Parents Knee pain in 6yo?

[Committed]

DD has been complaining about knee pain for the past week. She didn't really injure it. She was running to do vault, and just started limping.... during the run. She went to gym 1x since then, but it started hurting again, so she started icing. I've kept out of soccer since her 'injury' as well.

She seems to be okay until she has to run. Of course, she had PE today and re-injured herself by sprinting.

Does this sound like something I need to take to the Dr? I mean, it isn't an actual injury. I'm going to go pick up a knee brace of some sort right now to see if that helps.

Advice?

 

[sglemon]

At 6 I think it is too young to get an accurate description of what she is exactly feeling, how exactly she hurt it etc... I wouldn't be shy about taking to her doctors

 

[bogwoppit]

Have it looked at. Knee braces only help certain knee issues and you have no idea if hers is one that they help.

 

[Faith]

I would never brace or use any support in a 6 year old.

She's 6. Have her stop training, or go in for light training/conditioning, and see a dr if it doesn't resolve. A week or two off to heal isn't going to ruin her Olympic dream just yet

Braces can actually do a lot of damage- bracing one joint can end up putting too much strain on the healthy side, so you end up with that side injured too. And it could weaken the sore joint so she needs longer to get it healthy once the brace comes off. Plus, she's 6. You don't know what's happening in there, and allowing her to train with pain could be doing unknown damage.

I would also be asking several questions as to why a 6 year old has knee pain. Overtraining? Incorrect technique? I'd be discussing with the coaches how the training regime can be adjusted to prevent reoccurrance.

 

[Jenny]

a 6 year old should not have knee pain ( or back pain or any other pain) See a doctor. or a sports physio

 

[gymmomtoo]

It's been a week? I'd take her in to get it looked at.

 

[rjb123]

If she is limping then I would take her to a good ortho asap. My 7 year old will complain of pain every so often, but when I dig down a little (I worked as an ortho nurse for years!) it is more muscle soreness, usually after a hard day of conditioning. At this age, I have found that DD doesn't have the understanding or vocabulary to pinpoint "pain" from just a muscle soreness. Last year for example she would say "my stomach hurt" but it wasn't her stomach, it was her abs were sore. YKWIM?
have her point to where it hurts, ask detailed questions about exactly when it hurts (does it go away completely? Is it there all the time, worse with activity? Which activity makes it worse?) and have her rate it on a 1-10 scale (10 the worst pain you could ever imagine, 0 no pain). You can also google "wong baker pain face scale" and use that with her (great tool for assessing pain with kids!). then, get her to a good ortho with that info. Good luck and I will be praying it is nothing major at all.

 

[Committed]

Thanks everyone. I always have to get 2nd opinions, especially when it comes to DD. She exaggerates everything and every single boo-boo brings tears. It's very hard to assess real injuries when there is 20 minutes of crying for a hurt finger.

The knee pain isn't all the time. It really only bothers her when she's running. I've already had her sit out of both soccer and gymnastics this week, so she's gotten plenty of rest. I'll get her in to the Dr./Ortho/someone this week.

 

[gym law mom]

I agree with the other responses. Have her rest the knee completely (no PE, gym etc) for another 5-7 days and see if it improves. Knee braces are injury specific so avoid them. Asking some very specific questions about the pain--all the time, only when she does x, y or z , does it wake her up etc may help. I've found the pain scale (rating the pain) with kids/teens to be useless----they just don't get it. Look at her knees---any swelling, is one warm to touch etc. If not better by the end of the week, then get her seen.