Knee/Leg Pain

[TJ Carr]

Trying to get the 9 year old daughter into the Doc's office but till that happens I figgured I'd give this a shot here:D

Few days ago the 9 year old daughter started having what we though were muscle cramps around/under her knee.

Then it sort of migrated to her calf but after having her walk on it streching it out it went away (took about 2 days cuz she was babbying it)

Now today she woke up with her leg hurting from the hip joint down the front of her leg almost to the knee. However, she could walk fine and said it just hurt a tad.

Tonight after school it was really hurting & she is limping more and more.

I'm thinking about putting her in a hot bath aftre supper trying to get the muscle's to relax & possibly kids tylenol if it still hurts.

She is not extremly active, but is rather active but does not partake in any sports outside of school mandated PT. No kind of blunt force trauma or other injury to the leg that I know of or she can remember.

Any ideas???????

[themadmedic]

Knee pain in children is a hip problem until proven otherwise...


That being said-knee pain is not uncommon in females though, as thigh muscle groups develop, may develop strenght unevenly and pull on the patella unevenly-leading to pain, particularly worse when walking up or down stairs or after sitting for a long time. I think though that this often begins a little later?


Could be common aches and pains associated with growing-although there are some serious developmental orthopedic problems to rule out-even though it doesn't sound like your daughter fits the typical demographic model for them...

:confused:

[TJ Carr]

Thanks!!

Was wondering if this is some kind of growing pains but did not know and since it seems to be getting better then worse it would be prudent to have a Doc check it out.

She does hurt more when going up/down stairs though.

Oh well, time to wake her up & get going as we have a Dr's appt this AM.

[themadmedic]

Hope all turns out well...

[TJ Carr]

The Doc thinks it might be growing pains but some of her Signs and Symptoms do not follow along with "normal" growing pains.

She does have some tenderness in her legs & he gave her liquid moltin to help the pain. He was saying that if it keeps up to make another apoitment & they will get X rays to rule out any kind of injury.

She has has a small ammount of pain in her left leg but tonight her right leg woke her up it hurt so bad. She was unable to walk or put any pressure on her right leg at all. Rubbing on it did not do much but it did not hurt and she said on a 1-10 pain scale this was a 10 and hurt way more than her left leg.

Gave her the moltrin & something light to eat and after a while the pain started to drop down to about a 8 and that's where she is right now in bed trying to get back to sleep.

Oh well, it's time to do some research on the web and see what I can find about growing pains & go from there.

[Craig]

If she is waking from sleep with bad pain and is unable to mobilse with that leg she needs more than motin and reassurance from the FP. Id make another appointment - she needs x-rays of her hip (in the first instance) and consideration of some basic inflammatory bloods. If she is as symptomatic as you say I wouldnt accept a diagnosis of growing pains quite yet.

Its wrong of me to try and second guess your FP over the internet because they have seen your daugther and I havent - but from the limited info provided here Id want to take it further.

cheers

Craig

[themadmedic]

Sounds like an Ortho consult is in order...

[TJ Carr]

Originally posted by themadmedic
Sounds like an Ortho consult is in order...

That's my goal. Biggest problem is we are dealing with military doctors and I've got to jump & down while throwing a temper tantrum to get the referal to a civillian Ortho Doc :(

What I'm planning on doing is if she has another bout of this before we can get her seen on base is to call TRICARE (ya like they try) and get premission (since she can not walk) to take her to the ER:p

Then have the ER Doc refer her to Ortho.

Then when we go back to the doc in a box (base clinic) I'll have this to use as ammo & if they don't want to it's time to go directly to the clinic administration & commander.

[cayoung]

This from the personal experience of one 40 year old slightly balding non-female. Take it for what it's worth. I've suffered ingrown toe nails for the last many years. Anything leg pain for me, is either tight hamstrings (toe touchers to stretch out) or toe nails. Youth tend to grow out of clothes, shoes, etc. It is worth checking that she might need her toe nails trimmed (across the ends, or perhaps the ingrown sides). I know that long toe nails give me sore feet and ankles, calves, etc. Also worth checking for shoes too small, wrong arch supports, etc. Which can also cause leg and knee pains. Please consider these in addition to the other fine medical thoughts you've got on board.

Christopher Young
Writing from one man's experiences
(and let us know how things go, so we can all learn).

[themadmedic]

Were there any X-rays taken? Need films of hip and knee...Drop this term with your care provider---avascular necrosis...

[blue gecko]

Occaisionally I run into clients with similar complaints and one of the things that I look at is the way their foot is positioned when they are standing. If the arch is 'fallen' the ankle is pulled medially and puts pressure on the knee. With time the hip becomes involved. I think it might be worth checking. Also take a good look at her shoes. What kind of arch support do they have and what is the wear pattern on them? There is an exercise that I show my clients that often helps strengthen the arch. I'll try to describe it: while sitting in a chair, knees bent at 45 degrees, feet flat on the ground, pull the ball of your foot toward your heel making sure your toes are relaxed. You don't want to pull with your toes just the ball of your foot. I must tell you it took me a week to learn how to do this with my right foot and 2 weeks for my left. Once I learned and practiced, my knee and hip pain diminished and my balance improved. With practice you can do several reps daily. Don't laugh but a toilet seat is usually an excellent height for this exercise...you get the picture I'm sure. As the arch strengthens, the foot begins to form a more normal structure and the leg begins to re-align. It can't hurt to try this and perhaps it will ease her knee and hip pain. BG