6 Yr. Old Son Has Achy Legs

Get son to peditrician. Have never heard of legs that achy as growing pains. Not to be an alarmist, but he may have sometime much more serious going on. Do not waste time and do not settle for anything put a full professional diagnosis of his condition. What you are describing is not normal.

have you taken him to doctor? my son had same problem. had a condition called jumper's knees or something. his upper shin bone has large lump just below knee. if i had known sooner they might have been able to help him. he is very tall and he lived with terrible pain for years til he was 12 or 14. it was NOT growing pains. (by the way there is no such thing). As a result he did not play too much outside or join in sports because of the pain. became a computer nerd instead. the docs poopahed me til i found one that would tell me what was wrong. by then the pain was intermittant and not too bad.

Hi K. my 4 year old daughter also has the same problem. I do message her legs and the doctor told me to give her any kind of electrolytes like gatorade. It seems to help a lot and sometimes I do give her Tylenol. She's growing very fast and the doctor says when they play hard also. Hope this will help you a little

Hi K.,

My daughter (who will be 3 in May) gets achy legs too. I have gotten achy arms and legs my whole life. They called them growing pains when I was very little but my childhood family practitioner told me that what I have is probably some form of arthritic rheumatism. We did not have insurance when I was a child so we didn't have the full battery of tests run.

It is relieved easily enough with any pain reliever or heat. I remember waking up crying in the night and my dad would put me in a hot bath then put ben-gay and a few layers of his tube socks on my leg. I also learned to swallow aspirin at an early age. My daughter is not into the bath in the middle of the night and I don't really want to slather her up in ben-gay or have to keep dosing her with pain medicine all the time.
I have tried a homeopathic remedy but it was for "growing pains" and did not work for us.

I am currently looking for a pediatric acupuncturist. I tried acupuncture for a couple of months at one time when I was getting the pain a lot and I didn't get pain for a long time after that. They did eventually gradually come back but I think with an occasional maintenance visit we may be able to be pain free.

Try and notice if the achy legs come on after a change in humidity and temperature. We get pain often at night and if are legs are left un-covered. If none of this is really fitting your situation then perhaps it is growing pain. It could be childhood arthritis too. I don't know much about that.

I hope this is helpful and you are able to help your son find some relief.

C.

My son often does the same but it seems to be at night time when his pain is the greatest. I typically massage his legs and give him Children's Motrin and it appears to help him get through the night. Good luck.

Hi K.,

The issue is if they are growing pains, leg cramps from a nutrient deficiency, or restless legs. Any of these issues can be addressed safely and quickly with homeopathy. One way to find a qualified homeopath in your area is to check directory on the National Center for Homeoapathy website (http://nationalcenterforhomeopathy.org/resources/practiti...)
Some homeopaths work in a situation where their services are covered by health insurance. Warm regards, M. N., CHom, Homeopathic Consultant www.myranissen.com.

Hi K.,

My step son went through the same thing...we all assumed they were growing pains too. We would just put a heating pad on his legs and that seemed to dull it enough for him to be comfortable. I also had them when I was young, and my parents would put warm wash cloths on my legs, but I think the heating pad is more effective as it stays warm longer. I also would give him a little motrin to help if it was really bad. Hope this helps :)

Dear K.,
I think you should talk to your son's pediatrician about this. It concerns me that he has a hard time standing and walking - this is not a typical problem in my experience (mom of two grown kids). It may be nothing, but you should check it out. Hope that all will be well.

Put a bar of soap in the foot of his bed under the fitted sheet!!! It helps for leg cramps in aduldts to. I don't know why it really works for me and my 14 year old granddaughter that was complaining all the time about her growing pain. I swear it give it a try can't hurt. A bar of soap you can leave it in wrapper too. Hope it work for your son too.

Hi K.,

My daughter has complained of the same thing since she was 2 years old, she is almost 10 now and hasn't complained for over 6 months. I agree that you should discuss with the pediatrician and I also agree with Michelle C about the calcium and magnesium. If you check with a vitamin shop there are also homeopathic remedies specific to leg cramps that have been effective for my daughter. We also would give her a magnesium supplement before bed which helps to relax the muscles. Hers seemed to be worse when laying in bed.

Hi K., My son wakes up with achy legs and it's usually after a day of physical activity, but not always. I give him 1 children's Motrin and I heat up a small pillow that I got from the health food store that you can put in microwave. I give him a little massage, tell him to put pillow between his knees and he's out like a light. Hope that helps. -J.

My daughter went through the same thing. It is growing pains. I took her a few times to the doctor and ran some test as I was getting worried because it didn't seem right. After all of the test she was fine, just growing pains. I also gave her Tylenol to help with the pain.

Both my kids went through this too. My nutrionist told me to increase their water intake and calcium. I give them both calcium supplements and it really works. If it happens in the middle of the night I give them Motrin and rub them until they fall back asleep. We haven't had a leg pain incident in a really long time. Good luck.

K., hi:

please do take your son to the dr, and insist on a bone marrow test, as well as a bone density test.... dr's don't want to do this procedures, but better be safe right? i am sure is nothing serious....

6 years old is to young to complain about leg pain, early in the morning...
best wishes...
warmly,
sandy

have him check for diabetes I know that is one of the signs is he always wanting something to drink? My co worker son was 3 yrs old when they found out he was a diabetic. or it could just be growing pains

My 8 year old son complains too sometimes. Often, it means he's ready for the next size of shoes! I need to make sure he's in "good" shoes too, not inexpensive ones like I get for my daughter, but the $50.00+ shoes from Stride Rite or something.

My step-daughter who is 7 was recently complaining about the same thing, at first we thought it was just growing pains, but it turns out that she is flat footed. Talk to his doctor, if this is the case you can buy inserts for his shoes that should help. Good Luck!

My daughter had leg cramps and we found out that it was an allergy to milk and dairy products along with wheat.

K., my daughter who is 11 now, also had very achy legs at around 5 or 6 years old. For years she would complain about achy legs, joints and often would have headaches. I would massage her legs and it would only be a temperary relief. Later we found out she had a condition called Fibromyalgia. If you look up on "Google" and type in "syptoms in children with fibromyalgia", you can see if his symptoms fit this diagnosis. Hang in there...I know how frustrating it can be that we feel helpless and cannot make them feel better.

Dear K. Q,

Is your son a bit tall for his age group ? Does he complain of a tummy ache a bit more often that other children ? I am sure that you have probably told your pediatrician about his leg aches, but has there been any chromosomal testing done ?
I ask because I am the mother of twin girls that were diagnosed with Trisomy X or Triple X syndrome after an amniocentisis. We attended a seminar for parents of children with extra chromosomes, and leg aches were one of the symptoms that they mentioned a lot. They did suggest warm bathes and massage, as well as monitoring activity so that the child does not stress or pull something. Just like an athelete, warming up and stretching before activities, and frequent rest breaks. The information given was very helpful, and though some persons could consider it to be a bit scary, it was a lot of maybes and maybe nots, so we took it to be that our girls were blank slates and that we would learn as we go. The testing that would be done for a boy would be to look for XYY or XXY. If your pediatrician has not done any testing, then it is an avenue to pursue just to eliminate or to educate yourself. We are still in contact with the Davis Mind Institute, the sponsors of the seminar. They have been a wonderful educational resource for us. Good luck with your son. Our twin girls are now 21 months old, bright, beautiful, active, responsive, and seem to be on target for everything except that they are a little behind in speech, but we wonder if that is more due to that special "twin" language rather than a true delay. Our pediatrician has told us emphatically that she is not worried at all, that the girls are fine. If you would like to write back, my e-mail is ____@____.com luck. My thoughts are with you and your son.

N.

My kids experienced growing pains at night, and the cell salt Calc Phos 6x helped both of them go back to sleep. You can pick up Calc Phos from a health food store that sells homeopathic remedies. It's extremely safe. Both Calcium and Phosphorus are the 2 main minerals found in bone. If it is a growth issue this will help.

Also does your son drink cola drinks? If so they could be inhibiting the uptake of Calcium in his body.

I also have a six year old with achy legs. I don't worry about it much because I also have a nineteen year old son who used to have the same thing. The doctor said that it was because he was having a growth spurt, well this went on for years. But I massaged his legs and gave him child Tylenol if it was bad. It seemed to be worse when he played really hard. Anyway, don't worry, it seems to be a fairly normal thing.

This happened to my daughter when she was about the same age. Other than massaging the legs, I also would use a heating pad, and administer Childrens Tylenol.

My daughters both had this problem when they were younger. The harder they played the more their legs ached at night. Have you tried Arnica massage oil? It helps heal muscles, bruising and bones, it's also good for many aches and pains as well as arthritis. You may also take it internally for severe bruising and broken bones and it's safe for all ages.
Good luck.

With my six year old son I use heating pads and rubbing them also Hyland's Homeopathic has a medicine called Calms Forte for Kids that is made for growing pains, the kids like them and they help. http://hylands.com/products/calms4kids.php

Hi K.,

My Name is L. and I am a Personal Nutrition Consultant! I would start with giving him a liquid vitamin that is whole food! I would recommend the product Body Balance and you can get your first bottle for just the shipping go to www.LifeForceFamily.com and put in ID# 20367522 Start with one oz and then you can up it to 2 a day in about 4 days! Happy parenting, L.

Have you spoke to your DOc about this? My kids get growing pains and have for years but they have never not been able to walk or stand cuz of it.

Definitly have your Doc know about this.

I had growing pains or "Charley Horses" and menstrual cramps (bad) as well as cavities while growing up. I found a nutritionist at 22 years old and discovered Dolomite that for about $5 month changed my life. It was hard to find a Calcium-Magnesium product for my baby girls when they were young... the best I found was http://www.vitacost.com/PeterGillhamNaturalVitalityCalMag
(it fizzed in juice).

I have lots of stories about CalMag as it changed my life, the life of my daughters and also friends.

** I forgot something that might help! My experiences in taking an Espsom Salt bath the night before or in the morning - WOW. Epsom Salt is natural magnesium and I can hop in the bath and notice a great result right away! ...Fun for children - I put bubble bath with the Epsom Salts... the heat of the bath also helps a lot. For $2. for lots of baths, what a deal :-)

I'm sure you have already done this, but check with the pediatrician if you haven't. Sometimes, bone aches can be an indication of a more serious problem that needs medical attention. Bruising easily is another indicator. Massage, and other things work great, it looks like you are getting good advice but its super important to check with the pediatrician first.
Best of luck!

K. - My son had chronic arm and leg pain for 5 months, following an unknown virus. It was NOT growing pain but too complicated to explain. It devastated our family. Another symptom of this condition was he literally could not sleep for 3 months when this began. He would get 3 hours of sleep a night. We had dozens of doctor visits and a hospital stay before it ended. If anyone out there has ever experienced anything similar I'd be interested in hearing from you. Thanks.

Take him to see a pediatrician. It might be a deeper issue and you don't want to over look it.

My nine year old has always had really bad growing pains. I give her tylenol and I put a heating pad on her legs. If you don't have a heating pad you could heat up a hand towel in the microwave. I always feel so bad for her. I never knew kids could have bad growing pains and so often.

Make sure he is getting enough calcium & magnesium in his diet to help support growth spurts and calm the muscles. You can even give him kids chewable calcium, found at most health food stores, and give them to him before bed.

M.
certified Nutritionist

I'm not a doctor, but I remember my daughter experiencing the same discomfort. I took her to the doctor and he said it was growing pains. I would give her tylenol during these periods and that seemed to ease the pain. However, if he's been sick with flu or fever sometimes the virus can linger and get into the joints and cause pain. I'd still have him checked out by the pediatrician to rule out anything else like juvenile arthritis. Good luck!

Hi K. Q,
My son had pain in his leg for half a year and would cry because it hurt him so much, I thought to myself my goodness what could be wrong with his legs besides growing pains, so off we went to the doctor he had what you called a growth spert which is his body was growing fast and was streching and making his bones hurts, he is now 7yrs old and is doing fine. This took place half of last year when he was 6 I would massage his leg and also put a heating pad or hot towels and that worked wonders for him. I hope that this hepls releave your worries!! he also skipped a whole size in his cloths as well.

Try having him eat a banana each day or at least 1/2 a banana each day for a week. Massage his legs every evening after nice warm bath/shower and put a pillow between his knees when he goes to sleep. My daughter had the same problem when she was about the same age. It seemed to go along with her growing spurts (when she eats more than usual). She is nine now and still has the leg/knee pains, she lets me know when I need to buy "extra" bananas.

I can remember having terrible "growing pains" as a child. Unfortunately, my son(6yo) has them too. What I found works the best is a hot rice pillow. I heat it for about 2 min. in the micro and he puts it on his legs. Sometimes if they are really bad I give him a little tylonol. Good luck!

This could be sooooo many things - I just went through this with my 3 year old boy; he would wake up from a dead sleep with terrible pain in his legs, and I thought it was just 'growing pains' but massaging didn't work. He'd go potty after waking up and he'd cry when he had to walk. He also had a problem when I would put him on my shoulders - not when he was sitting there, but when he got down, again he couldn't walk without tremendous pain. Took him to doc, who x-rayed his hips and knees (for arthritis or other things) and they took blood (for cancer, etc.). In the end, everything was clear and they have put it down to 'severe growing pains' where his muscles/ligaments aren't growing as fast as his bones (he's going to be tall; I'm only 5'6" but my hubby is 6'4" and he's built like him!), so we are doing some physical therapy exercises to 'limber him up'. I would go to the doc with answers - really pay attention to WHEN your son is having the pain - is it more after an active day? Is it just his legs?, only when he's sleeping?, etc. and get it checked out. It's probably nothing, but it's always best to find out - early... he might just be given some exercises and nothing else to worry about.

A friend's daughter had the same thing happening. They added a banana to her daily diet and it took care of the problem.

Yep, it's growing pains. My daughter, now 10, went through that and I always wondered if she was having some sort of medical issue. The doctor said it was just growing pains and to just let it pass. She doesn't complain about random leg pain anymore. If he is at all active he could be feeling sore muscles from all of his exercise. Be prepared for him to wake up one day and find all of his pants are too short!

Hi K.,
Sound like your son would benefit from chiropractic care. The "growing pains" and the leg symptoms that your son is having might be due to his low back. It is like sciatica type symptom when the nerves that exit the spine are compressed. I am a chiropractor myself and work a lot with kids. I have seen a lot cases of these "growing pains" disappear after a few treatments. Chiropractic care for kids is a little different than for adults and kids usually love it. It is also very safe, much safer than giving tylenol or motrin all the time which minimizes the pain but does not solve the problem. I will be happy to talk to you and answer your other questions and concerns, just give me a call ###-###-####.
V. Tali DC
www.drtalidc.com

Hi K.,
It may be something simple, but I would take your son to his ped and ask for a referral to a specialist even after the ped's examination. If it's sometimes hard for your son to stand or walk, it needs to be checked out right away, and I'd strongly suggest getting a referral to make certain the pediatrician hasn't missed something --if he ends up saying your son is fine, but the pain persists or returns at that level, of it being hard to walk. My whole family (extended, too) is full of various leg pains and reasons for them, ranging from the simplest and most innocuous to the much more complex and even gravely serious (in adults and children). I'd take your son in very soon just to be on the safe side. And, I'd keep massaging his legs as well. Even if it doesn't take away or 'help' the pain, it can distract the pain signal a little by giving the legs and brain a simultaneous stimulation to process. We did that with our son for his legs when it was bad.
Take care and God bless,
M. B

K., if you read my profile you will read about our family condition that can cause frequent leg pain. I struggled with it greatly when I was young and now, my children do also. The advice about Gatorade, Tylenol or Motrin, and sympathy and understanding, is all that I would suggest. When I was young, we didn't have any of the above, and my mother wasn't one for sympathy or understanding. Those are some hurtful memories for me, my children will not suffer in the same way that I did... L.

Do you have tall gene's in your family? If so then I would say that yes they are growing pains. I had them really bad as a child. They started for me at 6 years old. My parents used to rub deep heating on my legs and feet. I think it relaxed me more than got rid of the pain. Good luck!

Don't know if this will help or not, but my brother went through the same thing (he is now an adult and tall! He is 6'5") He would take hot baths all the time! Even when he was little, he would be in his swimsuit so we could come in and talk to him. And he would eat bananas like they were going out of style, he said if he missed eating them his legs would hurt. He said his legs would ache too. This would happen in spurts, and when he would start up again he would beg our mom to buy bananas again. We didn't figure out the banana thing until he was 10, but the bath thing was very early on age 4 I think.

I don't want to worry you, but I would definitely look into this further. It could just be growing pains, but kids can get Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. And, although it is more common in girls, boys get it too, as my son did.
I would suggest talking with his pediatrician for further testing.

Hi K. -

My younger sister complained of the same thing when she was growing up. My mom would give her 1 tums a day. It is said because of the lack of Calcium in the diet. Bananas also have a lot of calcium in them so maybe you could try to give him a banana a day. I would definitely call your doctor to ask about giving him the tums because it has been quite a few years since my sister was a child and I'm sure there is a different remedy out there now. I hope this has helped or at least can inquire about the calcium in his diet.

have a good day:)

E.

Has he been growing lately? Maybe take him to your pediatrician just to rule out any serious issues. I am now 6' tall and was this tall by the time I was 13, so I remember having some fierce growing pains in my younger years. Sometimes it was so bad it hurt to walk, and my legs were tender to the touch around my knees, ankles and hips. I don't know if you have him in soccer, baseball, football or anything like that, but if so, maybe consider something a little lower impact (like swim team).

My daughter had the same complaint. After our doctor made sure there were no medical issues, he suggested some streching exercises for her arms and legs. It seemed to help. btw - she's not 17 and 5'10" tall so I suspect your son may turn out to be tall as well!

Hi K..

Both my daughters have had growing pains in their legs. Most of the complaints came at bedtime when they slow down and realize the hurt. I suggest massaging them with a little lavender oil. The lavender will help them relax and fall asleep.

I would also check to make sure that your son is drinking enough water. Dehydration can also cause muscle pain in the limbs.

Best wishes.