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Original poster

9yo Ongoing Back & Leg Pain

11 replies

caterpillarbee · 08/10/2025 16:25

Hi all,

I’m hoping someone might have had a similar experience, as I’m feeling a bit lost at this point.

DD (9) has complained of back and leg pain for a good wee while now. She was referred to orthopaedics a while back but as you can imagine - theres a lengthy waiting list.

About 3 weeks ago she had a high fever, tummy pain (mostly right sided), back and leg pain (in both legs but had pins and needles in 1 leg specifically, which turned in that she described as a continuous cramp). GP sent us to A&E as he was worried it was appendicitis or a UTI that travelled to her kidneys. Blood tests were fine, but urine came back positive for a UTI. She took antibiotics and seemed better for a while. They said if it travelled to her kidneys her bloods would’ve came back abnormal and they would’ve had to do a kidney scan.

Since then she has complained about back pain again, but today she’s saying it’s a lot worse. It’s higher up now, around her upper back and shoulders, and she also gets neck pain. She’s been saying she feels dizzy sometimes and gets out of breath much faster than her friends, even after light activity (even before the UTI) and would often complain about leg pain, too.

A&E did full bloods again when she was seen for dizziness/near fainting episode during summer. They kept her in overnight and monitored her heart rate all night. They even done an ECG. Everything was normal apart from a slightly abnormal thyroid test, but it was normal on recheck a month later.

I just feel like we’re missing something. She’s otherwise bright and chatty.

Has anyone’s child had something similar? Should I be pushing for more tests, if so, what should I be pushing for?

Any experiences or advice would be really appreciated.

OP posts:
Cappuccino5 · 08/10/2025 16:40

I’m a physio OP - if this were my DD I’d go privately (if possible) for an MRI and consultation with an orthopaedic spinal consultant. Back and radicular (leg) pain in under 16s is a red flag symptom and it’s concerning that this has not been properly investigated yet.

BreakingBroken · 08/10/2025 16:42

How is her mattress and sleeping position? How is her exercise and core strength? How is her nutritional intake?
Does a mild analgesic take the pain away? This more as a test as to where the pain originates and if it returns once the tablet has worn off.

Original poster
caterpillarbee · 08/10/2025 17:17

@Cappuccino5 This is a good idea. I’ll contact the private hospitals near me to see if I can get her booked in. Over a year ago, I took her to the GP about her back pain because her posture didn’t look quite even (I’ve a picture if you’re curious). The first GP didn’t see anything unusual and said to return if it persisted. When I went back with a different GP, I mentioned that she walks with her feet slightly turned inwards, too. He asked her to walk in front of him, but she straightened when she knew why he was watching. Luckily, I had a video from sports day showing it. He said it was just a habit and to keep an eye on it, but I insisted it had been ongoing, that’s when she was finally referred to orthopaedics.

@BreakingBroken she has a good mattress which cost a lot of money at the time lol. She tends to lie on her side with her quilt in between her legs due to the back pain. She does Irish Dancing 4.5 hours per week, and goes swimming once or twice a week, so she’s pretty fit. Her nutritional in take is also good, maybe not the best as she can be fussy with meat but she still eats what meat she can along with fruit and veggies. Calpol/Nurofen would take the edge off the pain but doesn’t take it completely away. From what I’ve gathered it definitely seems to radiate from her back.

OP posts:
Cappuccino5 · 08/10/2025 18:56

caterpillarbee · 08/10/2025 17:17

@Cappuccino5 This is a good idea. I’ll contact the private hospitals near me to see if I can get her booked in. Over a year ago, I took her to the GP about her back pain because her posture didn’t look quite even (I’ve a picture if you’re curious). The first GP didn’t see anything unusual and said to return if it persisted. When I went back with a different GP, I mentioned that she walks with her feet slightly turned inwards, too. He asked her to walk in front of him, but she straightened when she knew why he was watching. Luckily, I had a video from sports day showing it. He said it was just a habit and to keep an eye on it, but I insisted it had been ongoing, that’s when she was finally referred to orthopaedics.

@BreakingBroken she has a good mattress which cost a lot of money at the time lol. She tends to lie on her side with her quilt in between her legs due to the back pain. She does Irish Dancing 4.5 hours per week, and goes swimming once or twice a week, so she’s pretty fit. Her nutritional in take is also good, maybe not the best as she can be fussy with meat but she still eats what meat she can along with fruit and veggies. Calpol/Nurofen would take the edge off the pain but doesn’t take it completely away. From what I’ve gathered it definitely seems to radiate from her back.

More than welcome to PM me if you want! Did the GP check for scoliosis?

Original poster
caterpillarbee · 08/10/2025 21:18

@Cappuccino5 I had raised my concerns of scoliosis specifically, but that’s when the GP said she sees nothing out of the ordinary! I’ll give you a PM now, thanks 😊

OP posts:
Original poster
caterpillarbee · 08/10/2025 21:37

Cappuccino5 · 08/10/2025 18:56

More than welcome to PM me if you want! Did the GP check for scoliosis?

Show quote history

It doesn’t let me attach a pic via PM 😕 I think it’s maybe because I’m a long time lurker but only recently made my account lol. I cropped the pics I took of her back and I’ll attach them to this message so you can see how uneven her shoulders look and the skin folds at her sides. Either that or I might be losing my mind a bit! 😅

9yo Ongoing Back & Leg Pain
9yo Ongoing Back & Leg Pain
9yo Ongoing Back & Leg Pain
OP posts:
Original poster
caterpillarbee · 13/10/2025 14:44

Just bumping this in the hopes that anyone else has had a similar experience 🙏🏻

OP posts:
CracklingFlames · 13/10/2025 14:56

Go private. It's taken me eight years to get my daughter an mri on her back. Admittedly there's been lots of other health issues in the meantime that we've had to concentrate on.

EveningSpread · 13/10/2025 15:03

My younger brother had a lot of back and leg pain when he was younger than your DD. They thought it was juvenile arthritis. It turned out to be flat feet. Had to go private to get it sorted. Definitely get a private MRI.

Also perhaps relevant: I have visible scoliosis but have never had any related pain.

Cappuccino5 · 13/10/2025 18:53

caterpillarbee · 13/10/2025 14:44

Just bumping this in the hopes that anyone else has had a similar experience 🙏🏻

Sent you a PM x

Original poster
caterpillarbee · 22/10/2025 23:15

Just wanted to provide an update - ended up taking her to a&e on Monday and she was recalled back up yesterday for more tests. They took blood to test creatine kinase and inflammation, done reflex tests (3 diff docs, one being an orthopaedic doc) and took an xray of her lower back (as she had a chest xray in June and you could see most of her spine apart from the lower part) and also X-rays of her hips and pelvis. Thankfully everything has came back normal but now she needs to get an MRI, just so they can be completely sure there is nothing that they’re missing. They have been great and even called Orthopaedics to come round and see her yesterday to see if they could shed any light on the cause of her pain. I’m thankful they are being thorough and I hope it’s one of these things that just resolve on its own 🤞🏼

OP posts:
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