What to do if a child complains of leg pain for no apparent reason: symptoms and treatment

A healthy five-year-old child wakes up at night, cries, complains of pain in his legs, cannot fall asleep for a long time. In this anxious child symptom is called "growing pain", and its appearance is in no way associated with any disease. Medpulse tells about what growth pains are and how to help a child if they occur. ru.

Pain in the legs in children is not always associated with injuries and diseases of the bones, joints, ligaments and muscles. In most cases, they are due to physiological processes occurring in the child's body, especially rapidly flowing during periods of rapid growth and hormonal changes. The symptom is called growing pains and occurs in one form or another in every second child.

When do growing pains occur?

The growth of a child implies an increase in all parts of his body in length and width, primarily due to the growth of the skeleton and muscles. By the age of four, children usually double their height recorded at birth, and by the age of 12-13 they triple. Babies grow most actively up to a year, then their growth slows down and becomes more uniform up to 4-5 years. The first growth spurt occurs in boys at the age of five, and in girls at the age of six. The second jump occurs, respectively, in boys at 9, in girls at 10 years old, when literally in a year children grow by 15-20 centimeters. The third period of traction coincides with adolescence, begins at 13-15 years of age and ends at 18-20 years of age.

The appearance of pain in the legs is associated with periods of rapid growth of the child, in particular with a rapid increase in the length of the lower limbs. Doctors still argue about the causes of growth pains, most associate their appearance with uneven growth bones and the tension of the periosteum covering them, which causes irritation of pain receptors and the appearance of aching in the legs. The occurrence of night pains and cramps in the muscles of the legs may be due to tension muscle fibers, lagging behind in growth tubular bones lower limbs.

How to distinguish growing pains from injury and disease?

Growing pains most often occur in the lower legs, in particular in the calf muscles and ankle joint, under the knees, in the area outer surface hips. Pain can wear the most different character and range from mild sensations to severe spasms.

Weak blunt aching pain in bones, muscles and ligaments that occur during the day, usually go unnoticed. There is nothing surprising in this: the child is constantly on the move, he is passionate about playing and other interesting activities, weak stimuli are not able to distract him from studying the world around him. Pain in the legs begins to disturb the child at rest, more often during falling asleep, sleeping and waking up. There are complaints of aching in the bones and joints, often there are very painful muscle cramps, a feeling of numbness and stiffness in the limbs. The child's sleep is disturbed, which, in turn, exacerbates the situation.

A characteristic feature of growing pains is their volatility. Most often they occur in one limb and are never localized in one place. The child either complains of pain in the ankle, or points to a sore knee or hip.

Growth pains do not last long, they pass quickly and on their own, not having time to cause severe suffering to the child.

Growth pains are not accompanied by an increase in the body, do not worsen general condition baby. They are not accompanied by a change in the tissues of the limb, they are not characterized by the appearance of swelling, redness of the skin over the joints, limited mobility of the bone joints and the appearance of lameness.

What to do if a child has growing pains?

First of all, you should pay the attention of the pediatrician to the complaints of the baby, exclude the trauma of the limb and the accompanying dislocations, fractures, sprains and ruptures of muscles and ligaments. Sometimes flying pains in the bones and muscles are the first symptoms of the flu. Joint pain can be associated with arthritis, in particular with rheumatoid arthritis that occurs after a sore throat or pharyngitis. Full examination child will allow you to remove suspicions about the disease and focus on the fight against growing pains.

First of all, with the appearance of growth pains, attention should be paid to the nutrition of the child.. During the period of active growth, he especially needs an uninterrupted supply nutrients, especially proteins, vitamins, in particular vitamins A and D, and trace elements such as calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and iron. The child's diet should include enough meat, fish, liver, eggs, dairy products, vegetables, fruits and cereals. In addition, additional intake of vitamin and mineral nutritional supplements is necessary.

The growth of the child is controlled by hormones, in particular somatostatin, the main amount of which is synthesized during sleep. That is why proper sleep is important for the health of the child.

The growth of the child is affected by stress, accompanied by the release a large number adrenaline. The baby should grow up in a friendly environment conducive to normal functioning pituitary gland that produces somatostatin.

What is recommended to relieve pain in the legs and alleviate the suffering of the child?

- Leave the baby in bed.

- Lightly massage the sore leg, using light stroking, rubbing, kneading movements - the child himself will indicate how best for him.

– During the massage, you can use warming ointments, gels, balms, essential oils- the main thing is to take into account the age of the child and observe the acceptable dosage.

- It is useful to apply a warm heating pad to the sore spot or organize a warm bath for the baby, this will help him relax and relieve muscle tension.

Attention!

Painkillers can only be used as prescribed by a doctor. As a rule, pain associated with growth does not require the use of drugs, and if it is not possible to cope with the methods described, it is worth considering another reason for the ailment.

The baby's gait changes or he begins to complain that his legs hurt. Parents should not ignore these complaints, because the problem can be much more serious than it seems at first glance. Reasons for pain lower limbs a lot of. Diseases that are accompanied by such a symptom are far from harmless.

Common Complaints

Most often, doctors are treated with complaints of pain in the knees, which is of a shooting character. No less often, children complain of aching legs in the morning or in the evening. Often the baby claims that his feet hurt.

If these complaints are not added additional symptoms, most likely, there is no danger or the problem is easily fixed. But swollen and reddened joints, pain that does not go away throughout the day, accompanying aching or sharp pains in the spine hip joint, general malaise, delay in physical development should alert both the doctor and the parents. Such children need a thorough examination, which will include radiographs, ultrasound of the joints and blood vessels, MRI.

Complete examination with mandatory tests blood should also pass during spasms calf muscle. About this condition they say "leg cramped."

If a child’s legs are cramping every day and more than once, if this problem bothers you at night, you should definitely consult a doctor as soon as possible.

Possible causes are physiological

Most often, small children aged 2-3-4-5 years old, a little older and teenagers complain of pain in the legs. In both those and others, the appearance of discomfort is usually associated with the natural cause- the rapid growth of bones, behind which the muscular skeleton and ligaments do not always “keep up”.

This is due to the fact that up to 6-7 years in the body of a child there are not enough elastic fibers. Peculiarity child's body in that the feet and calves grow faster than the rest of the limb. It is clear that they need an increased blood supply. And it can only be during the day when the child runs, jumps, plays, when his muscles work. At night, the intensity of blood circulation slows down somewhat, hence the appearance pain.

Such physiological pains are not a disease, but parents still need to monitor the gait and condition of the child, pay more attention to the time of occurrence of pain (the legs hurt after sleeping or after a long walk, are the pains related to the weather, etc.). Most often, physiologically caused discomfort occurs in the evenings, after the child has been moving all day. They have the character of aches, especially the knees, ankle, Achilles tendon hurt.

Injuries

If usually no discomfort is observed and the syndrome occurs suddenly, this may indicate the presence of an injury. Children, especially mobile and addicted, may not notice how in the midst of the game they sprained, sprained or hurt their leg, and a little later, when the kids calm down, the pain manifests itself in all its glory. You should carefully examine the leg for swelling, bruising, wounds, if necessary, apply cold to the damaged area and go to the emergency room.

Diseases

If the cause of pain is inflammatory processes in the joints, such complaints cannot be ignored. A huge number of diseases, both infectious, vascular, neurological, and musculoskeletal, can cause such an unpleasant symptom. These ailments can be both congenital and acquired.

If everything is more clear with congenital ones, since parents know what they are dealing with and guess what pains can be caused by, then it is more and more difficult with acquired ones. The cause of painful changes in the muscles, joints and bones of the legs can be:

• flat feet and hallux valgus stop;

  Schlatter's disease;

  deficiency of calcium and phosphorus;

  diabetes;

  heart and vascular defects with insufficient blood supply to the lower extremities;

  leukemia;

• infectious diseases;

  neurocircular dystonia;

  rheumatism or rheumatoid arthritis;

  chronic diseases of the nasopharynx (tonsillitis, adenoids).

Inflamed joints are the most worrisome sign.

If the joint has become red, gray or brown, this may indicate a systemic infection, you should go to the hospital immediately. If it is not possible to get there on your own, you should call an ambulance.

But with pain in knee joint and below it, when it shoots from time to time from the front of the cup, it should be treated with understanding - this is the so-called Schlatter's disease. It occurs for reasons unknown to medicine yet, but it does not pose a particular risk to the child and in most cases disappears with age. Most often it is registered in children who are actively involved in sports.

Psychosomatic causes

Oddly enough, but in children the appearance pain syndrome highly correlated with mental emotional state. Therefore, it happens that a comprehensive examination does not reveal any good reasons for concern, and then you can visit a psychologist. Strong fear, constant stress in which the child is, pressure on him from adults may well cause pain in the lower extremities.

In this case, the pain will be episodic, they will be quite strong. It is noteworthy that psychosomatic pains appear in circumstances resembling those in which the disease first started. You can help your child by reducing his level of daily stress. Positive emotions and the elimination of the causes of fear or anxiety lead to the gradual disappearance of unpleasant sensations.

Other reasons

There is another category of patients with complaints of pain in the legs. The fact is that a child may not admit for a long time that he wears uncomfortable shoes, as a result of which fingers and heels are injured. It can be old calluses and even growths. After removing them and changing shoes to a more comfortable one, the gait usually levels out, and complaints completely stop. If the cause of discomfort is an ingrown toenail, then it is removed quite quickly and almost painlessly, after healing, all symptoms disappear.

Where to apply?

If a child complains of pain in the legs, parents should definitely start the examination with a visit to the traumatologist. The child will be examined, if necessary, an x-ray will be taken of the part of the lower limb that the baby most often complains about, and they will be told if he has mechanical injuries. If they are not there, you need to go to the pediatrician with pictures on hand.

The pediatrician will definitely prescribe the child laboratory diagnostics: Analysis of urine, clinical analysis blood, blood on leukocyte formula. In addition, the doctor must make sure that the child does not have infectious disease, for example, such as the flu, because with it the legs also hurt. Based on the results of the tests, the pediatrician will tell if there is enough calcium and phosphorus in the baby’s body, their deficiency leads to severe spasms of the calves (the very condition when the “leg cramped”).

WITH ready analyzes And x-rays the child will go to a neurologist to make sure that there are no pathologies in the part nervous system, and then to an orthopedic surgeon who will examine the bones, joints, spine, feet for malformations, structural abnormalities. He will answer the question of whether there is flat feet, foot deformity, scoliosis, poor posture, problems with joints and ligaments. An MRI may also be required.

If no violations are found here, and the legs continue to hurt, you will have to visit a pediatric hematologist, who, according to blood tests and additional research finds out if the child has leukemia, in which pain in the legs is one of the starting symptoms.

Treatment will depend on the specific diagnosis, because each of the above diseases has its own treatment regimen.

Only a very small percentage of children with leg pain need surgical intervention when it comes to vascular or orthopedic abnormalities. With early treatment and timely detection of the disease, more than 90% of pathologies can be corrected by conservative methods.

How to help at home?

With physiological pain, it is enough to lightly massage the feet in the morning, after waking up, this will help to establish a good blood supply to the lower extremities. In the evening, after all active games for the feet, you can prepare a warm bath with a decoction of chamomile or plantain. After this, the feet should again be massaged a little before going to bed. Applications medicines this condition does not require, as well as special skills in the art of massage.

For pathological pain, the attending physician may recommend non-steroidal anti-inflammatory ointments that can be rubbed into sore spot, serious therapeutic massage courses, physiotherapy sessions.

With some orthopedic diseases - wearing a custom-made special sizes taking into account the angles of deviation from the norm of orthopedic shoes. Almost all of these procedures can be carried out by parents at home for a child - both massage and exercise therapy (after preliminary training from a specialist).

With inflammation of the joints, nonsteroidal ointments, as well as agents with a local anesthetic effect, help well. Sometimes they are allowed to do compresses. With a lack of calcium and phosphorus, the child is prescribed appropriate drugs containing the necessary substances.

WITH early childhood When the child begins to take the first steps, he should have comfortable and correct shoes that fix the foot. It is best if she has closed toes and a small heel, as well as a hard back.

When complaining of pain in the legs, the child needs to walk barefoot more often - both at home and on the street (if you have your own yard, cottage, house in the village, where you can walk on the grass, stones, sand with bare feet). It contributes proper formation arch of the foot and reduce pain during physiological reasons, with flat feet. They may not be reached at all if the child is accustomed to walk barefoot from the first steps - such babies usually have no complaints about their feet.

Do not try to help a child with leg pain folk remedies without consulting a doctor. This can lead to the loss of precious time that specialists need to come to the aid of a child with serious illnesses in time.

You will learn more about the causes of pain in the legs and what to do in the following video.

For parents, the health of the child is more important than their own problems. If something hurts a child, parents will go off their feet in search of a cause, a method of treatment. The only advice is to see a doctor quickly. It is useful to read books by Russian pediatricians: Evgeny Komarovsky often writes - the best pediatrician our generation.

First ask why the child has complaints.

Feet play an important role in human life. Looking at the structure of the lower extremities, they detect foci of potential inflammation: calves, knee joints, lower leg bones, and thighs. Under the threat of the foot, cartilage, ligaments, tendons, fingers.

Legs don't move nerve impulse sent by the brain useful material transported by blood. hundreds nerve fibers, blood vessels, stretched to the length of the legs. They hurt more often.

Possible causes of pain in the legs, which do not mean pathologies of the circulatory, nervous system:

• Deformation of bones, joints;
• If pain come at night, breathing is difficult - this is neurocircular dystonia;
• Injury (especially if the child plays sports);
• Complications after injury DTP vaccinations;
• Neuromuscular diseases (an examination by a neurologist will be required);
• Endocrine diseases, diabetes mellitus, pathology of the adrenal glands, thyroid gland;
• Flaw minerals, calcium, magnesium, zinc - it happens even at 3 years. Accompanied by convulsions;
• After three years, children develop secondary rickets associated with insufficient absorption of minerals.

Even guessing about possible cause, go to the doctor. Read Komarovsky, watch a couple of episodes of his TV program. Having learned what the parents of a child of 1-12 years old face, it will become much easier, you will start to get nervous less and less.

If the parent had an illness, or the mother reacted irresponsibly to the pregnancy, a congenital pathology such as blood vessels and the heart. The legs often lack blood, they hurt at night. Small child, no older than three years, constantly limps, falls - you need an eye and an eye.

When visiting a doctor, you need to clearly name the sore spot. If the baby is 2-3 years old, ask your finger to show the focus of inflammation, then talk to the doctor.

Reaction to vaccination

Up to a year, a child is given an injection of a DTP injection - the vaccine helps to avoid infection with tetanus, whooping cough, diphtheria. The legs become the injection site, and problems often occur after the injection. There is nothing terrible here, the doctor must warn about possible consequences DPT vaccinations.

The normal reaction to DTP varies depending on individual characteristics baby. There are manifestations:

• At the injection site, the skin turns red, edema appears;
• The child cries a lot, holding his leg.

Side effects go away after 2-3 days. Doctors say: "guilty" therapeutic component responsible for protection against whooping cough. To make DPT vaccination easier to tolerate, it is recommended:

You should not be afraid of DTP vaccination: doctors protect children from serious problems, infections. In order not to torment the baby, observe preventive measures. By doing everything right, the risk of painful effects on the legs after DTP vaccination becomes lower.

Not all babies up to a year tolerate DTP well. The body reacts to a foreign substance. Strong reactions include:

• A strong jump in temperature, up to 40 degrees;
• Small cramps in the legs (a symptom of neuromuscular diseases);
• Edema at the injection site of the DTP vaccine reaches 5 centimeters;
• The skin turns red in the area by 8, 10, 12 cm.

With the symptoms described, do not waste time looking for the cause - call your doctor immediately.

Growing pain

Often a child of 10 or 12 years old begins to limp, complaining of pain. Muscles hurt hip bone, knees and lower legs, painful sensations appear for several years, often occur without exertion. The pain is not strong, not sharp.

The reason is flatness. Visit an orthopedist - he will prescribe the child to wear special shoes or put insoles. A dimple in the foot does not mean the absence of flat feet. Changes develop with growth even into adulthood.

Another option is growing pain syndrome. In children 10-12 years old (sometimes from 6), the bones and muscles of the legs grow with different speed, quickly, unevenly, reacting differently to a heavy load during the day. If the child grows, complains of aching pain in the legs, limps, perhaps this is the reason. More often .

You have to endure if the boy wants to become a grown man.

Doctors recommend appointment proper nutrition, reception vitamin complexes, warm baths for warming up the legs in the evenings, calcium glycerophosphate, which strengthens bones, “calms down” the growth rate of children. Do massotherapy for children. Do special exercises for stretching, lower leg flexibility, morning exercises. If after charging and warming up the limbs hurt, it is better to postpone this option.

At night, put a heating pad on sore feet - the child will fall asleep easier. Heat increases blood flow in the legs, so they hurt less. This is important at night.

• If it hurts a lot, Efferalgan can help;
• For prevention, drink calcium gluconate;
• If calcium gluconate is not available, replace with a combination of calcium and vitamin D.

Growth pains continue until the onset of puberty, there is no need to hope for a complete cessation: if the pain is sharp, unpleasant, growth syndrome manifests itself even after 12 years.

Other causes of leg pain

It happens that the baby experiences growth pain syndrome, is faced with the need to "sit in the doctor's chair." Important role parental attention, heredity play: if a child of 10-12 years old spends time in a hunched state, scoliosis occurs, posture is distorted, obstacles to growth are created - the spine is stretched, and not vice versa.

If the spine changes its axis, the load on the legs grows and is redistributed. The joints of the knee, thigh, lower leg, foot hurt. Often in children, the disease manifests itself at night, after relaxation.

If the child has an infection that affects the joints of the knee, the temperature rises, give an antipyretic (Panadol, Nurofen), baby syrup. The dose depends on the age of the child. For one year old baby a much smaller dose is needed than at 10-12 years old.

The best way to cure a child is to take him to the doctor! If the pain appears at night, take it to the doctor in the morning. It happens that the legs hurt from a bruise, the child tore the skin of his knees, the only thing he needs is parental affection and care.

Not every child experiences pain. Parts of the knees, feet, fingers, lower leg, hip bone may not bother, this is normal. If you are not lucky, you should not sit still - the consequences are unpleasant. The kid is not just complaining. Learn to differentiate between "cunning inflammation" in children and actual problems.

With complaints that the child's legs hurt, many parents of children from 3 to 12 years old. Usually, pain in the legs occurs below the knees and bothers in the evenings or at night.

Such pains are sometimes called "growing pains" but objective evidence that pain is associated with rapid growth no child yet. Therefore, some doctors use the term to refer to the disease. "periodic nocturnal pain in the legs in children".

With this disorder, the pain is severe, felt in both legs. May resemble cramps, as if a child were cramping their legs. Pain in only one leg usually indicates another disease. Most often, calves, shins or ankles hurt, less often - hips. The pain appears in the evening or at night (often after physical activity), but by the morning completely disappears. At the same time, the pain does not interfere with walking, does not cause lameness, the child does not have any signs of general malaise, infection, or indication of an injury that happened the day before. If this is not the case, and you notice other symptoms, be sure to contact your pediatrician, as some disease may be the cause of leg pain.

Why do my child's legs hurt?

The cause of "growing pains" is unknown, but such leg pain is more common in active children and adolescents with overly flexible, mobile joints (joint hypermobility). In addition, night pain in the legs of a child is sometimes hereditary. At the same time, there is no clear evidence that the problem is associated with the rapid growth of the child or any disease.

Some doctors are trying to establish a link between recurrent nighttime leg pain in children with the syndrome. restless legs. This is a disease of the nervous system that causes an irresistible desire to move the legs and unpleasant feeling in the lower extremities, which completely disappears during walking or exercise. However, it is currently unknown whether leg pain and cramps in children are an early form of restless leg syndrome or if they are two unrelated disorders.

My child's legs hurt: what to do?

To help your child get rid of pain and cramps at night, try massaging the muscles and joints on the legs with an effort or applying a heating pad to them. If there is no effect, give the child painkillers: paracetamol, ibuprofen, or other drugs from the group of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). IN rare cases, after large physical activity, you can use NSAIDs for prevention, giving the child a pill at night so that the pain does not disturb his sleep.

Before using painkillers, read the instructions carefully, make sure there are no contraindications, and follow the instructions exactly. Preparations from the NSAID group are best washed down with warm milk. Children under 16 should not be given aspirin unless directed by a doctor.

It is believed that comfortable sports shoes, such as sneakers, can prevent nighttime pain and leg cramps in children. Make sure that the shoes are well fixed on the foot, preferably with laces or carefully fastened Velcro.

When to see a doctor for leg pain

Contact your pediatrician if your child's symptoms are particularly severe or may indicate another medical condition. warning signs are:

• pain in only one leg;
• accompanying pain in the arms or back;
• pain is felt every night or does not go away by morning;
• swelling of the joints;
• heat(heat);
• lack of appetite;
• the child limps or refuses to walk because of pain.

The doctor will try to rule out other conditions such as arthritis, vitamin D deficiency (rickets), or even leukemia if the child is not feeling well.

A five-year-old child complains of pain in the legs at night, tosses and turns, and cannot fall asleep for a long time. This behavior of the baby scares the parents, makes them start looking for the causes of pain. It becomes especially disturbing when to install true reason fails: tests are normal, studies say that the child is healthy, but the pain does not go away.

Such an “incomprehensible” ailment in medicine is called “growing pains”, they occur in 15% of children. They appear in babies at 4-5 years old and can disturb (intermittently) up to 12-13 years of age. This pain does not have a clear "fixation": today the child may feel it in the foot, tomorrow - in the lower leg, ankle, forearm or shoulder. It appears suddenly, without visible reasons(bruises, sprains, fractures), worries children at night and in the evening. You can distinguish growing pains from others by a number of signs:

1. Occurs only during rest.
2. The pains are not sharp (aching, pulling).
3. The sore spot does not swell, does not turn red.
4. The pain is not accompanied by fever, rashes.

What causes growing pains in the legs in children?

At modern medicine There is no unequivocal position on the causes of growing pains in children. There are two popular theories explaining why a child’s arms and legs hurt: supporters of the first believe that aching pains arise due to the periosteum, which simply does not keep up with the rapid growth of the limbs, adherents of the second are sure that growth pains appear in weak muscles and ligaments child. They disturb children during periods of active growth (5-6, 9-10, 13-14 years old), they are also associated with excessive stress.

It has been observed that growing pains most often bother children:

• physically active (athletes);
• with (flat-valgus feet);
• with hypermobility of ligaments and joints.

Growing pains in the legs in children occur at night or in the evening when the body is relaxed. By themselves, they are not dangerous and eventually disappear without a trace. However, without consulting a doctor, it is sometimes difficult to find the true cause of the pain.

When do growing pains in the legs in children require a visit to the doctor?

Under growing pains, other diseases can “mask”. You need expert advice if:

• the child complains of prolonged pain in only one limb;
• the child's condition worsens, he begins to limp;
• pain disturbs not only at night, but also during the day;
• the child has lost his appetite, he is losing weight;
• joints and muscles swell;
• the child complains of a headache.

How to help if the arms and legs of a child hurt?

Growing pains are short-term and not dangerous, so no specific treatment do not require. severe pain interfering normal rest And restful sleep the child can be weakened with:

• massage. The hands and feet of the child should be rubbed and stroked. Light pinching and patting of the "sick" area is allowed. Massage will increase blood circulation, relieve spasm;
• warming. Warm up better traditional ways: warm bath with salt or herbs, warm towel or diaper, heating pad. On the legs of the child, you can wear high socks or socks. Special warming gels, creams or ointments can be used on the recommendation of a doctor;
• exercises. Some children with growing pains are helped by the “birch” (stand with high legs) or “bike” exercise. Sometimes, to improve the condition, you can simply walk around the apartment, jump;
• diets. Every child needs balanced diet, and during the period of intensive growth, vegetables and fruits, cereals, milk, legumes, meat, fish are especially needed;
• medicines. For pain in the limbs, the doctor may prescribe a pain reliever. The dosage is calculated individually, taking into account the age of the child.

Growing pains in children normal phenomenon, which you just need to "outgrow". They cause discomfort, but at the same time indicate that the child is actively growing, at such moments he needs the love and care of loved ones.