Sounds scary, but it’s not. I learned about this “condition” today when I took my three year old daughter to the doctor after she had been complaining of leg and hip pain. She’s a typical three year old, always pushing the limits and like all other toddlers she falls and hurts herself on occasion. She had fallen on her foot the other day, and was complaining of tenderness and had a bit of a limp, but it didn’t look like anything too serious. She was still willing and able to play and run, ride her tricycle and climb up the playground equipment at the park, so it seemed like all was well.
I did take her to the Doctor, however, just to get it checked out and is it turns out, the limping and the hip pain had absolutely nothing to do with her fall. Instead, the doctor immediately asked me if she had exhibited any cold symptoms, and sure enough she is recovering from a rather nasty flu. The doctor then said that it is most likely a condition known as “toxic synovitis” – an inflammation of the hip that goes as quickly as it comes. It often follows a viral infection and has no lasting consequences.
To rule anything else out, they did order an x-ray as well as blood work, but the doctor expects all of that to come back normal.
If your child is recovering from or exhibiting signs of a cold and is also complaining about hip or leg pain, it might be beneficial to take them to the doctor and ask about toxic synovitis. If your child falls and has swelling or bruising – take them to the doctor immediately to rule out any kind of breaks or fractures.
For more information on toxic synovitis, click here:
http://www.drgreene.com/21_1212.html