2 Yr Old Complaining of Knee Pain – Could It Be More than Growing Pain?

Hi, K.!

My name is N.. I am a mother of two children, ages 19 years old and 13 years old. I am about to become a step mom to a 7 year old and a 2 year old.

I would highly suggest you see an orthopedic surgeon or at least suggest to your pediatrician to check for JRA. My daughter, who is now 13, started getting pain in her one knee at age 2. She woke up one morning and when I lifted her from her bed and stood her on the floor, she fell over! Long story short, my daughter was diagnosed with JRA (Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis). She had a cyst in her knee as well (not sure how/if that related to the JRA) but the docs never chose to remove it. She was in a full leg to hip cast for a while, trying to fully extend her leg with the arthritis, since she could not fully extend that leg, due to the joint trouble. Then, we started getting cortisone shots in her knee and she began going into remission. Now, at age 13, she still has the JRA, but it is under total control. Many kids outgrow JRA. My daughter is very active in sports, mainly softball, and had been in softball for the past 7 years. The JRA does not hinder her ability in sports at all, thankfully.

About 4 months ago, her JRA flared up pretty badly and our Rheumatoid Specialist suggested we start her on Remicade infusions every 6 weeks. That sounded pretty devastating to me and her father, (and her as well, of course). I had my daughter start drinking MonaVie Active and it has hugely improved her condition, and she has not needed any infusions or other treatments at all. The JRA is in total remission as a result of the MonaVie and we are thrilled!

Also, know that JRA can sometimes also bring along an eye disease (more common in young girls with JRA, than in boys wih JRA) called iridiocyclitis. My daughter has the eye disease, which we found almost immediately after her diagnosis of JRA. The eye disease is the bigger concern for us and her now, and for the rest of her life, she will be taking eyedrops in her eyes two and three times per day! Fortuntaely there has been no loss of sight and she does not need glasses either, so we really have had everything under control over the years.

I tell you all of this, not to alarm you, but to make you aware of other possibilities. Your son's discomfort in his knees, may very well be just growing pains. My son, at around age 4-5 felt that too, and it was just growing pains, but as I said, my daughter was a much different story.

Unfortunately, (in my opinion) too many doctors are real quick to make false diagnosises (I know there is another word for that but I have NO idea what that word is) :)....and I would rather have you be safe and rule out all other possibilities of what his ailment could be.

I hope this helps! :)

If you have questions, feel free to email me directly at ____@____.com.

Enjoy your day!

1 mom found this helpful

As a child I had knee pain, and as an adult still have joint aches that have no know cause. I have noticed that my body is exceptionally sensitive to barimetric pressure changes. I would be very aware of when your son's pain occurs, to see if there is a pattern to it. You may be able to find a cause or at lest rule out some. I just ended up taking over the counter pain relivers and hot baths to help the pain. I also predict the weather pretty accurately. It could also be an allgery or an activty that is hard on his knees. If you don't trust your doctor get a second opinion. They only think the know everything, you know your son.

Please get a second opinion. Two year olds are busy and growing pains may be just the prognisis, but, waking up almost every night sounds too extreme to dismiss just yet. Bringing him to an orthopaedic dr. might help too. Hindsdale Orthopaedics (quite a few locations) are very nice and thorough. You may want to get some blood work done for peace of mind, too. Good luck.

This is not to scare you, just to make sure you cover all bases and don't possibly ignore something more serious. I know a friend whose child complained of thigh pain all the time and the ped said it was growing pains. When she was playing soccer (she's 8 yrs old) she was kicked and her thigh bone shattered, and drs found out she had bone cancer. They would not have known if she hadn't gotten hurt playing soccer--getting that injury helped drs discover her cancer and save her life. Just to be on the safe side I would set up an appt with a pediatric orthopedist(?), its more than likely an injury or muscle pain, but its good to know for sure.

If you're not satisfied with your pediatrician's response, remember to question them and get another opinion. No one doctor is perfect, just like the rest of us.
I would consult with a child orthopedic.

It's been said that newborns are born without kneecaps. They do in fact have kneecaps, but they don't ossify or harden until they are a few years old. I suppose this is a key part of crawling... it's hurts my knees to crawl on the hard floor but my kids seem to whiz by without a problem or any notice of pain.

Is it possible that his knee caps are now hardening and it's painful for him? hmmm... not sure. could be growing pains too. any time the bones lengthen at a fantastic clip it can cause pain for our little ones. is he going thru a growth spurt? it's possible check your growth chart (i have one on the playroom wall... i pencil in their height on a fairly regular basis - i noticed my son grow almost 3 whole inches between his first birthday and 16 months - WOW!).

When my kids complain of leg pain (daughter #2 had lots of issues with this) i reached for the tylenol. check with yor pediatrician to see if that's ok with her or if she'd like to see him to check it out. my ped. said this was a perfectly acceptable way of handling her aches and it's about all that can be done. I suppose it's possible it could be more - he may have injured it inside... twisted it, stretched it too far... kids can be active and push their bodies too far. if he has limited movement, definitely check it out with the doc. any swelling too... get it looked at.

good luck. i hope your little guy will be ok...

K. - growing pains are classic symptoms of a calcium deficiency - my son complained of them as well and as soon as I gave him a high quality calcium - before bed, they disappeared!!

~ K.

Hi K.,
Does he have any swelling? Are his knees hot to touch and tender to touch? This is not normal. You need to have a second opinion. Does he eat good? Do you give him any supplements? email me back and I will give you more advice.
P. RN

My 3 year old also complains on a regular basis of this and he is also pretty active! I had this growing up and still do on occassion (probably arthritis at this point for me). A couple of things that I have found to help is tylenol, a heating pad (one that you throw in the microwave is safest) and I massage the leg that is bothering him.

I haven't tried this but have heard putting a bar of soap under the sheet at the end of the bed is also supposed to help. Don't know how this would help but have heard this several times!

good morning. The next time you see your doctor, (or Call him) and request they do an MRI on his knee. He may have something going on that they can not treat because they don't see it. After almost a year with my daughters knee pain which does not bother her all the time, I had suggested to the doctor to do an MRI.

My daughter was diagnosed at the age of 2 with Juvenile Arthritis. You might want to pursue his knee pain a little more with his Dr. Maybe they can draw some blood or maybe even do an xray to confirm or rule out this diagnoses. Most of the time kids will complain of joint pain in the evening after they have been playing all day. Does his knee get swollen or warm? My daughter is 15 now but at first they did an xray and then bloodwork. We have been seeing Dr Miller at Childrens Memorial ever since in the Immunology department. You do not have to go all the way to Chicago to see a Dr from Childrens, they go to sites in the suburbs now. We go to Tinley Park to see him for our office visits. Otherwise try to give him some childrens Motrin to see if it helps. Good luck!

K., I see you've gotten many responses. However, I have a different response from those received thus far. My son is 9-y/o and was also struggling with what was believed to be "growing pains" for a couple of months last fall. He is very active, and experiences the pain after activity, when he is resting. One day he was in such excruciating pain he couldn't stand. We took him back to the pediatrician who took x-rays. These showed lesions on both of his tibias (shin bones). Initially, it was believed he had bone cancer or leukemia. We have since gotten bone scans, MRI's, and many blood draws done. He is now being seen by specialists at UW-Madison. He had a bone biopsy done by a pediatric orthopedic surgeon in January. All cancers were ruled out. He then started seeing a pediatric rheumatologist. They have tentatively diagnosed him with chronic, recurrent, multifocal, osteomyelitis. His is autoimmune, and not caused by an infection. We are so thankful it is not the worst case scenario. However, this could potentially be life-altering (not life-threatening) for our son. I encourage you to follow your gut and get to the bottom of this. Had we listened to our ped., we would still be treating it as growing pains. CRMO is extremely rare and there is very little known about it. I hope this is not what you are facing, but keep pushing until you get answers you are satisfied with. May God Bless you and your family!

I actually just read something about this on Webmd. It could just be growing pains but I read also that it could be a loose joint or even arthritis. I guess it is not unusual for kids today to get arthritis... scary. Anyway, if you go to the children's health section on webmd and type in growing pains. Hope this helps

homeopathy can help growing pains or whatever else might be going on.
our homeopath is in naperville:
www.dupagehomeopathic.com
if you're not near there and want to see someone else, i can email you a link to other practitioners in the area. homeopathy is natural and has no side effects, so it's safe for your youngster to take. i have constitutional remedies for my baby and 3yo son and also give them remedies for colds/flu, etc.

You can try treating it yourself at first with Arnica 30C (from Fruitful Yield, Whole Foods or specialty pharmacist like Martin Ave Pharm). Take it orally 3x/day for a max of 5 days, but stop if it seems to be "all better." Typical brand in most stores is Boiron. If it doesn't work, then you should see the professional homeopathic Dr. You can email me offlist if you have more questions, and/or read Dr. Polich's website.

Not much you could do but on rare occasions it could be a early onset of arthritis, i was told i had it at age 8 so depending on family history and other factors it is possible.

Our son, now five, has had this issue since he was about two, and for a few months it seemed to be almost every night. Our pediatrician had us monitor it, and when it seemed to be predominantly one leg, he did x-ray it to make sure it wasn't cancer. So far, there's been no indication of anything serious and it does happen less frequently. When it's really bad, we sometimes give him Children's Tylenol. It is definitely occurring less. I wonder if perhaps it happens more severely for extremely active children.

My son is 3.5 and wakes up sometimes at night saying his knees / legs hurt. I tell him that they are growing pains and it is part of getting to be a big boy. I rub his leg/ knee for a little bit and he goes back to sleep. Now my son wakes up saying "mom, my growing pains hurt" I rub them and he goes back to sleep. Perhaps there really is such a thing as growing pains?/

My son had the same problems since he was a toddler. He would wake up in the middle of the night screaming that his knee hurt. I took him to an orthopedic specialist and they did xrays and found nothing. The doctor was hesitant to use the term "growing pains" but that he was definitely getting a cramp of some sort. When it happens I give him an Advil and an ice pack and turn on cartoons and he eventually falls back to sleep. He is 10 now and it only happens occasionally. The doctor also said to stretch his muscles out when it happens, flex his foot forward and back and all around...then straighten and bend his leg at the knee a few times. Hang in there.....