2yo non weight bearing 7 days

[Lala2022]

Hi all,

my 2yo had a fall a week ago now and neither my partner nor myself saw it properly but he was clearly in pain and needed consoling. Was fine to go to bed that night but couldn’t walk on leg next morning. We took him to A&E where they x-rated lower leg and upper leg and pelvis but no fracture so we were sent home.

Next day still clearly in pain and couldn’t stand on leg so we took back to A&E who now said upper leg xray had an area that may have been a bone infection. An MRI of the same area the following day came up clear for infection but he was still treated with 2 days of IV antibiotics and sent home with 3 weeks of a very heavy dosage of antibiotics just incase.

BUT overall diagnosis of transient synovitis/irritable hip.

Still not walking 7 days later and antibiotics seem to be making him feel terrible. He’s very agitated as he was previously a very active/ourdoorsy toddler.

Back to A&E today and they will MRI his hip tomorrow. I want an MRI of lower leg also as he is able to walk around on knees and bum and seems only phased by his lower leg - I am concerned toddler fracture as irritable hip should’ve probably resolved itself by now.

anyone with similar experience?

Sounds very suspicious for a toddlers fracture. If they X ray the lower leg after 10 days it should show now.

Thanks for your response @Aussieland i am hopeful they will test for this tomorrow.

When ds was that age he stepped off a small step in the garden. Didn't see him do anything, but he wouldn't weight bear for about 2 weeks, then when he started walking he was walking with his foot twisted sideways for another week or so. Then one day he stopped part limp, put his foot down properly and was fine after that. he's had no problems since.

He was x-rayed/checked etc probably about 8 times over that time and nothing was seen or found. The conclusion was it was probably soft tissue damage, then it became habit/he was nervous in case it hurt to walk properly.

I think you are right to push for more answers, but I'm telling you this because there may be nothing wrong.

Thanks @MargaretThursday ! We think it might be soft tissue of the ankle now that he has been asked 500 times where it hurts he now understands hip, knee, ankle and said “ankle sore”. Hopefully MRIs today might clear things up. Thanks again

At Easter I stepped off a step in the garden and tore two ligaments one. It was described as a soft tissue injury, but it was seriously so sore, and now four months later it is still sore and I’m still needing to wear a brace.

so just because your kids injury was a soft tissue injury doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt him.

DS had a toddler fracture when he was 2. He could move his legs and kick them about no problem but was unable to put any weight on it. However, when he finally had the x ray (refused to lie still and in the end had to be held down), the toddler fracture was obviously there. It was a very small line, but I could still spot it. So I would expect that they would be able to see it if there was a fracture.

Thanks @WednesdayWeWearPink . Our first X-ray was immediately after he fell and I’ve heard it can take some time for fractures to show up on xray so hopefully the imaging today picks up something.

Of course it hurt him, never said anything else. If it hadn't hurt, then he'd have got up and walked off fine. He wasn't making it up/putting it on and he's got a very high pain threshold so it must have really hurt.
Soft tissue injuries can be tougher than breaks to mend so it's not saying he had an easy option, merely warning the Op that they may not get a conclusive answer.
It's over 15 years later and I can say with confidence there was no lasting damage despite no definite answers, which may be reassuring to the op if she too gets nothing conclusive

Thanks everyone for your replies. It can be a scary wait for diagnoses with toddlers. His mri today has picked up myelitis of the tibia. He has begun treatment this evening. Thanks again for taking the time to respond.

Oh I am so glad you have an answer! How unusual. Fingers crossed it will be a speedy recovery