg but I can tell you that it sounds like something that needs to be checked out by your ped. Also, I would suggest a complete blood panel. If you have insurance, this won't hurt anymore than just a needle prick.

If it were me I would take him to the doctor ASAP(don't mean the ER)as you said he was not in pain all the time.Make sure they x-ray his hip and leg and if it continues to bother him after they say his x-ray's are clear,ask for a referal to an orthopedic doctor.Also you may want to check and make sure he was not somehow hurt at daycare.Either way just make sure you get it checked out sooner rather than later.Hope this helps you and your little guy gets better soon.God Bless you all!!! D. Ford

I will add to Shira's excellent advice, after you do these things to attempt to isolate what causes the pain, to call the doctor and ask about it.

From your description it sounds like he's twisted his knee. I've done this a few times in my life. There is no sign of injury. What has happened is that the ligaments get stretched and this causes the pain. Once the ligaments heal, the pain is gone. There is nothing that can be done to hurry that process.

A very common way to twist a knee is to be wearing non-skid or non-slip soles and turn the body but the foot doesn't turn. It's not uncommon for toddlers to get spiral fractures doing this. However, if he'd fractured his leg, he wouldn't be able to walk on it and would be in excruciating pain. I think it's possible that he could have a spiral hairline fracture/crack. Though it's doubtful because his leg it's self is not tender. The only way you'd know for sure is with an x-ray.

I suggest that the doctor will want to do an x-ray. If he's still favoring the leg in a couple of days, I'd make an appointment to see the doctor.

BTW They never put an ace bandage, cast, or brace on my knee when I'd twisted it. They said that I needed to continue using the knee to keep ligaments strong. But to not stress it. No running or jumping.

hi L.,

our 4 year old son has exactly the same symptoms. the x ray didnt show anything. he doesnt stop limping but he can run normally. we are scared it is a psychological issue or a tick. do you have an update for us if everything is ok now?

thank you
M.

If my child has a problem I take him or her to the doctor right away to make sure that it is not anything that needed to be treated. I do not understand I would just go to the doctor right away.

hey, just wondering if you found out whats going on with your son. My son is 6yrs old doing the exact same thing as your son. We have been at a children's hospital for almost a year and both the orthopedic and neurologist have not been able to diagnose him. We have done blood tests, heart tests, nerve test etc.

You might want to thing back if he has watched a show with someone limping and thought it was cool. I started limping and my parents could not figure out why, they took me to the hospital and they could not find anything wrong. I continued to limp, after a week they took me to the family doctor who could find nothing wrong. He was old country doctor who told my parents to go into another room so we could talk. He asked me what my favorite tv show was and why? I loved Gunsmoke and was limping like Festus. No one ever asked me why I was limping or if I hurt, I was 4 when I did this and my mom still gets mad when she remembers this.