The Limping Child: A Guide for the Trainees

Title:The Limping Child: A Guide for the Trainees

Volume: 20 Issue: 4

Author(s): Norah AlRohaimi, Hamad Alkhalaf and Jubran Alqanatish*

Affiliation:

• Department of Pediatrics, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, 14611, Saudi Arabia
• King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC), Riyadh, 11481, Saudi Arabia
• King Abdullah Specialist Children’s Hospital, King Abdulaziz Medical City (National Guard Health Affairs), Riyadh, 11426, Saudi Arabia

Keywords: Child, approach, limping, gait, pain, weakness, deformity.

Abstract: Limping is a common presenting complaint in children. Despite this, it remains to be a diagnostic challenge for treating physicians due to an expanded list of etiologies. It arises from a spectrum of disorders, ranging from physiological variations of gait at different stages of development to systemic causes, such as inflammatory diseases or musculoskeletal infections. On rare occasions, non-musculoskeletal causes could result in limping. The diagnostic challenge increases in younger age children where a detailed physical examination that helps identify the exact source of pathology may not be possible. In older patients who have a well-developed gait cycle, the physical assessment might be easier. Clinical assessment in a child presenting with a limp includes gait analysis, which is essential to guide the appropriate request of diagnostic laboratory tests and imaging studies. In this paper, we provide a practical guide for a trainee in General Pediatric and Pediatric Rheumatology on an approach to a limping child, aiming to identify the common causes of limping and to describe normal and abnormal gait cycles. We also discuss other diagnostic considerations in the assessment of these children.

Cite this article as:

AlRohaimi Norah, Alkhalaf Hamad and Alqanatish Jubran*, The Limping Child: A Guide for the Trainees, Current Pediatric Reviews 2024; 20 (4) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/1573396320666230406085533