If your child refuses to use her arm or leg, you should bring your child to the office for a regular office visit. A mildly limping child who has no fever and is not in much pain should be evaluated if the limp has failed to disappear after 24 hours. You should, take some ibuprofen and wait a little while.

More severe pain of either the arms or legs, especially after trauma, should prompt a visit for an X-ray examination of the affected limb.

Any swelling, redness or pain in a joint, associated with fever, is a cause for immediate concern and the physician should he notified.

In-toeing and out-toeing when a youngster walks is a common problem in pediatrics and should be discussed at the time of a routine checkup. It is generally of little concern and is almost never treated unless severe.

Nursemaid’s elbow: 

Nursemaid’s elbow or pulled elbow, is a dislocation of one of the two forearm bones, the radius, from it’s normal position in the elbow joint. It is often caused by a sudden pull on an extended, pronated (inwardly turned) forearm. This commonly happens to a small child while they are being swung by the arms during play. The technical term for the injury is radial head subluxation.

This condition is treated at the office by relocating the bone with a specific orthopedic maneuver which we are trained to perform. X-rays are generally not needed. 

If this injury happens at night or after our office closes, we recommend going to the emergency room at Arkansas Children's Hospital for treatment because of discomfort. Once a child has sustained a nursemaid’s elbow, you should not hold that hand while walking for several weeks or months to allow healing.