RISK FACTORS, SIGNS & SYMPTOMS
RISK FACTORS
- Obesity
- Sports participation
- Neurodevelopmental conditions
- Congenital syndromes
- Trauma
- Infections
- Tumours
- Inflammatory conditions
SIGNS & SYMPTOMS
Back Pain:
- Usually lower back pain
- Nonspecific and self-limiting
- Common in childhood/adolescence
Bow Legs:
- Opening of legs
- Usually resolves by age 3
- Bilateral, symmetrical, painless
- Associated with out-toeing
Clumsy Child:
- Motor coordination difficulties (gross and fine)
- Developmental motor coordination disorder
- More common in boys
- Associated with conduct disorders, autism, ADHD and dyslexia
Late walking specifics:
Assisted walking by 12-14 months
May indicate cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophies
Other causes: spina bifida, rickets, DDH
- If late then refer
Other Presentations:
- Curling toes: congenital, affects 4th/5th toes, resolves with weight-bearing
- Flat feet: usually resolves by age 6, painless
- Growing pains: evening predominance, pain-free intervals
- Heel pain: Sever’s disease is common in adolescent boys playing sports
- Hypermobility: can be asymptomatic or syndrome-associated (?EDS)
- Knox knees (genu valgum): bilateral, self-limiting, more common in girls
- Tiptoe walking: idiopathic, self-limiting, resolves by age 3