My Two Year Old Son Woke Up Limping, With A Pain In His Leg, It Was Irritable Hip
84Child's Irritable Hip
Childs Irritable Hip
A few months ago my two year old son had a viral infection, he was fine and well again after four days or so and back to his normal self running around like a mad man full of beans haha. however a few days later he woke up screaming and crying, i couldnt see anything visible that could of been causing his pain and as he cant talk properly yet he couldnt tell me why he was crying all he kept saying was hurt, i checked his temperature which was high so rang the nhs helpline.
After going through all his details on the phone, the nurse told me that he probably was still feeling unwell from the viral infection and to give him plenty of fluids and some calpol of which i did, he went back to sleep and i stayed up checking him every ten minutes like the over protective mother i am. About a hour later he woke up again screaming and saying hurt, i stood him up to check his body for rashes etc which made him scream and cry more, when i tried to get him to walk i noticed he was limping and his left leg seemed to be dragging a bit, he ended up giving up on walking and crawling on the floor instead, i knew this wasnt normal and instantly phonned the doctors, That morning i took him to the doctors where she checked his temperature and looked in his ears and told me "Yes he has a temperature i think its just viral." just give him plenty of water blah blah blah, i asked her to check his legs because he was limping and crawling and she told me their was no need to check because when you have a high temperature you have body aches and tried to assure me thats all it was.
So off we went back home, my two year old continued to limp and scream out in pain until i couldnt bare to watch him like that anymore and off we went to the accident and emergency at the hospital, once there we waited for a hour to see the doctor, as soon as we got into his room he listened to what i said and told me to walk my son up and down the corridor, he then checked his legs, and instantly told me he believes my son has irritable hip??
Apparently Irritable is common in young children especially boys, but i had never heard of it before and neither had friends and family who i later told about it, which is the main reason i am writting this hub, My son was immediately admitted into the childrens ward where they took blood from him and had to insert a drip thing (not sure what it is called) incase he ended up needing a operation, because of his age he had to have a big plastic oval thing stuck to his arm with lots of bandages and tape stuck round it, they said because of his age he will try pulling the drip needle out so put that on so he wont be able to get to it, now he is limping and looks like he has a broken arm to match bless him.
They kept him in hospital while they waited for the blood test results and they did the xrays on his leg and hip, which was very hard as we had to hold him down while the xray machines did their job, i think the fact he looks so tiny is what made it more distressing.
The next morning he was examined by the pediatrician who confirmed he had irritable hip and after another day of constent observation and medicine we was allowed to take our little boy home, he had to rest for the first two weeks which as any parent knows is extremely hard to get a two year old to stay in one place. but a few months later he is back to his normal self and once again running around like a mad man full of beans.
Irritable hip is inflammation (swelling) of the membrane covering the hip joint. It is the most common cause of hip pain in young children. A child with irritable hip will have pain and restricted movement in their hip joint. The pain can also spread to the thigh, groin and knee areas. This makes standing and walking difficult and causes the child to limp. Usually, only one hip is affected. Irritable hip is also called acute transient synovitis. Irritable hip is a common childhood condition that affects boys and girls of any age. It is most often seen in boys aged between two and 12, and twice as many boys than girls are affected. The exact cause of irritable hip is unknown, but it often follows either a viral infection or a physical injury. As a parent, it can be very worrying if your child is diagnosed with irritable hip and is struggling to walk. However, the condition is often short lived and has no further complications. It usually goes away without treatment after one to two weeks. Complete rest during this period is usually all that is needed.
It just goes to show as parents we know if something is wrong with our child, if i had listened to Nhs and our doctor my son would have been in pain for weeks. i hope you found this Hub useful.
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Thank you for your comment Lesley, i hope your little girl is fully recovered and feeling well again soon. I have worried about my son's irritable hip coming back again it's not nice watching them in pain and not being able to do anything for them.
My son is 6 years and Autistic. He woke up this morning complaining of not being able to walk well and leg hurting. This is the 2nd time in the past 3 years. It concerns me because he had the viral infection a few days ago and i took him to the hospital with fever of 103. He seems to have no fever but has not eaten much and is going to sleep earlier than the normal. Then this morning he woke up complaining of his leg. I want to take him in to the children's hospital.
Hiya Deli, i would take him to your local A&E as it can be hard to diagnose. Our Doctor told us that our son just had a viral infection and his leg was hurting due to body aches, but i wasn't satisfied and took him to A&E where they immediately diagnosed him with irritable hip. I hope your son is feeling better soon.
hi my 9 year old son has had an irratable hip for 2 months now and the hospital dont seem to be doing anything bout it, he was told to get on life as normal as he normally does, but this makes him worse, now they are saying there is nothing more they can do for him, just to give him pain killers and he has crutches to help him walk.
Hiya Amanda,
Sorry to hear your son has been in pain for so long. Has he had a high tempeature as well as the irritable hip? the only reason i ask is because we were told that this could point to an infected hip joint. Also when our son was initialy diagnosed the Doctor told us that if the pain persisted they would do further tests as Irritable hip can also occur as a result of a more serious condition, such as Perthes disease, when the top of the thighbone softens and regrows out of shape or various types of childhood arthritis. Irritable hip should only really last two weeks, so i would request a follow up x-ray for your son. I hope he is feeling better soon.
My daughter has been diagnosed with irritable hip, she has rest for 2 days and now is trying to move about more and doesn't seem to be uncomfortable as she has been,does this mean, she can do more than sit and lay?
Hiya Joanie.
I let our Son do what he felt comftable with, if he was not in any discomfort then we let him walk or crawl around for a bit. I checked with Nhs Direct and here is what they said.......Many children with irritable hip are treated in hospital where they may be put on traction. Your child should only have to stay in hospital for one or two nights. If a hospital stay is not required for your child then it is essential that your child completely rests at home until there hip is recovered and they are able to walk without discomfort. The most comfortable and painless position is lying on the back with the knee bent outwards slightly on the painful side and the foot pointed away from the body. I hope your Daughter is fit and well again soon.
hi ya thank you for replying to me, he had to go back to fracture clinic on monday and i was told by my gp he was seeing a top hip surgen when we arrived we was told he didnt want to see him as all his test came back ok, and there was nothing more they could do for him as it is just irratable hip, they said to give him pain relief and that was that, i said but he has been like this for 2 months they didnt seem to care, am going back to gp as not happy with way we was treated and want a second opinion, he is still not right, he has been better since he has been on crutches as he is not using his leg to walk on so is resting his hip. i am just lost as to what to do next i just want my happy boy back.x
just to say he has had no temp or anything, they said last time he was in hospital which was 4 weeks ago that if it didnt go they would do furthur tests but now they saying they are not going to now.x
Hiya Amanda,
Thats terrible how they have treated your little boy. They are supposed to do a routine follow up x-ray after 6wks even if they are fuly recovered. So they should definately be doing one for your son considering he has been in pain for two months. I think you are right to go back to your GP and demand a second opinion, as there is obviously something more going on if he is need of crutches to walk. I hope you get manage to get the help he needs so he is fit and well soon. x
Hi ya he has to go back to the fracture clinic this frid and if they dont do a x ray i am gonna ask them to do one, no not ask demand they do one, the more i think about it the more it makes me so mad the way we have been treated, i am seeing our Gp this thurs to ask for second opinion and to complain bout the way we have been treated. he is doing really well on his crutches but as soon as he walks on his hip he is in bad pain again. jsut hope we get to bottom of it soon.x
Hiya Amanda,
That is good to hear that you are demanding a follow up x-ray as that is what they should have done for your son anyway. I hope they manage to get it sorted so he is out of pain soon, let me know how you get on. And i hope he is well again soon xx
hi ya i will let you know tomorrow how he gets on, bit concerened as now he is coming down with a cold, think it is just a virual infection.xx
Aww bless him, hope they manage to do something for him tomorow so he is back to himself as soon as possible x
Hi ya now they have refered him back to the hip surgen and i said is he going to see him this time and they said yes as he is still in alot of pain. so he goes to see him on the 19th april. then he had his physio at 12 and she said because he is still in pain she is setting him up with some hydro therapy at the hospital to help him as she thinks it would be to much to start of straight away on physio so she gonna build him up, i would just like to say thankyou for your help and just being their to talk to, i havent met anyone else who has a son or daughter with irratable hip, so it has really helped me, big thank you.xx
Hiya Amanda,
I am so pleased that he is finaly getting the help he needs, it must have been a huge worry to you especialy when the hospital didn't seem to be helping. I am only to happy to help as when my little boy had it i had the same problem in that no-one else had heard of it. I hope now that they are doing something he will be back to his normal self in no time. All the best to you and your son, Zoey xx
Good news the hip surgen said yesterday he is not happy with toms progress and that it has gone on to long now, they have also found out that he has pain in his lower back as well, so have now said he needs and mri scan on his hips and back, he said we need to get to the bottom of this now, they did blood tests and x ray yesterday which came back ok, so just got to wait for an appoitment to come through for mri scan now. and something else which was interesting was that another little boy was down there with same probs as tom and with the back pain, he is same age as tom as well, so me and his mum were talking and she couldnt belive it as like me as never come across this b4 and never met any one that has a child with it, so was really helpfull for both of us.xxx
Hiya Amanda,
Thats great news, i'm so pleased for you, you must be so relieved to know they are finaly doing something to make him better and to get to the bottom of what is going on. I wonder what is causing the back pain? i hope the MRI scan gives some answers so you can have your little boy well again. It seems strange that for something claimed to be so common, no Mum seems to have actualy heard of. Let me know how you get on, and i wish all the best to you and Tom xx
Hi there not good thomas was back in hospital again this week, so they did bloods which came back ok, then they did x ray, when we was back on childrens ward they said we would have to wait for bone docs to come and see him but she said she is no expert but there is something on his x ray that looks like it could be the early statges of perthes disease, but then the bone docs turned round and sai no its not, he has mri scan on tues morning, i have told them that if i find out it is perthes i will not be happy and a complaint will be put in, i said you dont seem to care bout my little boy, well he not so little he is 10 now, but hey dont seem to care, i said what are you gonna do if the mri scan comes back all clear she said we will cross that bridge when we come to it, but he has no follow up appoitments with any one, they told me after he has his mri scan to ring fracture clinic up and make appoit with the consultant that he saw 3 weeks ago. i just want my little boy better.xx
Oh no, i realy thought they was going to get everything sorted for him. I hope it is not the start of Perthes Disease, and if it is then they will have a lot to answer for as they should have detected it in the early stages. Perthes Disease was one of the first things we were warned about but the tests came back negative. You must be going out of your mind with worry, it is not your job to chase up an appointment with the consultant either, the hospital should be seeing to all that. I hope Tom's Mri scan shows nothing serious and that he is well again soon, thinking of you both xx
Hi there tom is still bad with his hip and has been poorly for the last 2 weeks, we have been still seeing them at fracture clinic and his next appoitment is tues 12th july. it has been over 5 months now that he has been bad with his hip. to make matters worse he was back in hospital bout a month ago and they said that a pain nurse would come round and talk to him bout what to do for the best. her thing was that he was to stop all his tablets as she said that the pain was prob all in his head now. i didnt not stop his pain reliefe just like that icut him down slowly tot he stage where he was only having paracetomol when he needed it. then he started not sleeping very well and the pain was coming back bad and he was getting really stiff, so took him back to gp and he said he needed to go back on to his strong ibuprofen and paracetoml and codiene as he was in pain again and this is why he is not sleeping. well tues the 12th july is coming round and i am dreading it,as i know they will just say well come back in 8 weeks and we will see how he is. trouble is he has been quite poorly last 2 weeks and i am just worried what that will have dont to his hip.x
Hiya Amanda,
Sorry i took a while to reply, my computer was on the blink so been having to rely on my phone until now lol. So sorry to hear that Tom has been poorly, it is terrible to think he has been in pain for the past 5 months and still having to go back and forth to hospital. Have they given you any clues as to how long you can expect this to continue? I can understand why you are worrying about him being poorly as Viral infections are the main cause of Irritable Hip. I hope the hospital get it sorted soon as he cant carry on taking pain killers and going back and forth to appointments. You must be so frustrated with it all. What did the MRI results show in the end? Thinking of you both and hoping Tom is better soon xx
i feel sorry for what your child and family went through- my almost 2 year baby girl have same story now- and am depressed to see my little angle limping
Hiya Mariam, i am sorry to hear about your little girl, it is very hard seeing your child in pain and not being able to cure them. I hope your little girl has a speedy recovery and is well again soon x
I am so happy I found this. My two and a half year old has been limping with bad pain in his left leg for 2 weeks. He has been to the hospital 4 times has had multiple xrays, blood, and an ultrasound. We met with the chief ortho surgeon at our childrens clinic after being there 24 hrs, they were going to admit us to do a bone scan and MRI then changed their minds and released us half hour later with antibiotics to rule out a bone infection. We are due back tuesday to meet with the ortho surgeon again and if my son is in the same shape will then do the scan and MRI. All of his tests are normal so far and not a single doctor can figure it out. I am sick with worry and just want him well. If anyone gets any answers please give me a suggestion as to what this could possibly be!!! All the best to all of your babies!
Hi Brittany,
Sorry to hear about your son, did they suggest it could be irritable hip? I looked up causes of limping in children and this is what i found..... Limping with fever may represent an infection in the bone or joints. limping with pain may also be a urgent problem, such as Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease (lack of blood supply to the hip joint) or a slipped capital femoral head (a dislodgement of the top of the leg bone in the hip). Limping with pain in the leg and/or knee can be a sign of Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, also NHS say that some children can experience painful limping after a viral infection or flu bug etc. Sorry i couldnt be of more help. I hope you find the answers quickly and your little boy is fit and well again soon x
Thank you very much for your support. Your help and concern means a great deal. So far via the testing they have done they have not been able to come up with any diagnosis or any idea of a diagnosis. Hopefull the bone scan and MRI gives us more definitive answers. It is a shame our children have to go through such pain and illness. Thank you again!!!
Your very welcome Brittany. It is a shame, especialy when you don't know what is causing their pain, i hope the MRI goes well and gives the answers you need so your little boy can be treated and be well again soon x
Hey guys I'm so happy to find this. My daughter is 8 healthy and full of Beans but for the last 2 yrs she has had alot of pain in her hip. If someone picks her up and catches it she screams in pain it's so sad to see her in so much pain. Been to docs they sent her for a X-ray and said it's growing pains but I'm not convinced my poor girl is in so much pain this morning she can't even go for a wee Cus it hurts that much. We are off to docs again today, any advice is welcomed thanks
Hi Charlene,
I am by no means a professional but with your daughter being 8 and the research I have done I would suggest you have her tested for perthes disease. Especially considering the limp has not gone away in so long. We are still waiting on my sons MRI. The doctor suggested maybe it was a fracture or a bone infection and gave antibiotics. He said both would take 3 weeks to heal. We are at the 3 week mark now and he is still in pain. Hopefully the MRI comes quickly with answers. Good luck to everyone else with their children and I wish you positive results!!
As well, Charlene I have been told in regards to growing pains that they will never cause pain during the day and certainly not a limp. I would certainly push for more invasive testing be done on your daughter to ensure an answer and resolution. All the best, keep us posted!!
Hiya Charlene, sorry to hear about your Daughter, i agree with Brittany regarding the perthes disease test as i am not aware of growing pains that cause pain to that extent. I hope you all find the answers quickly so your children can be healthy and happy soon :)
Hi, my girl of 3.5 years is having similar condition of sudden pain and then she was unable to walk. We got scans & blood work, has elevated ESR & WBC and she is having temperature as well. Ortho asked for MRI and Blood Culture which is done. We only hope it is not Septic Arthritis.
The main article was helpful, her situation is very much alike, just that we headed to the scans at the outset of the pain and didnt wait even for a day.
Hi Azmat, Sorry to hear your little girl has been in such pain. It is a very worrying time especialy when you don't know the cause of the pain, i wish you all the best and hope your little girl is well again soon :)
MRI shows no pus but high CRP and ESR levels are worrying. We may need to aspirate the hip...Thanks.
Hi I have been reading down the comments as I have 2 kids with this, my daughters started in feb 2011 and the doctors couldn't find anything wrong, she is in a lot of pain, limp, stiff joints lack of movement etc, pain in her leg, hip and lower back. The doctors thought it was something serious so 1 month ago they carried out an MRI scan which showed the top of her femour and back to have wat they called hot spots, bloods came back clear but they said that these hot spots would indicate something more so took her for a bone scan, a bone biopsy and they also took bone marrow from her back. Bone marrow has came back clear so we are waiting on the bone biopsy which they said could take a few weeks to come back. Can't believe other mums are in this situation, it took me ages to get my own gp to do something and when they finally did the orthopaedic surgeon says that the pain she must be in that he seen from the MRI was a lot. Hope I get some answers soon as my son who is 10 has the same pain which only started 3 weeks ago. Really interested to see the outcome for your kids as it seems to be the same thing.
Hey ladies,
Well I will give an update on my son to hopefully provide some more information for other parents dealing with similar scenarios. My son has been limping with leg pain for 6 weeks. We ended up having the MRI and a lot of swelling and inflammation can be seen on his tibia, as well as something lifting off of his tibia. We have been seeing the Chief Ortho surgeon at our childrens hospital weekly and although they can see the problem on the MRI they cannot see what it is. We are going for a biopsy next week of his bone. Best of luck to you all and I will update you of his results. Any information on similar experiences would be fantastic.
Hiya Julie, sorry to hear that two of your children are suffering, Our GP was the same, she was trying to convince me that my little boy just had body aches, but we know our own children, so i am glad that yours are getting professional help now and i hope they find what is causing the pain soon. I wish you all the best and hope your children are well again soon :)
Hiya Brittany, Thank you for coming back and giving us all a update, i know it is a worrying time for you. Hope the biopsy reveals more answers and he is pain free soon x
Hi my son started limping last week now crawling rather than walking been diagnosed with irritable hip reassuring others been through same thought I was on my own so frustrating as he can't talk yet as he 15mths hopefully well soon!
Sorry to hear that Suzy, It's not nice seeing your little one so poorly especialy when they cant tell you what is wrong. I wish him a speedy recovery, take care x
My 2 year old has just been diagnosed with irritable hip, something I have never heard off. The hospital basically told me to give him nurofen and keep him off his feet, easier said than done. He has no temperature but is screeching in pain. I've had him at a@e twice now and both times been made to feel like an over dramatic mum !
Hi Lynsey, Sorry to hear about your Son. It seems that a lot of Doctors and Hospitals forget that Irritable Hip is unheard of to most parents and so treat you like your over reacting.Because They, unlike Us see it all the time. Its very hard as a parent seeing your child in pain and not being able to help them so i do sympathise with you, as i know we found this the hardest when our little boy had Irritable hip. If he continues to be in too much pain, i would suggest taking him back to the hospital or your GP. You as his Mum know him best. You are not over reacting you are just being a good mum and caring. I hope he gets better soon and has a speedy recovery. I wish you all the best x
great hub, very informative. Probably illegal in some way as i think I can see your sons teseticles! only joking, but very good!
my daughter is also limping and we have done the MRI scan and nothing came into that. Not sure what it is ?
She has been to hospital and to GP couple of times.All the blood result were fine but ESR was high so we have been giving the antibiotics. Any help will be much apprecaited.
she is 20 months old and in pain when tries to walk but no tempreature
I was reading back through all of my posts and the posts of others and couldn't help but get a little teary eyed as this turned into possibly one of the worst times in my life. My son who had a persistant limp with pain ended up having an mri and ultimately a biopsy of his bone. It was an open biopsy so they made a 3 inch incision and drilled holes into his tibia to retrieve samples. He was to be in a half cast from his knee down for 3 weeks. He was on morphine and still in absolute agony. Despite my many calls I was assured this was normal. Upon our 3 week visit to have his cast removed it was discovered that as a result of the surgery his tibia had actually broke in half, thus causing such tremendous pain. The break was literally at the point the half cast ended which I was told must have been horror for him. He was then put in a full cast to his hip for 4 weeks, and after going back they decided to put him in another for an additonal 4 weeks. Although all of his tests showed signs of bone cancer they could not find a single cancerous cell in the biopsy. We have been left with " our science cannot explain every condition every time" and to hope it does not return. So we still have not been given a proper explanation to why my very active, very healthy son suddenly took ill and could not walk for 8 weeks. I suppose no news is good news. All the best to those struggling it was and some what still is a paining time in my life.
Hiya KG
So sorry i missed your comment, i dont always see that i have new comments. I hope your little girl is all better as i am writing this. Did you find out what was causing the pain in the end? I wish you and your little girl all the best x
Hiya Brittany
My apologies for the late response, as i said to KG i did not see that i had new comments. How terrible for you and your little boy. I can not imagine the pain he must have been in, and the upset it caused you watching your son in such pain. How is he doing now? Have they been able to give you any more answers as to why all his tests showed signs of bone cancer? My thoughts are with you both, and i sincerely hope he is well again soon x
lesley mcewan 20 months ago
My 9 year old daughter has had this for the second time.She previously had this in January when she couldnt get out of bed. She was in severe pain and this followed a cold. I took her to hospital as she couldnt weight bear. They diagnosed irritable hip. Again she has a heavy cold and woke up this morning complaining of pain in her groin. I took her to the docs this morning and he said it could poss be perthes disease but i reckon its irritable hip again