DD2 had cast removed today after 5 wks...couple of questions..

[Nemoandthefishes]

is it normal for her to still walk like the she has the cast on as she is swinging her leg and keeping it stiff.
Also how long should she walk like that for??
How do I help the very dried out skin underneath?
Do I encourage her to bend it or just leave it until she is doing it herself?

Hospital didnt really say much just that if she stops walking completely take her back and she has a review in 6mths

Goodness, that's a long time for a child to have a cast on. What did she do?

It is normal for a child to have stiffness and not wish to use the limb. Small steps is good. Encourage her to gently move her foot/leg. The skin underneith should be dry and flakey, a bath should help with this, then some moisturising cream. Encourage her to bend it slightly, then a bit more IYSWIM. Excercises in the bath can really help.

thanks fluffy
she fractured her leg and is only 2.4yrs so off course in her memory last time she had an 'ok' leg was when it was broken so she keeps crying it is sore. I have just given her some paracetamol to help with the stiffness but am just worried about the swinging gate she developed to compensate for the plaster.

That really is a long time for a child to be in plaster.
It's going to be stiff and sore if she's trying to move it. I'd ply her with ibuprofen and pop her in the bath, then encourage her to wiggle her toes, then ankles etc. The stiffness will take some time, it's bound to be psychological aswell as stiff as she's not been moving it for ages. It will take some time for it to get back to normal.

Little bones tend to heal in 2 weeks, did they say why she needed to be in plaster for this long?

nemo, my DD1 broke her leg just a week before her third birthday, and had a cast on for 6wks IIRC.

we had been told to keep her off the leg when it first happened (she broke 4 bones across the top of her foot and a teeny hairline crack in the shin bone), and then once she had the proper cast on, she was too scared to walk until the very last week, which then went into screaming terror when the cast came off!

she did soon get over it tho. I had to carry her a lot the first few days, and then I hit on the bright idea of buying her some very pretty sandles (shiny and sparkly), and said she was only allowed to wear them if she walked, and so she did

it won;t take long for your DD to start walking properly again. don't forget, your arm/leg/wrist feels most strange when a cast comes off....tis normal....and for adults it takes a little while to feel ok again. your DD is 2.4......don;t fret

oh, the dry skin........bath with a flannel to loosen the worst of it off and then lots of moisturiser.

She was put in a temporary cast first and went back a week later where they did an x ray then put her in the full cast. She then went back 2wks later and was xrayed again and they left the cast on to help with healing, and again 2wks after that. Last week we asked them to review this week as we are going away on saturday for a week and the week after I am going in to hospital to have DC4. So they reviewed today cutting off the old cast and were uming and ahing about whether she needed a new cast on. Luckily in the end they decided not as she had been dancing and walking with the cast on and not needed any pain relief since 2 days after she fractured it.
I expected some stiffness but she is complaing her leg really hurts and am unsure what is normal and what is her leg actually hurting. She is still walking around and has just gone to play in the garden with ds. Will put her in the bath later as she is desperate for one anyway without mummy holding her leg in the air and spoiling her fun

A bath really will help. It will be mega sensitive aswell so pat it dry really lightly with the towel, then gently rub some moisturiser into it.

When DS1 had the cast taken off his arm (the arm was put in a cast and bent across his chest), it did actually stay like that for a good few hours until the stiffness subsided.

He did have to have physio therapy for a few months to enable him to move it properly. Perhaps you need to ask about this?

I would bet the hurting isn;t from her leg...........it will be from the sensitive skin after it being covered for so long. whenever I have had a cast and it comes off, my skin is mega sore.

and of course, her being tiny, she cannot differentiate.

bella her knee was bent at a degree meaning she had couldnt put the foot flat so suppose the fact she is doing that at all is a bonus. Was surprised by the lack of follow up..she only got a review in 6mths because DH had been told she would need it from the first DR who saw her as he said her type of break can result in the leg bowing out a bit.

thanks psycho and fluffy will bath her later and put some oilatum on it as her ezema has also been playing havoc under the cast.

DS had a full length leg cast for 6 weeks followed by 3 weeks in a and cast with a knee joint that allowed some movement.

He found his skin was terribly sensitive (we used gallons of E45) and we also - after several weeks - got a Physio referral as he damaged his achilles tendon from trying to use it too quickly with no proper stretching exercises before hand.

I would encourage moving it more & more each day in a warm bath. As the muscles loosen up she will do it naturally on dry land. (I had a full length hip spica frame for months as a 7 year old and went for hydrotherapy daily to get movement back.)

DD had just turned 4 when she fractured her leg - she was in cast for around 5/6 weeks and it took about that amount of time afterwards for her to be walking and running exactly as she had prior to her accident. She found it harder to get around the first week or so without the cast than she had with it on.

Young children are always very cautious if a limb is sore and very guarding against anything at all beyond their capabilities. They are never adventurous at all for a while. However, as soon as she realises she can walk properly without the gait , she will. It will take time and encouragement i think . Are you going to have physio ??