how many broken bones are a problem?

[creamteas]

Hi all,

DS3 has dyspraxia so trips and falls are frequent. He is 11 and has now broken his arm 3 times, his foot twice as well as a couple of broken fingers and some cracked ribs. None of the injuries are from anything spectacular, mostly just falling over his own feet (or something similar).

I've googled and the possible issues seem to be Osteoporosis, Osteogenesis Imperfecta (Brittle bone disease) or conditions linked to calcium or vit D deficiencies. The first two seem unlikely (not enough problems) and his diet would seem to rule out the rest.

Does anyone think the state of his bones needs investigating or am I just being paranoid?

BTW Half of the accidents happened at school/nursery so there is no need to call social services

Any chance he has a food intolerance? They seem to be fairly common in people with dyspraxia (and ASD), and can cause the body not to absorb nutrients.

I have NO medical expertise at all so can't answer, but if it was my child I would definitely ask the question of somebody medical. Meanwhile try not to worry too much - if he has dyspraxia, I'm guessing he is more prone to trips, falls etc than your average kid?

Oh, he must have had X-rays, yes? This is completely unqualified speculation but they should give some indication of bone density, or lack thereof?

Get thee to the GP. They can ask an expert like [[http://www.rnhrd.nhs.uk/page/168 these lot]

this lot

agree re:taking him to GP, they can run some blood tests to check for calcium/vit d levels etc.

Thanks for the support, I'll take him to the GP, it can't hurt can it

Not to sound too paranoid, but it's just as well to take him to the GP not only for referral but for documentation that you are aware this is a concern and want to find out the cause for social services reasons.

DS2 falls a lot - a combination of dyspraxia, hypermobility, and no sense of danger. He seems to favour head injuries. All (and we are talking a significant number) except for one have been either at preschool or school. Yet we have been asked very pointed questions the last few times we have taken him in to the A&E to be seen for them. Even though the last 2 times, he was in school uniform, during the school day (as we picked him up from school early due to the injury), with a school sticker on his shirt saying "I bumped my head today" and the date. Standard response for us has been "He was injured at school, I only know the basics - he fell, he's hurt - if you want details on how it happened, you'll have to ring the school." Why they think we can detail it at that point is beyond my comprehension.

I am not damning the doctors ... it's their job to be on the lookout for patterns of injury ... but I have to admit to a feeling a bit when they question US about injuries that occurred when we weren't there and he was in school.

And to be fair, we don't blame the school. He has coordination problems - it's sort of like he runs faster in his head than his feet can keep up with.

I think you need to talk to your doctor about this. Its quite a lot of breaks from simple trips and falls.

It is very simple to test bone density - just need a scan of the hip bone and some of the vertebrae. Over in minutes.

Triggles whilst I wouldn't wish injuries on your DS, I'm glad it is not just us looking for frequent flyer points at A&E

Have made an appointment at the Gps to discuss this once the holidays start

Yep, I'm pretty sure that we have our own "room" there. Between injuries and things like "blue tack in the ear too far for parents to safely remove," we're definitely "frequent fliers." sigh