Parents often hear their child complain of leg pain. Children aged 3 to 10 years are especially likely to experience such symptoms. During the day, as a rule, nothing bothers the baby. But in the evening or at night, unpleasant discomfort appears. Many parents attribute such symptoms to ordinary overwork and do not give them due importance. Such an attitude is unacceptable, and sometimes is fraught with the development of serious pathologies. Let's look at why leg pain may occur and in what cases you should consult a doctor.
This is the most common reason. Unpleasant sensations are provoked by a high growth rate and active metabolism. The discomfort may continue until puberty. After all, the growth of the baby at this time increases as a result of lengthening of the legs. In this case, the feet and legs grow most intensively. These are the areas that need increased blood circulation.
The vessels responsible for blood supply are not yet elastic enough at this age. Therefore, they function best under load. Thus, while the child is moving, he does not experience discomfort. But during rest, the tone of the arteries and veins decreases. Blood circulation deteriorates. As a result of this reason, a child’s legs most often hurt at night.
Caring parents should definitely listen to the complaints of the baby. After all, growing pains can be somewhat reduced. To do this, you just need to massage your baby’s legs and feet. As a result, blood circulation will increase, and discomfort will significantly decrease or disappear completely.
Various pathologies associated with the musculoskeletal system are considered fairly common phenomena in children. It can be:
Often, as a result of precisely such violations, a child’s legs hurt. The reasons are a shift in the center of gravity. The load is unevenly distributed on the lower limbs. Most often, one specific area of a child’s leg is affected: the foot, thigh, lower leg or joint.
Constant pressure causes the child's legs to hurt.
For an energetic and active baby, such phenomena are rather the norm. In most cases, bruises and sprains are completely insignificant. As a rule, the child complains of leg pain for a couple of days. Then everything goes away on its own.
However, in some situations the situation is more complicated. And if a serious injury is visible from the first minutes, then there are also microtraumas that are invisible to the human eye. Such conditions are often provoked by excessive physical activity, because modern children attend many sections and clubs.
The danger is that microtrauma is invisible to others, and even the child himself may not be aware of it. Namely, it can subsequently lead to serious complications.
Sharp pain in joints or muscles indicates tissue damage. If discomfort is accompanied by swelling or redness, as well as a local increase in temperature, be sure to consult a specialist. This condition requires careful diagnosis. After all, there could have been an infection. In this case, the child may develop septic arthritis. Inadequate treatment can lead to irreversible damage to the joint.
Sometimes the reasons why a child’s legs hurt may be hidden in the nasopharynx. This condition is caused by:
It is extremely important to implement the necessary preventive measures in a timely manner:
In some cases, leg pain is the first symptom of developing rheumatism or rheumatoid arthritis.
A similar clinic may arise against the background of pathologies of the endocrine system:
These ailments are accompanied by impaired bone mineralization. Sometimes discomfort in the legs is the first sign of certain blood pathologies. Therefore, if the pain is constant, parents should definitely show the baby to the doctor.
This is a disease that manifests itself as disorders of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. A child who has this pathology cannot tolerate any physical activity extremely well.
Most often, with this diagnosis, parents notice that their child’s legs hurt at night. Symptoms are quite often accompanied by the following clinic:
Discomfort in the legs is a clinical symptom of such ailments. Congenital arterial valve disease or coarctation of the aorta leads to insufficient blood supply to the extremities. As a result, the child experiences pain.
It is difficult for such babies to walk, they often fall, stumble, and get tired very quickly. In these conditions, the pulse in the arms can be felt, but in the legs it is practically absent.
This pathology is also congenital. It is characterized by insufficiency of tissues that make up the heart, veins, and ligaments.
In addition to painful sensations in the limbs, this condition can lead to:
Sometimes, against the background of colds, a child complains of pain in the legs. Flu and acute respiratory infections are often characterized by aching joints and loss of strength. Aching discomfort can cover the entire body.
This condition is not considered abnormal. Therefore, it does not need special attention. As a rule, a child with joint discomfort is prescribed the drug “Paracetamol”. It relieves discomfort.
After recovery, such symptoms completely disappear.
Often, parents whose children have reached the age of 3 notice that the child’s calves hurt. Similar symptoms can be caused by a lack of substances such as calcium, phosphorus, and potassium in the body. Bone tissue begins to grow rapidly, but they do not receive adequate nutrition.
This condition can be triggered by the wrong food. But sometimes a deficiency of substances is caused by poor absorption of these elements. This picture may indicate secondary rickets.
The disease is most often diagnosed in older children or teenagers. With this disease, the child’s legs hurt below the knee. In this case, the discomfort is acute. Pay attention to which area is bothering your child.
Schlatter's disease causes painful discomfort in the front of the knee joint, where the shinbone connects to the kneecap tendon. A characteristic feature of the pathology is the constancy of sensations. No matter what the child does, the pain does not subside. Discomfort bothers you during the day, at night, while moving, while at rest.
As a result, doctors are not ready to say what causes such a disease. But doctors note that most often the disease is diagnosed in children involved in sports.
If your child has pain in his legs, be sure to pay the necessary attention to the symptoms that arise. Sometimes such discomfort may indicate the development of a systemic, quite severe illness - Still's disease.
As a rule, the pathology is accompanied by:
If you notice such clinical manifestations in a child, consult a doctor. Sometimes such signs indicate the initial stage of Still's disease or leukemia.
If treated improperly, the child may experience serious consequences. Still's disease can cause significant vision loss.
So, if a child complains of pain in the legs, you should clearly understand when the discomfort is caused by serious reasons, and in what cases there is no reason for concern.
Growing pains are easily relieved by massage and a warm bath. If after such procedures the baby completely gets rid of discomfort, then there is no reason to panic. However, do not forget that frequent pain in the legs is a reason to visit a pediatrician, orthopedist, or surgeon. Such an event, in most cases, will help parents make sure that no pathologies have been identified in the baby. The baby is just growing rapidly.
Discomfort in the legs can be a “bell” of developing ailments if it is accompanied by symptoms:
If you notice any of the symptoms listed above, be sure to visit a doctor. Don’t give a chance for an unpleasant illness to develop in your child’s body.
By and large, children should not suffer from any pain, because their body is not yet worn out and therefore, if it has diseases, it is in a minimal amount. However, children, no less often than adults, complain of various pains, including pain in the legs. It is best to find out the reasons without delay, because they can be different. Cancer treatment in Israel, sign up at israel-hospitals.ru
Causes of leg pain in children
According to statistics, children aged 3 to 10 years most often complain that their legs hurt. This is understandable, because children who are not yet 3 years old, by and large, do not put much strain on their small limbs. They, of course, more or less know how to walk, but still spend most of their time in strollers or in the arms of adults. And such a baby is not yet able to fully complain, even if his leg or legs hurt. Children under 3 years of age may experience pain in their limbs mainly due to their own clumsiness: they often fall, hit something, or simply lose their balance and land poorly. It’s not very pleasant, but it’s not dangerous, and what’s more, it’s useful. In this way, kids learn coordination and coherence of their movements.
Children aged 3 to 10 years quite rightly complain of pain in their legs. Fortunately, this is also not dangerous, just not particularly pleasant. This age period is a phase of active growth. But it is carried out mainly due to the growth of the legs, or rather, the legs. Tissues, including bone, require a more active blood supply, which overloads the vessels. Although they are wide, in children they are not nearly as elastic as in adults, so they cope poorly with their load. Hence the result – pain and even numbness of the lower extremities, frequent cramps or a feeling of “coldness” in the legs.
In the overwhelming majority, such troubles overwhelm the child at night or in the evening, when he is already getting ready for bed. During the day, while he is active, blood circulation is still more or less at the proper level, but in the evening and at night, when his body is at rest, such a temporary deficiency due to rapid growth begins to appear “in all its glory.”
You can steam your child's feet in a warm bath or give a light massage, then put warm socks on his feet. If necessary, let him sleep in socks.
If pain appears after some kind of injury, for example, a fall or bruise, then it makes sense to consult a traumatologist. The absence of external signs in the form of damage or hematoma does not at all guarantee the absence of internal damage. Only an experienced physician can install them. There are times when a child gets a crack in a bone or even a small fracture, but the injured area does not swell or the swelling goes away quickly and the child will only feel pain. But an incorrectly fused bone may well become a source of problems in the future, so it is definitely not worth ignoring the pain of the limbs.
If your legs hurt and twist before rain or a sharp change in temperature, that is, “due to the weather,” then you should definitely get examined and donate blood for a rheumatic test. Rheumatism can manifest itself already in the first year of life and such a disease should not be started.
Sometimes the child’s body does not have enough calcium, as a result of which there is discomfort that the baby mistakes for pain. He cannot explain exactly how uncomfortable he is and it is easier for him to say that it hurts. In this case, vitamins that contain calcium will be useful. A natural source of this microelement is sesame. It fills this need of the body much better than any fermented milk product.
If a person’s feet are constantly cold, at any time of the year, you need to look for factors that influence cooling. Our limbs are responsible for the temperature of the whole body. Therefore, if they are cold, a person feels constant discomfort. According to statistics, feet are more likely to freeze in people after 40 years of age, when blood circulation is gradually impaired and the nervous system begins to act up. The female body is naturally built in such a way that the reproductive organs should not overheat, so their temperature periodically decreases.
Let us highlight the main causes of cold feet that are not related to diseases:
In addition, limbs freeze in people suffering from certain diseases.
Cooling of the lower extremities is most often observed in diseases associated with spasm or narrowing of blood vessels. In this state, blood circulation is disrupted, a lack of energy and weakness occurs in the body, and the legs are cold. Let's consider the main diseases in which cooling of the extremities occurs:
Anemia . Hemoglobin decreases, oxygen reaches the tissues poorly, resulting in a lack of heat in the body. If you want to know what else is dangerous about anemia, click here.
In a short video from the “Live Healthy” program, Elena Malysheva and other experts talk about the reasons for cold feet, what diseases and defects accompany this condition. Examples based on the experience of real people.
Everyone has probably noticed that small children try to take off their socks every time and run around barefoot. Parents, on the contrary, wrap their children up to protect them from illness. It is not right! A healthy child is much warmer than an adult, since the blood vessels are still healthy and the blood flow is not impaired.
The main diseases associated with cold extremities in a child:
If the temperature is above 39 degrees and does not subside, this may be a symptom of white fever . This is exactly the condition when your hands and feet are cold and your temperature goes through the roof. The baby’s body begins to receive excess heat, the limbs resist, and the thermal regime stabilizes.
Dear ladies who are in an interesting position feel many changes in their bodies. Cooling of the feet is no exception, mainly in the early stages of pregnancy. This is primarily due to changes in hormonal levels, as a result of which the function of the thyroid gland is temporarily disrupted. This is the main cause of cold extremities.
Fluctuations in blood pressure during pregnancy, mainly in the later stages, also lead to cooling of the legs due to vasospasm.
If a person's feet sweat, they are more susceptible to cooling due to increased humidity. Sweaty feet can occur due to diseases such as diabetes, hyperthyroidism, kidney disease, vascular diseases, leukemia, multiple sclerosis, infections, and flat feet. Sweating of the extremities is also observed in pregnant women, during menopause, and in adolescents. If you wear synthetic socks or tights, sweating is inevitable.
Cooling of the lower extremities in warm weather is quite easy to tolerate. But in winter it is suffering. No matter what kind of shoes you have, your feet get cold very quickly, which does not allow a person to feel comfortable outside. What to do?
In folk medicine, foot massage is recommended for the prevention and treatment of cold feet. This includes: stroking, sharp tapping, kneading. For massage, use any fatty cream or special massage oil.
Frozen feet are rubbed with apple cider vinegar . In addition to the fact that it contains many useful microelements, apple vinegar helps improve blood circulation, reduce vascular spasm, and get rid of blood clots and blood clots. Pure vinegar is distributed throughout the entire leg. Wait about five minutes until it is absorbed, then wrap your limbs in warmth and lie for about fifteen minutes.
1. Growing pains. Before puberty, a child increases the length of his body mainly due to the growth of his legs, and the feet and legs grow most rapidly. It is in such places where rapid tissue growth and differentiation occurs that it is necessary to ensure abundant blood flow. And if, during the child’s motor activity, muscles work, promoting the growth and development of bones, so blood circulation in them improves, then at night, when the child sleeps, the intensity of blood flow decreases, which leads to pain.
2. Orthopedic pathologies. With poor posture, scoliosis and flat feet, the center of gravity shifts, and the greatest pressure of the body falls on some part of the leg (foot, lower leg, thigh or joint). Congenital pathology of the hip joints can also lead to pain in the legs.
3. Chronic foci of infections. Tonsillitis, adenoiditis and multiple caries can also lead to leg pain. Therefore, it is important to sanitize the oral cavity in a timely manner by visiting a dentist and otolaryngologist.
4. Rheumatoid arthritis. If a child complains of pain in the legs in the joint area, this may be the first sign of rheumatism or juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.
6. Blood diseases. A number of blood diseases begin with pain in the legs, arthritis of the knee and ankle joints.
8. Neurocirculatory dystonia of the hypotonic type. Very often, pain in the legs occurs in children with neurocirculatory dystonia of the hypotonic type, especially at night. In this case, the child may also experience headache, insomnia, discomfort in the heart and abdomen, and a feeling of lack of air.
10. Anomaly of connective tissue. One of the causes of pain in the legs is the congenital deficiency of connective tissue, which is part of the valve apparatus of the heart, venous vessels, and ligaments. Children with this connective tissue abnormality may have joint hypermobility, flat feet, scoliosis, poor posture, nephroptosis (prolapse of the kidneys), and varicose veins.
Observe your child while he is awake and while he sleeps.
Do not limit your child's movement , remember that it helps strengthen muscles and bone growth.
Take care of good nutrition , include in your diet more vegetables, fruits, lactic acid products, fish - everything that is necessary for the normal growth and development of the child.
From the moment the heir is born, our life is filled with new joy and happiness, which is necessarily accompanied by natural concerns and worries about the little person. For any mother, the health, happiness and development of the child is the main desire and aspiration, so it is not surprising that young women pay a lot of attention to medical issues related to the child.
One of the most common problems with which mothers come to the pediatrician is the low temperature of the baby’s hands and feet.
Let's find out what can cause cold extremities in children, how dangerous this problem can be and how it can be dealt with.
Let's start with the youngest children. Heat exchange in the body of newborn children (from birth to 6 months) is still imperfect, since during this period the little person adapts to the new world around him. During the first months after birth, the temperature of the baby's body and limbs
or it may differ significantly, and there is nothing unnatural about it. In this case, it will be enough to wear warm socks and mittens made of soft natural material, such as bikers.
If the newborn eats well and is in a good mood, there is no need to worry about his limbs being cold. But if this condition is accompanied by whims, rashes, other skin rashes, elevated body temperature, poor appetite or lethargy, the baby should be shown to a pediatrician, since these signs may be the cause of some disease.
In an older child, aged 4-7 years, the cause of constantly cold hands and feet may be rapid growth. There is nothing terrible about this, since such a condition is caused by the active development of all organs and systems, and therefore the vessels often simply do not have time to adapt to this process and are compressed, as a result of which blood circulation is disrupted.
However, rapid growth is far from the only possible cause of “cold extremities” syndrome in children. Let's find out why even a preschool child and teenager may have constantly cold feet and hands.
Decreased immunity. Cold extremities, accompanied by lethargy, apathy, pallor, fatigue, deterioration of brain activity (as a rule, children in such cases begin to lag behind in school) may be a consequence of poor nutrition.
Even an adult and mature person needs rational, nutritious nutrition to maintain vitality and generate energy. And for a growing and still weak organism, this need is doubly important, because in order to grow and develop properly, it needs vitamins, micro- and macroelements, a sufficient amount of fats, proteins and carbohydrates.
Inadequate nutrition and unhealthy foods, such as chips, nuts, crackers, fast food, sweet soda, popcorn, negatively affect health, cause a decrease in immunity and, as a result, iron deficiency anemia.
A poor diet also leads to a decrease in blood pressure, which can result in a decrease in the temperature of the hands and feet in children.
Problems with the thyroid gland. The thyroid gland is a key link in the hormonal system of the entire body. With a deficiency of thyroid hormones, metabolic processes slow down, manifested by ice limb syndrome.
This problem affects girls more often than boys (approximately 5 times), as well as children living in environmentally unfavorable areas.
Neurocircular (or vegetative-vascular) dystonia. The autonomic nervous system plays a vital role in the life of the body - it constantly monitors heart contractions, the functioning of all systems and organs, breathing rate, etc. That is why disruption of its functioning entails muscle spasms and circulatory disorders.
Dystonia, in turn, can be caused by various factors - increased nervous excitability, stress, anxiety, lack of sleep, drinking coffee, tea, energy drinks, alcohol, poor lifestyle, smoking, chronic lack of fresh air.
Often this problem goes away on its own with age, however, with the wrong lifestyle it can remain forever.
Lack of physical activity. The cause of cold extremities can be trivial - hypothermia and wearing tight shoes. Often children, especially teenagers, for the sake of dubious fashion or as a result of ordinary absent-mindedness, may neglect to wear gloves and warm socks during the cold season. As a result of being outside, the child’s hands and feet become cold, which causes real horror for caring mothers, fathers and grandmothers.
If you notice that your child has cold extremities, do not ignore the situation.
To make sure that there is no disease, take your baby to the pediatrician - a specialist will help you understand the problem and prescribe the necessary tests and studies, if necessary. If the cause of constantly cold hands and feet in a child is still a serious illness, it requires immediate treatment, because many diseases in childhood can become chronic and “grow up” with the person.
If the specialist does not find any pathology, pay attention to the lifestyle and nutrition of your heir.
To strengthen your immune system and get rid of the problem, listen to the following tips:
As you can see, there can be many reasons why a child has constantly cold feet and hands. If such a symptom is detected, you should definitely take the baby to the doctor to make sure there is no serious illness or, if necessary, begin treatment.
It happens that children complain of pain in their legs. What caused them? In fact, there can be many reasons, ranging from normal age-related growth characteristics of a child’s body to serious injuries.
Age-related reasons are caused by the peculiarities of the structure of children's bones, blood vessels, muscle-ligamentous apparatus, as well as their intensive growth. Before puberty, the child's body length increases mainly due to the growth of the legs. The feet and legs grow especially intensively during this period. With such rapid growth of muscle and bone tissue, an equally intense blood supply is necessary. If during the day, when the child is active, a sufficient amount of blood enters the muscle and bone tissue, then at night (during sleep) there is not enough blood, but the legs still grow. Because of this, pain occurs. In this case, to relieve the pain, it is enough to stroke the child’s legs in the area of the lower leg and foot, the blood supply will improve slightly, and he will be able to fall asleep.
Orthopedic pathology – incorrect posture, scoliosis, flat feet. With these disorders, the center of gravity shifts, therefore the entire body weight is distributed unevenly. The greatest pressure occurs on one part of the leg (lower leg, foot, joint, thigh). With constant excessive pressure, naturally this area begins to hurt over time.
Endocrine pathology. Diseases such as diabetes. problems with the parathyroid gland and adrenal glands can cause impaired bone mineralization. Pain in the legs can also be the result of a number of blood diseases.
Neurocirculatory dystonia is a disease manifested by cardiovascular and respiratory disorders, as well as poor tolerance to physical activity. In this case, pain occurs mainly at night and is accompanied by headache, sleep disturbance, and a feeling of discomfort in the abdomen and heart area.
Congenital pathology of the heart and blood vessels. Pain in the legs occurs for the same reason as with age-related changes - insufficient blood supply. And if for age-related reasons the pain goes away quickly, with pathology the child feels discomfort almost constantly. When walking, he may stumble and fall, so parents need to be extremely careful.
Injuries. Very often, pain in the legs can be caused by various injuries and excessive physical activity. Parents enroll their child in several sports sections at once, without thinking about the capabilities of his body. Heel pain occurs when the Achilles tendon is stretched. Pain in the front of the knee occurs with excessive physical activity.
With secondary rickets due to insufficient absorption of calcium, potassium and phosphorus. In this case, children over 3 years of age may experience severe pain in the calf muscles. an infection occurs, the joint may become red or swollen, accompanied by pain.
In conclusion, it is worth saying a few words to the parents themselves. Many causes of pain in a child’s legs are caused by your neglect of his health. Listen carefully to your child when he talks about any worries - do not ignore it. Make sure that children's shoes are of the proper quality and the right size. Do not let your child wear sneakers all the time - everyday shoes should have hard soles. Try to walk more so that he gets enough exercise - this helps strengthen his muscles. Be sure to follow a nutritious diet - it should contain more vegetables, fruits and dairy products.
When a child's legs hurt, especially during sleep or at night, this is considered a sign of his growth. This does not happen to everyone; for many, the pain is not so severe and they simply do not feel it. As a rule, such painful growth occurs from 2 to 3 years, when the entire skeletal system is formed. However, pain can also appear in 7-9 year old children. And this can also be considered growth, since at this age many children begin to stretch out greatly.
In any case, no physician has yet been able to identify the cause of the growth mechanism. According to doctors, when bones begin to grow quickly, the muscles simply cannot keep up with them, as a result of which the muscles and tendons become tense, fit tightly to the bones and compress the joints, which causes a feeling of discomfort. The places of pain can also be different - from the upper thigh to the lower ankle of the legs. Growing pain has its own characteristics; it is not sharp, piercing, but nagging, like after an intense workout in the gym.
The fact is that the child is constantly in motion all day long - he plays, runs, jumps, and during sleep the muscles relax, but the tension remains and causes pain. However, growing pains should not be confused with cramps. The latter represent an acute pain that blocks all steps of the slightest movement. There is no clear interval and frequency of pain, as well as the reasons for its occurrence. Today the child is cheerful, playing and having fun, and tomorrow he spends his evenings at home, complaining of unwell legs.
Not everything is as harmless as we would like to see. Sometimes the cause of leg pain can be the onset and development of a serious disease such as rheumatoid arthritis. Only a doctor can make an accurate diagnosis.
Particular attention should be paid if the pain is accompanied by:
Once the diagnosis of arthritis has been completely ruled out, it’s time to find other ways to deal with night pain.
In addition to physical manual manipulations, you cannot do without taking special medications for quick and effective pain relief. It can be:
They are produced in the form of syrups and that is why they are easy to use and tasty even for the most fastidious patients. Before use, use the attached instructions for the drug, and you must also be completely sure that the child does not have any allergies, since there are a huge amount of additives in these miracle drugs. If the pain is associated specifically with growth, then it will be short-term in nature and may relapse no earlier than in 2-3 years. And a few sleepless nights are mere trifles for loving parents.
Author: Ivan Kostin
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Quite often, children from three to ten years old complain of pain in their legs, but parents, as a rule, do not always pay attention to this, believing that the child has simply run around and is overtired. However, it is worth taking such child complaints seriously, since pain in the legs can be a symptom of serious illnesses.
1. Growing pains. Before puberty, a child increases the length of his body mainly due to the growth of his legs, and the feet and legs grow most rapidly. It is in such places where rapid tissue growth and differentiation occurs that it is necessary to ensure abundant blood flow. And if, during the child’s motor activity, muscles work, promoting the growth and development of bones, so blood circulation in them improves, then at night, when the child sleeps, the intensity of blood flow decreases, which leads to pain.
What to do if your child’s legs hurt at night? It is necessary to increase blood flow to the muscles of the legs and feet. To do this, simply stroke and massage your baby's shins.
2. Orthopedic pathologies. In case of poor posture. In scoliosis and flat feet, the center of gravity shifts, and the greatest pressure of the body falls on some part of the leg (foot, lower leg, hip or joint). Congenital pathology of the hip joints can also lead to pain in the legs.
4. Rheumatoid arthritis. If a child complains of pain in the legs in the joint area, this may be the first sign of rheumatism or juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.
5. Endocrine pathologies. Also, pain in the legs can appear with diabetes mellitus, disease of the adrenal glands, parathyroid gland, leading to impaired mineralization of bone tissue.
7. Tuberculosis. If pain in the legs is accompanied by a positive Mantoux reaction, the child must be shown to a phthisiatrician.
9. Congenital pathology of the heart and blood vessels. Pain in the legs of a child may be a manifestation of congenital pathology of the heart and blood vessels. With some congenital defects of the aortic valve, coarctation of the aorta, there is a decrease in blood flow in the lower extremities, as a result of which while walking the child may stumble, fall, complain that his legs are tired, hurt and do not obey. If you compare the pulse in the arms and legs of such children, then in the lower extremities it will be weakly palpable or absent altogether.
10. Anomaly of connective tissue. One of the causes of pain in the legs is the congenital deficiency of connective tissue, which is part of the valve apparatus of the heart, venous vessels, and ligaments. Children with this connective tissue abnormality may have joint hypermobility and flat feet. scoliosis, poor posture, nephroptosis (prolapse of the kidneys), varicose veins.
WHAT TO DO IF A CHILD COMPLAINS OF PAIN IN LEGS
If a child complains that his legs hurt, examine him, paying attention not only to his legs, but also to his general well-being:
It is necessary to inform the doctor about all this in order to diagnose the disease in a timely manner and undergo the prescribed laboratory tests (general blood test, urine test, biochemical blood test, ECG and other diagnostic measures) as quickly as possible.
Watch your child's shoes. Avoid wearing sneakers for long periods of time. Try to have shoes that fit properly and have hard soles.
Do not limit your child's movement . Remember that it helps strengthen muscles and bone growth.
Take care of good nutrition . include in your diet more vegetables, fruits, lactic acid products, fish - everything that is necessary for the normal growth and development of the child.
Why does a small child's legs hurt? There are many reasons for this unpleasant phenomenon. Some of them are associated with external factors, others with internal ones. To find out where the source of pain is, you need to talk to your baby.
This reason is the most common. Unpleasant sensations arise against the background of high growth rates and active metabolism. Before puberty, the child increases in height mainly due to lengthening of the legs; the legs and feet grow most rapidly. In such places, good blood circulation is necessary.
The vessels that feed muscles and bones are wide and can provide a good supply of blood to growing tissues, but they are not very elastic. Their tone increases by about 10 years. Therefore, they work better under active loads when muscles are involved.
It happens that a child’s leg hurts at night. This is due to the fact that during the rest period the tone of the veins and arteries decreases, blood circulation in rapidly growing tissues decreases, resulting in pain. To relieve the baby of these unpleasant sensations, you need to massage the legs, stroke the feet, that is, increase the blood flow to the muscles.
Violations of this area of medicine are also among the most common causes. These include scoliosis, poor posture, flat feet, etc. In this case, a shift in the center of gravity plays a role. The greatest pressure of the body is not distributed evenly, but falls on a certain area (foot, lower leg, knee, thigh).
Gait may also be affected. Orthopedic diseases can be not only acquired, but also congenital. For example, similar symptoms occur with pathology of the hip joints, osteochondropathy (Perthes disease, Ostud-Schlatter disease).
The causes of pain in the legs may be hidden in the child’s nasopharynx. Diseases such as adenoiditis, tonsillitis, and multiple caries include pain in their symptoms. In this case, an important point is preventive measures: you need to visit an otolaryngologist and dentist on time, treat your teeth, and monitor your oral hygiene.
Sometimes pain is the first sign of developing rheumatism, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. In some cases, it occurs against the background of diseases of the endocrine system: diabetes, pathologies of the adrenal glands, parathyroid gland.
Such ailments lead to disorders of bone mineralization. In addition, the first symptom of some blood diseases is also pain in the limbs, arthritis of the ankle and knee joints. You should urgently contact a phthisiatrician if your legs hurt and your child has a positive Mantoux test.
The so-called osslagia most often occurs in those who are diagnosed with hypotonic dystonia. It is noted that they appear more at night. This may cause discomfort in the heart and abdomen, as well as headache, poor sleep, and a feeling of lack of air.
This symptom is part of the clinical picture for such problems. Some birth defects, such as valvular arterial disease or coarctation of the aorta, are characterized by poor circulation to the extremities. It is difficult for such children to walk, they periodically stumble, fall, and get tired quickly. If you measure the pulse, it will be palpable in your arms, but may be completely absent in your legs.
In this case, we are talking about insufficiency of the tissue that makes up the heart apparatus, ligaments and veins. Typically, people with such congenital developmental anomalies suffer from joint hypermobility, flat feet, scoliosis, varicose veins, poor posture and prolapsed kidneys.
If a child sometimes has pain in the middle part of his feet, then there may be a pathology of the arch of the foot. And unpleasant sensations in the heel indicate a stretch of the Achilles tendon, in the toe - an inflammation of the bursa on its outer part.
Upon reaching 3 years of age, children often complain of discomfort in the calf muscles. This phenomenon is usually associated with a lack of phosphorus and calcium in the areas of bone tissue growth. A similar situation occurs in pregnant women, since calcium is excreted from the body in large quantities.
In a child, this may be due to a deficiency of phosphorus, potassium and calcium due to poor absorption of elements (secondary rickets).
If the muscles or joints of a child’s legs hurt sharply, then, as a rule, this indicates tissue damage, for example, a sprain. If, in addition to the above symptoms, there is swelling, redness or a local increase in temperature, you should urgently contact a specialist.
A swollen and red joint requires careful examination, as there is a high probability of infection (septic arthritis).
Also, such symptoms may indicate the development of a severe systemic disease (juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, Still's disease). Septic arthritis, if left untreated, leads to irreversible damage to the joint, and Still's disease leads to visual impairment.
If a child experiences lumbago, pain in the leg bones, or general malaise, then you should definitely contact a medical facility, as this may be the initial stage of Still’s disease or leukemia.
The symptoms of such diseases necessarily include aching joints, loss of strength, and an aching sensation throughout the body. This phenomenon is not anomalous and therefore does not require special attention. It will go away along with the cold. At the initial stage, you can use paracetamol.
This pathology is in the vast majority of cases diagnosed in older children and adolescents. It is characterized by acute pain in the front of the knee joint, where the shin bone (tibia) connects to the patella tendon. Moreover, it is observed not only during the day, when moving, but also at night, at rest.
An unpleasant hypersensitivity occurs. It is worth noting that medicine still cannot accurately indicate the cause of the development of the pathology, but it is noted that it most often affects athletes.
If the baby has just hurt his leg and started limping, then, as a rule, there is nothing to worry about. It’s another matter when the gait is disrupted for no apparent reason. This phenomenon can be caused by uncomfortable shoes, a nail in the sole, an ingrown toenail or inflammation of the finger, bruise/inflammation of the ankle/knee.
Attention should be paid to any swollen and reddened area. First you need to carefully bend and straighten your hip, then your knee and ankle. In some cases, lameness occurs against the background of strong emotions, for example, with extreme excitement or stress.
It is worth introducing bed rest for one day. If the baby continues to limp even after a day, you cannot do without consulting a doctor. You should also seek help if your child’s legs periodically swell and hurt.
These factors are among the most common in children of middle and high school age. They are very active and often stretch their muscles and ligaments. Such problems do not require urgent intervention, but anti-inflammatory ointments can be used.
When to see a doctor:
Parents should constantly monitor the baby, both during sleep and while awake. You also need to pay attention to shoes. It should have a hard sole, fit snugly enough on the foot and be true to size.
Children should not be limited in their movements, as activity promotes their growth. They also need good nutrition: an abundance of vegetables and fruits, dairy products, fish, etc.
If parents have suspicions or concerns about this or that phenomenon, do not delay visiting the doctor!