Why does the child have pain in his legs? Growth pains may be the cause. Why do they appear, whether to give the child medicine and whether it is necessary to take him to a doctor for such pain
We are accustomed to the fact that joint pain is a sad lot of the elderly. Not surprisingly, mothers get scared when a child complains of such pain. Most often this happens in the evening and at night. Moreover, the pain is so intense that the child cannot sleep or wakes up with complaints and crying. The next day, the problem is as it happened, the child is alive and active. But towards the end of the day, the situation repeats again. An emergency visit to the doctor does not show any abnormalities, and for the first time my mother hears a strange diagnosis: "growing pains". What is it, is it necessary to treat it and how to help a child with such pain?
How growing pains manifest
Growth fights come to a child at rest / istockphoto.com
Growing pains are a fairly common complaint in children from 3 to 14 years old. Most often they are observed at the age from 3 to 5 and from 9 to 12 years, that is, during the periods of the most intensive physical development of the child. It has been noticed that boys most often complain of growing pains, however, this problem is not bypassed by girls either.
A typical picture of the appearance of growing pains looks like this: against the background of general well-being and absolute health, a child in the evening or at night begins to complain of pain in joints. The pain comes on suddenly and is severe - to the point that the child may even cry. The most common pain occurs in the legs. Sometimes both legs and arms hurt. Separate hands - almost never. It happens that the pain manifests itself in the same way on both sides of the body, however, in the same way, a child can only have pain on one side.
Another basic sign is that pain comes to the child at rest. Not at the moment when he is active (this is a different type of pain associated with physical activity), but when he is already in bed. At the same time, the next morning, there is no trace of the child's complaints. He is still active, running and jumping. However, in the evening, the pain returns again, although it may be localized elsewhere (for example, yesterday the legs hurt, and today the knees).
Where does growing pain come from?
Doctors find no pathologies for growing pains / istockphoto.com
Such pains can appear systematically and disturb the child for up to several days in a row. In this case, examinations for some kind of inflammation (for example, arthritis) give negative results. Where does growth pain come from? In medicine, there are two theories about this. The first is based on the fact that during the period of active growth of the child, some parts of the body develop unevenly. So, bones can grow a little faster than tendons. Because of this, the tendons are temporarily under tension, which causes pain.
The second theory compares growing pains to so-called DOMS (delayed muscle pain syndrome) in adults. During the day, when the child is as active as possible and moves a lot, impulses from muscles and tendons do not seem to reach the brain, which is busy processing other information. But at night, when the child is relaxed and resting, the brain begins to process these "delayed" impulses, reacting to them with the appearance of pain.
Should growing pains be treated?
Give ibuprofen to relieve growing pains / istockphoto.com
None of the theories of the onset of growing pains suggests that they can be dangerous for a child. Most often, such pains bother him for a couple of days and go away by themselves. You can help the child in this case symptomatically: if the pain is very severe, ibuprofen should be given in an age-specific dosage. Paracetamol helps worse in this situation. Growth pain does not require any systemic treatment. Also, do not smear your feet with anti-inflammatory ointments, and even more so do warming compresses.
It is worth contacting a doctor if the pain does not go away for more than 3-4 days. If it is observed not only at night, but also during the day, and interferes with the child's normal movement (for example, he is limping). Perhaps the cause of the pain is different: flat feet, scoliosis, minor ligament or soft tissue injury, inflammation, or even viral infections.
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