I'm Wondering About My 5 Yr Old's Leg Pain at Night.

Hi A. - My daughter's leg pain started (mostly at night) also around 2 2 1/2 she's 3 1/2 now. I could tell she was in a lot of pain by the way she was crying and she would clench her teeth & could not be comforted by being held or rocked. Her pain is always the right leg (shin area) we had a complete physical workup (blood work as well)and xrays w/her pediatrican everything was normal so she referred us to an orthopedic specialist who also did a workup (xrays) which came back normal the specialist wanted to rule out worse case so she recommened an MRI (which had to be done under anesthesia) we decided to do the MRI only because of how long the leg pain has been going on & because of the pain always being the one leg. Neither her pediatrican or the specialist said it was "growing pains" MRI came back normal. She still occasionally experiences right leg pain not as frequently (used to be about every other night) we sometimes give her tylenol but for instant relief she has a stuffed flaxseed dog that we microwave. I bought the stuffed animal last winter at one of the arts & crafts shows.

My son was going through this too --I use a muscle rub called Sombra - available only at chiropractor's office. (about $8) A small amount is really a miracle. also - I do a lotion massage on my kids lower legs/feet every night that has really helped. after a particularly busy/active day - I rub a small bit (do not use too much--it gets hot then really cold) of the sombra on their legs as well. It makes a big difference - and is not sticky or smelly in the morning. I have seen my son go from awake and crying at night to asleep in less than 5 min after applying.

hope this helps.

Hi A.,

That makes for some long tough nights! Wow.

I have a friend whose daughter seemed to have a similar problem. She had great success with some specific supplements. You are welcome to call if you want to talk about the details.

Are you comfortable with the Dr's evaluation?

Warmly, M.
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A.,
I am going to read your responses, its interesting because my son 31/2 complains once in a while lately, but its only his right leg. i don't know what it is, but I notice it more frequently when he's super tired. He will cry and cry for 10-15 minutes. I remember twice him getting up in the middle of the night. I was going to take him to the Doctors, but everyone tells me its growing pains. I think if it happened more frequently I would of taken him to the Doc's I think its smart to stay on it. I will ask about my son at his 4 year appointment. I also think sometimes it could be lack of potassium. Try giving you daughter a banana or potato. I use to get major cramps in my calves as a teenager in high school.(I also played alot of sports) so sometimes check to see if your daughter is over tired, with alot of activity especially in the summer with the heat.
good luck, T.

I too suffered with leg pains, mostly a night as a child. It does really hurt. My doctor called them growing pains. He said that the bones were growing so fast that the tendons and muscles were struggling to keep up! Pain reliever and heat work the best to make the ache go away.

I had this as a child. The doctors said it was "growing pains" I never bought it. I still get them from time to time as an adult too. So it cant be "growing pains" My pains were always behind my knee and shot down he back of my legs. It is quite uncomfortable as an adult, so as a child I could imagine that her pain is really bad for her. Give her a banana, and if she doesnt like bananas try the vitamin water with the burst of potassium + B in it. She probably just has low potassium levels which leads to joint and uscle pain. This worked for me. Good luck.

Have you considered a chiropractor? I know it sounds odd.....but it could be worth checking into. Maybe a manipulative adjustment would help her.....

I had this same type of growing pain growing up, and now my son does. It's quite common. We give motrin to my son as soon as he wakes and complains. She sounds miserable. Are you giving her anything to alleviate the pain? It's an awful ache.

Hi

I know this is going to sound funny to you, but look at her feet. Look at the bottom of her shoes. Is the wear all over or just on one area? Does she walk normal?

I am saying all of this because this is what finally clicked in for me, that my daughter had foot problems. She has flat feet which isn't a huge deal, you just need to know how to deal with it. Get a referral to a pediatric orthapedic surgeon. They won't do surgery but will look at her feet. They can tell you exactly what is going on.

If you would like more help email me and I can give you more information.

Good Luck
K.

I used to get aches in my legs when I was about that age as well. They lasted until I was about 9. I don't have any issues with my bones or back and grew to be 5'9". It seems weird that your legs would ache as they grow and that the doctors all say the same thing. One doctor told me to do visualization to get through them, I would have to imagine a color and then think of each part of my body filling up with that color. I think it was more useful in taking my mind off the pain than anything, but when I really concentrated, it worked.
Good luck.

Hi A.. Have you tried a rhuematologist?? Sometimes family dr.'s just cannot diagnose everything. As a child my dad said that I would have similar problems with my legs and we never followed up with it, the doctor thought I had juvenile arthritis. My doctor said if there was a fever then it was a virus, if not then I'd need further testing. Dad got it backwards and we never went back. I am seeing a rhuematologist now and am awaiting results for rhuematoid arthritis. I have really appreciated the rhuematologists ability to diagnose what no one else has been able to in my case. Just a thought. L. S.

It's probably just growning pains. I would look into vitamins or supplements that might be helpful. I've heard something about bananas helping - potassium.

My daughter also has those pains since she was about age 2, she is 10 now. Her's are usually in the knee area but has been shin and ankles even top of her feet.. I too took her to the doctor had xrays and other tests down to rule out things including cancer. I was told she just had growing pains, which they do seem to get worst just before a growth spurt. My mom said I had them too! I put BayGay on them when they hurt and somethings give her Tylenol also.. BayGay usually works though.

I had this too. I wrap the part of my leg that hurt in a heat pad or ice pack. The doc told me to use the ice pack but the heat worked faster for me.

In my expereince, some kids are more sensitive to growing pains than others. Most only complain occasionally, but my now 5 year old goes through periods where she complains more frequently than the others did and it wakes her up more often(after all we do only grow in our sleep!) *Gentle* massage, and warm wraps (we use one of those heatable rice pillows) usually help and I give her a dose of Motrin as well right off the bat to help her get back to sleep without being distracted by the lingering soreness after the more intense pain has gone. I wouldn't worry about it too much. Growing up hurts sometimes :) Just help her deal with the pain, ease the muscle spasm, and not freak out about it too much (which will only intensify both the pain and the spasm - research shows that relaxing lowers our perception of pain and of course tightening your muscles from stress during a muscle spasm is probably not beneficial!)At the very least you can remind her that it's proof positive she's getting bigger all the time!

My daughter has had "growing pains" in her legs since she was little also. They use to be pretty bad when she was younger, especially when she missed a nap or was extremely over tired at night. When they would happen at night I made sure she got a really good nap the next day or as she's gotten older, she at least has some quite time, laying down or reading books. At 5 years old, she does still have them ocassionally, but not as severe as what you described. When this does happen, we massage her legs and right away I give her some ibuprophen to help with the soreness. Usually those things help and she sleeps the rest of the night. I hope you find some things that help.

All 3 of my children have growing pains. They are real, they are painful, and , luckily, they are relieved with Tylenol or Motrin. Almost always at night, but not exclusively. When they are about to have a growth spurt they can be daily. I did have the dr. check them out, like you, to make sure everything was okay, but you just have to make them comfortable until they 'grow up'! They would have growing pains for 2 weeks, and then they would be taller, or their shoe size would go up! Good luck.

My son has woken up twice this week complaining of leg pain as well. Both times I gave him tylenol and he was able to settle down after a short time. It sounds like your daughter's is more extreme than ours at this point. I agree to check again with your doctor.
The other thing I had to mention is that he has also been waking up lately with nightmares. Your letter made me wonder if they are connected somehow as well.

My son who will be 3 in november does the same thing. So far it is only 1 leg but once it has been in his foot, which was the first time it happened. We have been dealing with it for over a year. I found that it happens when he is over tired and he runs around bare foot on the cement. Not sure if it what causes it but that is what I am going totalk to doc about. I give him 1/2 the dose of motrin, we rock and I rub his leg. He says it helps and of course in the morning he is fine. They also tell me it is just "growning pains". Maybe try paying attention if it happens more barefoot than with shoes? IF you find anything please let me know and bice versa.

She does need to go to the doctor. And make sure they thoroughly evaluate her. Maybe x-rays, sometimes this could be something that needs more evaluation to be found out. My son's problem was a bit different, he had a bloated belly and they would just press and say it was fine. I demanded they be a bit more thorough with him, I was not pleased with the physical exam only. So he had x-rays done. If something can be caught early, then that is best. Good luck. I am sure it is nothing, but better safe than sorry.

A.,

It sounds like poor blood circulation to me. I had the same thing when I was a child and my parents didn't believe me for a very long time. When I was seven I started playing soccer and had a lot of trouble running and sleeping because of the pain in my legs. My parents had my pediatrician really look into the problem and he said the pain was coming from poor circulation in my legs.

Eating a banana every day helps, but for the most part there wasn't much we could do, except remove me from the really active sports. Swimming helped.

I hope you can find the cause of her pain soon.

We have similar growing pains in our house. Our son has them often and hubby had them really bad growing up. Motrin at the first complaint helps and warm compresses if it's during sleep time (micro bean or rice wraps). If it's during the awake hours we still do the Mortin but then a nice long and warm bath helps work them out a bit too. Docs never had too much to offer with the pains - we checked all that out too. You are on the right track, good luck to both of you :)

I have alot of experience with growing pains. I had them when i was a kid, up until i was a teenager. both leg aches and arm aches. I also have several brothers and sisters who had them as kids. Now that we are all paretns, my 5 year old has been having them for 2 years. Also my sisters' kids all have them ages 9 and 7 yr old twins. We have both had the doctor check them over and over to amke sure everything is fine. My sister even took her son to the specialist. His were very bad between 4 and 6. What i do with my son is if he complains of a leg ache i give him a hcildren's tylenol. The bottle recommends 3-4 for his age, but i usually only give h im one. i will take away the pain enough for him to play or sleep without me feeling like i am always giving him medicine. I don't want him to take too many cause then he will become immune when he does need them for something wlse. But so far 1 or 2 does the trick. the pediatrician said that there is no reason not to give him a pill if he is in pain. if i don't give him a pill he will sob for hours. Also i found out when i was a kid that laying in your bed, if it is a bed time, and rubbing my legs back and forth or side to side against the mattress, while laying down, helped to get rid of the pain. But as soon as you stop moving your legs it will come back.

A.,

Fortunately, I haven't had this issue with my 5 year old. But my niece went through similar pains. My sister, an orthopedic surgeon, said lots of kids who are tall for their age can go through this. (can't remember the specifics) If you don't get satisfaction with your family doc and your insurance allows, you may want to talk to an orthopedic doc who specializes in kids.

Good luck!

A.,
My now 9 year old had that happen when he was 4 but his was so bad he couldn't walk. We took a trip the the ER one of the scarest trips to an ER I have ever had. The doctor looked at the worse possible thing. Then when that test came back negitive had no answers for me. My son still could not walk when we left this was Sunday on Monday I took him to the Chiropractor (something I hadn't done in years I used to go every month as a child) we ended up going once a week for a month then every other week. His lower back was so out of aglinment it was no wonder he couldn't walk. Now to this day he will say mom my legs hurt some can we go to the chiropractor. One visit and he is good for a few months.
The one we see now was telling me that babys are born with there spin out of alignment due to the birth cannel he has adjusted all 3 of his with in hours of there birth.
My oldest had a bed wetting problem that chiropractic care didn't cure but helped.
If you decide to go this route check out chiropractors in your area like everthing else there are good and bad. Millington, Caro, Deerfield and Deckerville have good ones. Other than that you will have to talk to people about who they see.
P.

My son struggles with leg pain at night as well. Tylenol or Motrin always has helped, but when it starts to get frequent, I hate to use medicine so often. At his worst, I started giving him chewable calcium every day and it quickly helped. It made the pain MUCH less frequent and less intense. I hope you find a solution, as all that lost sleep is hard for your child and you!

A., it sounds like it can be one of two things. I have recently learned that juvinall arthritis runs in my husbands side of the family. My nephew who is four always complains of leg pains no matter what time of day it is. We found out that it is the arthritis. The second thing it could be is "growing pains". I found out that if my child complains of leg pain in the morning in their legs it could be growing pains. I hope this helps.

Maybe you should think about going to a pediatric neurologist if the pain continues, they specialize in nerves and muscles.

Night terrors at that age are possible, my daughter has them at 3. Is that the cause of the leg pain - I doubt it. Although I have no suggestions that may help (besides Tylenol or Ibprofen), I would say that if your doctor puts it off as growing pains again - get a second opinion. Check with your insurance company to see if you need a referral from your primary doc to see a specialist. I discovered recently that with our coverage we don't need a referral - which was great news as we wanted a referral that we weren't getting. Then see if you can find someone that specializes in the bone. My cousin had been complaining to her primary doctor of several issues for about six years, one of which was that she has shrunk about 3" over the last six years. He wouldn't order a bone density test, finally, she found a new doctor. At 22 she has Osteoporosis. If your daughter is in so much pain that her stomach muscles tighten up, something has to be going on - and as her parent I would do whatever needed to be done to get answers!

I know several others have said the same thing, but I just thought I would echo it. I had these growing up and my daughter who is 4 1/2 has been having them for several years as well. The first time she woke up in the middle of the night I was so freaked out we went to the ER...LOL...anyway all we've been told is to offer Motrin and massage the area. It does stink when our little ones are in pain and their really isn't much we can do :(