toddler complains of back pain

[sarah2032]

I have an almost 2 1/2 year old son who began complaining of back pain in mid-October.  We had just had another baby, so I didn't really think much of it at first.  Then in early November he wouldn't walk, after x-rays and blood work all came back normal our pediatrician diagnosed him with toxic synovitis.  He began walking and was back to normal in a couple days.  However, the occasional complaint of back paincontinued, most of the time when he was laying down.  We took him back in to the Dr. and had more x-rays done.  Then in the beginning of December he began to complain of back pain when he was in his car seat.  Again, i just took it as he wanted out, nothing too alarming.  It has gotten worse that now he will scream like he is in enormous pain whenever he's in the car seat.  I have since paid close attention to what it is that hurts.  He always grabs for the middle of his lower back with his right hand and says that's where it hurts.  We had a Britax Boulevard carseat since April and were praying that it was the carseat that we went and got a new one.  Same thing in the new one.  I then began watching him sit.  When he sits he will not sit with weight equally distributed on both hips, he'll immediately shift his weight to one side or the other, or need to sit sideways with a leg up, then he's fine.  Since a 5 point harness prevents him from doing so, he can't figure out how to fix whatever it is that hurts.  This week he also started it in the stroller.  He will not sit on my lap without shifting to one side or the other.  Even if I distract him with TV or a snack or anything he's all over the place.  If I try to make him sit straight he will immediately begin kicking his legs and squirming his back all over the place, and then scream.  Our pediatrician ordered more x-rays but I don't know what else to do or who else to see for a consult.

[mamaslittlemonsters]

hi...I am a mother of a 2year old boy and 1 year old daughter...my son has developmental delays with speech and motor skills and is still not walking independently. He is extremely unsteady when he does attempt to walk and can barely take 4 steps without falling down. He is getting speech and pt several times a week since he was 18months.  Labor and delivery was long but normal.  He had rsv when he was born and hospitalized for two nights and has since had rsv several more times as well as pertussis.  We took him to an ENT to rule out fluid imbalances which would explain the delays, an orthopedist and a neurologist who requested an MRI and bloodwork.  Everything came back normal. Some speech delays run on my husband's side of the family but nothing major.  I was  a late walker (17months)   We are taking him to another ortho on Monday to hopefully get x-rays of his hips done since the other ortho did not think it necessary.  
For the past couple of months whenever he layed on the floor he would put his hands underneath his lower back.I didn't think much of it  until he more recently does it whenever he is laying down on any surface.  Something that has been more alarming is when he walks with his push toys he will intermittently stop and put his hand on his lower back (either side) and also at times his butt(either cheek).  Since his speech is delayed he doesn't say he is in pain but he will at times make noises that indicate he is.  He is also more fussy when he is in his carseat (Cosco)He has more tantrums now which I know can be attributed to his delays as well as those infamous terrible twos but I am scared that he is in pain and that is why he is not yet walking on his own.   I have read a lot of helpful info in all of the above posts but was also wondering if any of your kids have trouble walking too.  We will continue to take him to doctors until there is some diagnosis.  I can longer hear "just wait and see" anymore..... God bless (:

[greencyclist]

I read this post about a year ago when I was wondering why my 3 year old was complaining about back and tummy pains.  We thought it may be because of needing to have a bowel movement at first; however, it was not always linkable to this.  We took him to the doctor who said everything looked normal.  After reading through the comments on this post, I saw that some other children with similar complaints had a Britax Marathon car seat.  Seemed funny as we don't have a car and don't go anywhere on a regular basis.  Only twice a month or so; however, what I read really made me wonder.  So, we bought a new carseat prior to a big car trip that we took; we bought a seat that converts from 5-point harness to booster seat.  He looks much more comfortable in it as he is upright like his brother.  And, since that purchase... no more complaints about tummy and back.  Coincidence?...maybe... but, it seems a bit too coincidental for my husband and I.  I recommend switching to a seat that doesn't lean back as much and is more upright as soon as you can if your toddler is complaining... I feel so much better now that he is fine again!!  

I don't usually post to these types of things; however, I wanted to share my experience on this post.  

-Sarah

[Masonsmom12]

my son in 20 months and he has been pushing like he is trying to have a bowl movement then he touches his back like it hurts but he is not constipated.  it has only been a week but im going to take him to the drs.  I was born with a tumor on my spine and all the drs told me nothing was wrong of course i had a birth mark on my back and my mom was worried about it.  she didnt give up and it turned out i had to have surgery at 7 yrs old to remove it.  im now 27 and perfectly fine.  but now that my son is touching his back and crying sometimes it makes me so nervous.  His kidneys were also check when he was first born because he had no cartilage in the top of his ear and his dr said it can be a sign of kidney problems but everything turned out fine.

[emso2]

Diagnosis in less than a month:
My three year old twin daughter continuously complained that her lower back hurt, even during the night in her sleep!
After performing an X-ray the results showed everything was normal.  However, her pediatrician also found it alarming that she would wake up during the middle of the night with pain.  He advised us to see a pediatric orthopedic, so we did. The orthopedic suggested to perform a bone scan and cat scan of her lower back.  Toddlers should not be complaining of lower back pain in their sleep.  The results were contridicting; orthopedic said one thing and the test technician said something else.  So, it was suggested to have a third opinion at the orthopedic center in a well known children's hospital.  She was diagnosed with Spondolysis in her L-5.  Very rare in children at such a young age, normally it is only diagnosed in teens....especially since most doctors/parents do not take children's back pain as serious.  The first time I mentioned it to her pediatrician he assumed she was just mimicking an adult.

[sedina13]

Do you had any diagnosis? We have the same problem with my 2 years old daughter.

[Mommyofthree567]

This is such an old thread - but my daughter who just turned four is experiencing these same symptoms. Can any of you tell me what ended up happening in your case??