2 year old with legs with a difference in length of 1.5 cm - any experience?

[Homebird8]

I have to admit we only noticed around DS's 2nd birthday but his legs have a 1.5cm difference in length (as measured at the hospital). He's still very unsure walking (though he started at 14 months) and gets down on all fours to go down steps of only about 5cm.
He's been seen by an orthopaedic consultant at the hospital about 10 weeks ago and they x-rayed to get a baseline picture to compare against in the future but couldn't see any developmental abnormalities.
He has always seemed to tense when I'm changing his nappy and I request "legs apart" to wipe in his groin. He can let his left leg (the shorter one) go sideways to allow this but seems a bit unwilling.
He never complains of pain (at 2 1/2 year now) but he's the wobbliest child of his age I come across at 2 toddler groups and in the nursery he attends 2 mornings a week.
Anyone with any experience of a child with legs of slightly different lengths? Is his wobbliness or his lack of ambulatory confidence down to it? Is there anything I should watch for or do to help him? (He gets plenty of soft play and is by no means a sedentary child).

Maybe that the difference is in the bone length?
Our consultant checks DS's femurs by getting him to lie on his back, making sure that his hips are level, and then bends his knees upwards, with his feet on the bed. Then you can see if the femurs are of equal length.

I think this is probably all quite hard to diagnose on your own, though. I mean, it's perfectly obvious when i look at DS's legs, that the discrepancy is in his tibias. But with a smaller discrepancy, and the general difficulty in getting children to be straight it might be more tricky.

DS's consultant uses a very high tec measuring device: and IKEA tape measure!!!!!

So his hips are level but the ankle bones aren't? As Blu says, bend his legs up and see if his knees seem level. Check his feet are together. That's a point too are his feet the same size?

Our surgeon does much bending of legs and thumbs on hips and the orthotists tend to use wooden blocks.

dd stands on the floor and he puts a wooden block under her little leg until the hip bones are level. For dd this doesn't show her hip compensation (not really sure how that bit works) Since she's had her surgery we've been doing this at home with melamine placemats, and the number required is reducing.Yay! Off to the orthotists next week to get the 'proper' measurement done.

I'm sure the orthopaedic consultant was quite good as he was doing all the things you've suggested about knees in the air etc but he was still nonplussed.

DS2's feet seem to be the same size (other than the slight differences everyone has - don't we all have a slightly bigger foot) but I'm not sure if his bigger foot is on the bigger leg?

Great news SMBK that you're needing fewer placemats. What a good way of measuring because they're so slim and don't crush under the child's weight and they're all the same thickness (stored up for possible future use!)

Next nappy I'll try the knee thing myself though DS2 is getting sick of Mummy wanting to look at his "lovely legs" every time. I'm sure he thinks I've lost it!

lol at your leg fettish !

Dd's foot is a full size smaller on that leg, shoe fitting can be a little traumatic, especially for a girl.

Did the knee thing and now I'm as confused as the consultant. DS2's knees appear to be the same height as each other so I can't work out where the discrepancy is.

When he's up again tomorrow I might see if he'll humour me and stand on some table mats! You've got to have a bit of fun on a dreary Wednesday in April haven't you?

If his hips and knees are level then I think that probably means that there is a discrepancy in the bone length in the lower legs. Hoever it can be very difficult to diagnose accurately, especially if you are unsure/inexperienced at measuring them and have a wriggly child!!

my ds is very clumsy and has 'bowen treatement'. She always tells me one leg is shorter than the other becauase he has such tight hamstrings. This is what she works on to try to loosen him up!

DS2 was very still for the consultant but is increasingly wriggly and giggly as Mummy keeps wanting to play with his legs whenever we do a nappy. All he wants me to do is blow raspberries on his feet!

Interesting about the hamstrings. Could be something to do with the soft tissue perhaps?

Is there any possibility that there might be a knee difference?

tigi, what is Bowen Treatment? It's a new one on me but then I keep on learning things...

Thanks ladies

My health visitor recommended that I see my gp because Dd wrinkles in her limbs were not right. The fat distribution wasn't right, she said. And when she showed me I could see it, my DD didn't have fat bits that matched. I took her to my GP, who said that he didn't ahve a problem with it. CLicky hip, she called it, but with my HV experience (30 years midwife/nurse). Do you think I should get a 2nd opinion?

ucm have you tried any of the things people on this thread have suggested to see if her hips are level or you can see any difference in leg length?

We first noticed DS2's leg length difference when he was lying flat on his back and his legs were straight. Admittedly it took two years before we noticed it and he didn't raise any comment when he had a hip scan at 6 weeks (standard in our area).

How old is your daughter?

10 weeks so hard to tell at the moment.

Hi - I just wanted to add myself to your merry band! My DD is 2.5yrs and is on course for a leg length discrepancy following AVN of the femoral head. Basically, the artery to the femoral head gave up the ghost, so now we know that she's likely to experience a difference in length between the two legs, at some point (once the head starts packing down on itself).

My worry is that I'll miss any limp/irregular gait that she picks up because it will be accumulative and so slow to develop that I'll just think that it's 'normal'.
Do any of you have any tips on how to spot a discrepancy?

Once I can 'see' it, I imagine that I'll take the route of shoe in-steps or raised heels.

FredAdair, you might not 'see' it yourself but if you know to expect it then you can ask other people who see her what they think from time to time.

I have a friend with a little boy who has a squint that it quite obvious to me but she hadn't noticed it. When she asked me following her health visitor's comments (I hadn't commented as I thought she'd be doing something about it as it was so obvious) she was amazed and glad that I'd noticed.

You just get to know your LO's so well it is hard to see. I've only just started to realise that DS2's 1.5cm difference might be starting to affect him in comparison with his peers.

FedAdair - is your dd not being monitored by the consultant? If discrepancy is expected I don't think it should be left to you to diagnose on your own!

My sister had different length legs and also different size feet.

Now she is an adult she has to buy two pairs of shoes and throw 2 of them out. But her legs are almost the same now so no need to wear built up shoe anymore.

Hi, sorry, not been online since last message . Here is Bowen website - www.bowen-technique.co.uk/

This thread has also got me thinking. When ds was born, he had a pronounced crease across his bottom - on one side only. At the top of his cheeks, where his bottom joined his back, above wher it seperates. can't explain it better than that! Wonder if that is anything to do with it? I don't notice his legs being different when he walks - but the bowen lady tells me it is when she first lays him down.....

Thanks tigi, what lead you to Bowen in particular?

cece don't we all have feet that are a bit diffrent in size? Maybe i'm wrong

DS2 has learned to run! Yipee and a great achievement for such a wobbly little thing.

Still, it means now that it's very obvious that he's limping (he seems to roll when he walks but running he's a real hop-along!).

I'll make that appointment with the GP this week and go and see whether he might benefit from a raise or an insole.

Missed this, Homebird, but was wondering how you were geting on.

Any news from the GP yet?

Hi folks, took DS2 to the GP last week and he's being re-referred to the consultant. The concern is that he's not keeping up with his peers, rather than worries that he may be damaging himself, so we'll just have to wait for the appointment and see. I'm hoping to see the organ grinder himself this time...

Was only thinking of you yesterday Homebird as we were at the orthotist - glad you've been referred again. Let us know how you get on.

Thanks for keeping an eye on us SMBK. Could be a couple of months though before we get the appointment.

Hi everyone who was so supportive last time I posted on this! DS2 now has a raise on his shoe and at 3 1/4 can now jump! Running is still a bit of a gallop but the shoes have made so much of a difference.

I've been told though that he can only have 3 pairs a year. This doesn't give much room for foot growth and I'm concerned that he can't have different types of shoes to suit him.

So far he's had a pair of boots which we finally got back from the hospital after 4 weeks in October. He's grown a whole size since then and we've just sent off a second pair of winter shoes to have the raise put on.

What happens about sandals for the summer I don't know. Do any of you? I usually buy open toe ones to avoid the growth issue too much but can they put a raise on these?

The other problem is that in wellies his walking is pretty laboured. He can't easily enjoy a walk in the rain to splash in the puddles so are there any tricks I can use there?

I haven't even thought about a pair of trainers though I really could do with some. He's constantly having accidents (toilet training) and his boots get wet (even on the inside). I have no option but to put him in dry socks in wet shoes sometimes. Again, any suggestions?

I feel such a newbie at this