Limping 2.5 year old with pain - is it cancer?

[Aklein38]

Yesterday my son was running around playing normally but by the evening his left foot buckled from under him and he refused to put weight on it or walk and if he did he would limp in pain. I put him to bed and he slept through the night but this morning still limping and as it hurts him (he says his foot and knee hurt) he is tiptoeing instead. No fever or other symptoms. Just seen a GP who said although her examination was uneventful she is sending us to A&E as that is the process for a limping child. Just packing our bags to go but anyone else experience this. I'm terrified he has something sinister like cancer and this is his first symptom. Anyone else's child had cancer found based on a limp? Absolutely terrified and suffer from health anxiety.

Once your ds is on the mend (and you've recovered from several hours in A&E) please please seek proper help for your health anxiety op.

It's a monumental leap from 'foot went out from under my toddler' to cancer. You've got a LOT of years of stupid injuries, rashes, unexplained behaviour/less sleep/sleeping more to come.

Update as promised. Back from A&E. They said he looked well so no need for bloods although clearly was limping due to pain. They felt his hips, knees and legs and said they all moved fine so no irritation there. They felt his feet and he didn't flinch so unlikely a fracture so no point x-raying. However the foot he was complaining about seemed to not be comfortable in some positions very long (although very subtle) so likely a sprain or soft tissue injury.

So sent us home and booked us to come back in in 48 hours if things don't improve but they expect it will even if not fully recovered.

Emotionally drained and exhausted.

Sending you a virtual hug @Aklein38. Glad to hear that it doesn’t sound to be anything serious. Please always trust your gut with anything to do with you child - you know them best. Hope he feels better soon x

My son had this around the same age, sent to a&e, was advised to monitor as didn't warrant an xray and it just stopped after a few days, apparently it's common for children to get joint inflammation after a virus which causes the limping

Did they give you a list of things to watch out for? If he gets a fever or if the sore knee/foot start to feel warm to the touch you need to go back to A&E straight away rather than waiting the 48h. If the limping doesn't improve and you do go back to hospital I would only be reassured after blood tests checking infection markers and general red/white blood cell count. If he were to develop a fever as well as a limp then the NICE guidelines state that the leg should be MRId to check for infection.

Have you read the original post??

@INeedNewShoes yes they did tell us although they said it was very unlikely given that it looked like it was the foot that was impacted rather than the knee, leg bones or hips which is usually where infections ans more sinister things occur.

They said it could be mild bruising given how he was presenting and there was no redness, swelling, or fever so although it could develop it was unlikely and to give it to Friday morning where we should see improvement.

Sure enough last night he started running (although not perfect) and same again this morning so definitely getting better!

My son did this, I posted a pretty long thread on here.. he randomly started refusing to weight bear on his right leg, and said his knee hurts, this started on 17th December 2024.. it is still happening, we had to fight so hard to be taken seriously, mostly being told its probably viral come back if it carries on.. we saw about 4 gp's 3 trips to a&e and eventually got an urgent referral to pediatrics where he had blood tests, his cbc came back normal but a different blood test shows 2 of his infection/inflammotary markers are raised, he had an xray which was normal, he's on a 2 week course of antibiotics incase it is caused by a bacterial infection (he has had loads of random symptoms) and then we are waiting on an ultrasound of his knee to check for fluid around the joint.. I'm also very scared and have mentioned how worried I am about cancer.. they don't seem to be taking me seriously regarding that even when they say localised pain and limping can be an early sign of childhood cancer...?! They want to rule out everything else before that.. I'm hoping you get an answer much quicker than us! If you feel something isn't right, keep pushing, don't accept "it's probably viral" if it persists make sure you do too! We know our kids best and we know when something is off.. it doesn't always mean it is cancer (and I'm praying it isn't for my child and for yours) but the nhs is struggling bad ATM so make sure you keep pushing if things don't improve! I really hope you get to the bottom of things soon, I have googled so much and there are so many things it could be, but I'm anxious like you and until I'm told for certain it is definitely not cancer it will be in the back of my mind.. sorry for the long post, just wanted to let you know I'm going through the same and still don't have answers so I know how you feel, I hope you get the appropriate tests and get that reassurance and a simple cure quickly! Sending hugs x

Just want to add, my sons limp comes and goes, but happens daily, he also looked well and wasn't limping every time we saw a doctor and had no temperature so we were told he didn't need any tests, but there is something clearly going on as its still happening.. I haven't read all the replies here but I hope your childs symptoms improve on their own

@BethMck did the limp ever go away or has it happened daily since December? I assume he can weight bear now?

Does he still say his knee/leg hurts?

My son seems to be fine now and just today was running around playing football in the park with no obvious limp or pain so given its been 2 days since he has limped, I'm assuming it was just a sprain or bruise as A&E said.

Yes it's happened daily since 17th December, he can run around and jump etc crazy as any 3 year old but then he will randomly say it hurts, hold his leg up or start limping, sometimes it's subtle and sometimes it's more obvious but it's always in his right knee! I'm so worried but I'm told a normal full blood count would rule out Leukemia, xray shows no fracture, just waiting for the ultrasound to see if this shows anything, also hoping the antibiotics bring his infection markers back down. I hope your little one continues to improve and is just a simple sprain

Does he have any bruising? Our son developed HSP when he was 2 or so and the first symptom was pain when walking.

@BethMck when he runs and jump, does he do it with a limp? Does he complain immediately afterwards?

Mine and to be running fine and able to stand on one leg on both sides now. I can't tell if it hurts as he doesn't say and I ask he says yes but then he says yes to every question I ask!

It's so hard isn't it when they are so young.. my son can run and jump completely fine with no limp at all and he doesn't seem in pain, but then later on he will have a limp and say my knee hurts, he used to not weight bear at all with it but now he just carries on and has a more subtle limp, it's been happening for 10 weeks and we are still no closer to an answer and they don't seem to care when I say I'm worried about cancer.. they say Leukemia is ruled out because the cbc was normal.. but they haven't ruled out a tumour and they don't seem in a rush to either.. his inflammatory markers are raised and she has no idea why but she is hoping antibiotics help, I'm really scared and sick of waiting for answers! It sounds like your sons leg is doing ok after a couple of days, I would not mention it to him again and then if he ever mentions it you know it's because something is bothering him, little ones at that age don't make those things up, hopefully you don't notice any more limping just keep an eye, sometimes my son doesn't tell me I just see a slight limp and ask are you ok and he will say my knee hurts..