Ank4 Year Old Having Leg Pains (& Anxious Mama)

I used to have leg pains as a child and remember how painful they were! When my son started complaining of leg pain I rubbed some geranium essential oil on his legs and he said the pain stopped right away!

First -- good for you for being self-aware enough to admit to your anxiety and to be cautious about it.

This does sound like classic "growing pains." They often hit at night and result in very painful "charlie horse" leg pains.

The best thing to be sure and to relieve your own anxiety would be to talk to his pediatrician. Ask for some specific things to do to relieve it -- massage, compresses, etc. Having some specific actions to take can help you take control of the situation and feel less anxious. Tell the doctor honestly that you are an anxious mom and do not want to overreact, BUT you do need some specific advice and you do need to be taken seriously when you have concerns.

These will come and go as he grows so think now about how to ask your questions about them and how you will deal with them over time.

My granddaughter often wakes up screaming with leg pain. We dose her with Motrin, it's for inflammation, and rub them for a while with lotion. She falls back asleep but you can tell they still hurt.

The doc has always said it's just growing pains. I remember my legs/shins hurting when I was a kid too. I worry about it too but the doc is not worried.

There were a few times when she had been waking up every night so we started dosing her right before bedtime. She slept through those nights and we didn't feel the need to do it after a couple of nights.

Sounds like growing pains. Have him eat one banana per day - potassium helps them. Also make sure he is getting enough nutrients all around - calcium, protein etc.

I would think is growing pains. My children still have it and they are 13, 12 and 10. They are growing very fast. It would be good for you to ask the doctor to send him for some tests; but if the blood work they did came back negative, I would just give him some pain killer and let him be.
My 12yr old is having some knee pains and the doctor told me is from growing so fast together with the physical activities he does, he told me to give him Aleve. But for your son I would give him Tylenol or Motrin.
Blessings

My daughter has complained of leg pains on and off since she was little. The doctor has said it's growing pains. Our chiropractor recommended we put her on a good vitamin supplement and that has helped tremendously.

My daughter complained mostly of leg pains at night before bed or while she was sleeping. We believe it's a combination of actual pain and wanting mommy or daddy comfort at night. She never seems to have leg pains before there is something she wants to do!

She is a gymnast and a dancer. She uses her legs just FINE for all these activities and her "leg pain" has never interfered.

Your son may have actual growing pains combined with needing some mommy attention. If you're an anxious mommy then pain=attention! You can probably treat a lot of his pain with hugs and kisses :)

Keep the doctor informed--or keep a log of his leg pain. But if the doctor says it's nothing, it probably isn't something to worry about.

Is it primarily at night...some young kids can get Restless leg syndrom (rls) my neighbors son has this issues he is 3 yrs old.

My kiddo's never complain about their legs...but I do hear a lot of kids complain

I would think it is growing pains. I remember getting horriable growing pains between the ages of 4 and 6.

I would say growing pains. Give some tylenol or motrin to help with the pain or my daughter loves ice packs and they help anything she is complaining of. definatley give some motrin before bed and hopefully he wont wake up from pain.

I think that is around the age my son first had some growing pains. And what you describe sounds very much like growing pains. They come and go--that's how kids grow, in spurts.

I also found (and read) that these pains tend to appear more often when the rapid growth occurs at the same time the kids are very active. So, if you son experiences some pain tonight (for example) in his legs, then if he is very active tomorrow (running, jumping, high impact activity especially) he would be more likely to have more growing pains tomorrow night. Obviously, you don't want your son to NOT be active! But keep in mind that he may be more aware of growth pains/discomfort after a day of high impact activity.
Motrin can help when he feels this way. Sometimes soaking in a warm bath can help too. What growing pains are is when the bone grows and the tendons and ligaments attached to it are over-stretched before they catch up in THEIR growth. They do not always grow at exactly the same rate every day all the time. So, if the bones grew a lot this week, he was running/jumping/etc and the muscles/tendons/ligaments haven't quite grown in length to the amount they need to, he will be uncomfortable.
Also, dehydration can contribute.
Make sure he drinks plenty of fluids, and let him relax in a warm bath before bedtime. Perhaps offer motrin.

http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/aches/growing_pains....

ETA:
I would also read up on toxic synovitis. It is a (usually) not serious complication that can cause leg pain. I believe that our son had it, though it was never diagnosed. The ER did bloodwork, etc and could find nothing wrong. It went away on its own.
Essentially, it is a virus/cold that settles in the hip joint. It can cause pain in the hip, OR it can cause leg pain (usually in the thigh). In our son's case, he didn't hurt except when he tried to stand/walk (bear weight). His hips didn't hurt at all, but his thighs did. No apparent reason, except he had had a cold a few days beforehand. It was a limp at first, then he couldn't bear weight at all, then it went completely away. I only mention this b/c you mention your son was limping, but only after he had recently had a cold/fever.
My son is now 13, and has never had another problem (other than more growing pains during his approx. 10 yr old ages).
http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/bacterial_viral/t...

Sounds like growing pains. One of my twins used to complain about that constantly. Then again, she complained about almost everything.

Sounds like growing pains...my 4 year old has had them as well. They do come and go and typically at night. He could be going through growth spurts.

Two thoughts come to mind...one, I had growing pains in my arms that were like that--more frequent, though--when I was young. My parents wound up taking me to a children's hospital and they dismissed it. I'm 35 and fine now. :)

Second, my son has been waking up for years--since about 15 months and he's almost 5 now--with foot pain. Because it's multiple times a week, and because it takes us 45 minutes to settle him down again, after Tylenol, we finally had it looked at by our doctor. She sent us to a physical therapist, who looked at how he walked. She actually said that it's more common to feel pain in the legs than in the feet from how he's walking. His hips are off somehow, and because of that he's lacking some core body strength (not that you'd ever notice--he is VERY physical, and very good at keeping up with our neighbors, who are twice his age--it's not something *I* would have seen on my own; the only sign for us was that he still comes down teh stairs like a little kid). Anyway--physical therapy wasn't working so well for us, for a variety of reasons--his age, and the fact that his baby sister had just been in PT for a year--and we also were directed to an orthotist, who made orthotics for his shoes. His feet are much, much better when we remember for him to wear shoes, every day, and especially when he's playing hard outside or playing Wii. Anyway--esp if he was limping, that might be something worth checking on.

My first thought was did I write this under an assumed name????

Our son started this about 18 months ago...I have noticed (after the doctor pointed it out) that when he goes through the "days at a time" my leg hurts, waking up...that he eats a TON. He's always hungry. Even though I keep a eye on him saying it and still in the back of my mind wonder if there is an underlying issue...

I think that a lot of the time it coincides with a growth spurt. He eats more, but is not sleeping more...

I've started keeping track of his complaints on my Google calendar.

If you need to bounce feelings our ideas PM...I know what this feels like.