4yo suddenly walking oddly and GP says wait and see

[YoungOnyx]

Hi all, first time posting so go easy please.

My 4 year old has started walking oddly over the last couple of weeks and I cant shake the feeling that something isnt right. He kind of lifts one leg higher and swings it round a bit, almost like a limp but not consistent. Some days its barely there and other days its really noticeable, especially when he is tired.

He has always been an active kid, climbing everything, running non stop, no issues meeting milestones. No recent big falls that I know of, no complaints of pain unless I really quiz him and then he just shrugs. No fever, no illness beforehand.

Took him to the GP last week and honestly felt completely brushed off. She watched him walk up and down the room once, said children go through funny phases with walking, probably a habit or tight muscles, and told me to give it a few weeks. No referral, no physio, nothing. I asked about hips because Ive googled (yes I know) and she said he would be in pain if it was anything like that.

But I am his mum and I see him every day and this is new. Nursery have mentioned it as well which is what finally pushed me to book the appointment in the first place. Im not usually an anxious parent and Im very aware of not wanting to be that mum, but I also dont want to ignore something important.

Am I being unreasonable to push back and ask for a second opinion or referral? Or do I actually need to calm down and wait it out like she said. Has anyone had similar where it was nothing or where it turned out to be something after being fobbed off?

Sorry this is long, just feeling a bit stupid and worried at the same time.

You should wait it out, especially if hes in no obvious pain.

It's only been two weeks - I would give it a bit longer before you start pushing for any further treatment.

OP I am not quick to run to my GP but if my child has something like that going on for 2 weeks with no apparent cause, I would be concerned. My advice is monitor him for another week and ask creche to do the same and if it hasnt improved go back to GP and ask for referral. A muscle injury (especially one with no known injury) should have resolved in 3 weeks.

www.nhs.uk/symptoms/limp-in-children/#:~:text=Limping%20in%20children%20is%20not,not%20obvious%20what's%20causing%20it.

I have absolutely no medical qualifications whatsoever so feel free to ignore but there is an enormous amount of information out there if you Google gait abnormalities in children. Many of them say that the majority of these issues resolve naturally by eight years old as children do walk differently to adults up to that point.

You know your child best though op!

If you are still worried , you need to push for an assessment at a specialist children’s hospital. Or go private?

Google videos of circumduction gait gait - does it look similar??

Can you afford to pay to see a pediatrician.
There is a paed clinic near me that charges £260 to see a child.

If there's no pain I wouldn't worry much at this early stage - I had Osteomyelitis as a child (knee) and it was incredibly painful.

Some young children are amazingly good at masking pain.
Also, nursery staff have noticed the same.
I would not wait more than another week, before I would push for a scan or xray.

In the meantime can you film him running without his knowledge. It might be a better way to show your concern than a few steps in the doctors office. Set up a pretend race or something.

Transient synovitis?

Could it be perthes disease? My friend's son had this at 4 or 5.

I would probably wait another week or so, if it's something nasty I'd expect it to steadily get worse so if it does start to ease I wouldn't worry but if it appears to be getting worse I'd take him back.

I would go back. My DB had Perthes disease, which started like that. He developed an odd walk, which I copied so we could walk together. When my DM went to the GP he was sent urgently to hospital. Hopefully it is nothing like that, but I would want to rule it out.

My two year old developed a limp and we were fobbed off at A&E - went back to docs Monday morning and thankfully a paediatric nurse took it seriously… x-ray / MRI followed - osteomyelitis (bone infection) that had crossed the growth plate in her knee. Really serious - thank goodness we didn’t allow ourselves to feel reassured by our A&E trip!. She had to have very regular check-ups for nearly a year and she’s still under the hospital because there’s a risk the bone can grow deformed. So please take it seriously, good luck xx

Reading through all of these and its a real mix of reassuring and terrifying which I suppose is Mumsnet in a nutshell.

I think whats bothering me most is that nursery have noticed it too, its not just me overanalysing him in my kitchen. And its not improving, if anything its more obvious at the end of the day which makes me think fatigue but also why is he fatigued in one leg.

I hear those saying wait it out and part of me knows jumping straight to scans is probably not realistic, but equally two weeks feels like a long time when its your child and there has been no knock or fall.

The filming idea is a good one, he did his absolute best normal walk in the GP room which didnt help at all. I will try and get a video of him running around without him clocking on.

I cant really afford private unless I absolutely had to but I am leaning towards giving it another week max and then going back and being firmer about a referral. I dont want to look hysterical but I also dont want to be sat here in six months thinking I should have pushed harder.

Some of the stories above are honestly scary and I know they are probably rare but it does make me think that no pain doesnt necessarily mean nothing serious.

Going to speak to nursery again tomorrow and ask them to keep a closer eye and note anything they see. Will update when I know more.

Giving it a short deadline and then going back is a good idea I think.

Yes I think thats where Ive landed. Another week, maybe ten days at most, and if its still there I will go back and ask directly for a referral rather than another vague reassurance.

I dont want to be that person who demands scans for everything but equally I feel like Ive now got a clear concern and its not just a passing wobble. At least if I go back with a time frame and maybe a video it feels more concrete.

Fingers crossed it just fades away and I feel daft for worrying, but I would rather feel daft than regret not pushing.

At 4 he is old enough to tell you if he is in pain and to express discomfort. It could just be a mannerism. Give it a while and take videos of him doing it.

Self refer to community paed physio for assessment
Nursery can refer as well

Is he at a school nursery? Im not sure how it works by age or location but when my daughter was in year 2 (yr6 now) she walked on her tiptoes a lot and it was commented on, after it was brought up the school got in touch with the school nurse and she was referred to physio by the school nurse, maybe school can help with a referral if you aren't getting anywhere with the Dr's.

Re the pain thing, I get what youre saying but hes four, not forty. He tells me when he wants a snack or his socks feel funny, but when I ask if his leg hurts he just says he doesnt know or changes the subject. I dont think that means there is definitely no pain, just that he cant articulate it or isnt really registering it as pain.

The physio/self refer route is interesting, I didnt realise that was even an option. I will look into whether our area allows that and also speak to nursery about whether they can refer or involve the health visitor or school nurse type route. He is in a nursery attached to a primary school so that might actually be possible.

At this point I feel like I need to explore every sensible avenue rather than just being told to wait and see with no follow up. Even if its nothing, having someone actually assess his movement properly would put my mind at rest.

Definitely take as many videos as you can - I felt completely fobbed off my medical “professionals” and turned out my 3 year old had a progressive auto immune disease causing paralysis and coma - her symptoms did worsen fairly rapidly between day 7-14 though

Could he be copying someone? Is it there all the time? Even when he runs?

That is honestly horrific and Im so sorry you and your child went through that. Stories like that are exactly why Im struggling to just shrug it off, even though I know they are rare and Im probably borrowing trouble.

Its not constant, thats part of what makes it confusing. When he runs its less obvious, its more when he is walking or tired, like after nursery or first thing in the morning. I did briefly wonder if he was copying someone or being silly but it doesnt feel put on and he doesnt seem aware of doing it.

Ive already taken a couple of short videos this afternoon of him pottering about the house and will keep doing that over the next few days. At least then Ive got something tangible to show rather than trying to describe it and sounding vague.

Really hoping this settles but Im glad Ive posted because its made me realise Im not mad for wanting it properly checked if it doesnt.

could you ask him in a different way.

like “does your knee feel funny sometimes”. Maybe he doesn't think it’s sore just weird? “what about this other knee” if he says no ask if it’s his ankle or whatever.

Had this with my son at this age - turned out it was irritable hip syndrome- he had an MRI and luckily it didn’t progress to a bone infection - v common in boys under 8 - it did resolve itself - I think we may have had antibiotics (can’t remember as was almost 20 years ago).
personally I would re- present to Dr - you’ve given it a couple of weeks and it’s not resolved so further investigation is required.