3 Year Old Has Pains in Her Shins.

yes these are growing pains my son gets them so bad that he cries. I take a little flexall and just massage his legs with it once I am done I take a warm wash cloth and wash the flexall off again because enough of it has gotten to the muscle by then and if you leave it on it might get hot and be uncomfortable to the child you can also give her some motrin for the pain.. good luck

http://parentcenter.babycenter.com/0_growing-pains_###-##...

Article from babycenter.com. I recently read an article regarding new research on this issue, but I couldn't find it anywhere. It talked about additional evidence indicating that rapid growth in bones and an active child do sometimes cause growing pains. It was an interesting article, sorry I can't remember where I saw it.

Hi!! Take your child to an orthopedic specialist. Growing is not supposed to hurt and the pain in her legs might indicate miss-alighned kneecaps, or shin-splints or something else. I used to get a funny restless feeling in my legs and knees espically at night as well as pain in my lower legs & kness when I was a little kid...when I was 30 I found out that I had miss-aligned knee caps! My doctor asked me if I had "growing pains" when I was little. He said that's one indicator, and that if there were "growing pains" children & babies would be screaming all the time! My knee thing is hereditary and my brother has it as well. (thank goodness none of our kids have it!) If caught when a child is young excersices (NOT surgery) can correct the problem and releave the discomfort. FYI I am a great believer in physical therapy and have found it to be a great alternative to any kind of surgery! Good luck & best wishes!!

I feel that you are correct in your assumption that these are growing pains. They are pains from the growth plates in their legs shifting as they grow and I found that it usually happens at night when they are at rest. I experienced this with both of my children. My daughter would wake up at night crying from the pain. When I mentioned this to the doctor, before I could get out all of the details, he described all of her symptons right down to the crying. I found that the degree of pain and a response to that pain differs from child to child. My daughter (who is also very tall for her age) had severe pain which at times required Tylenol. The doctor said to start with a half dose of Tylenol only if she wakes up crying and go to the full dose (for her weight) if the half seems to have no effect. He said that if the pain is severe, don't be afraid to use the Tylenol. Why let her suffer? My son (4 years old) is still experiencing some nighttime leg pain, however his pain doesn't seem to be as severe as my daughter's was. He actually came up with his own solution and asked me to rub his legs. He will wake up and call me to rub his legs and he goes right back to sleep. This happens only once in a while. I have only had to give my son Tylenol once for his pain. I find that the more physically active that they are during the day, the more pain they will have at night during this growing period. I hope this helps. I would still mention this to your doctor during the next check up.

good am.my daughter had chronic knee pains which i believed to be growing pains dr said it would be more in her shins if it were dgrowing pains so looks like that is what your issue could be..this was from chop in kop...T.

Hi! My son who is 5 has gone through this for about 2 years now. My dr allows me to give him tylenol as needed to help with days when it is the worst. His growing pains actually cause his knees to crack very loudly as well. I would reach out to your dr first just to make sure that there is nothing else underlying.
Good luck!
A.

Take her to the doctor. Whenever your child says they are in pain and continuely say they are in pain, you should take them to the doctor. If it were a one time thing maybe not but now a days there are so many things that could be going wrong, better be safe than sorry. If anything it would be peace of mind for both of you.

Hi, We have tall kids too and my youngest complains of his legs hurting and aching too. I do think it just growing pains sometimes. I remember having them growing up. I just give him some ibruprofen and sometimes massage his legs if there is a very specific cramp or pain. The other thing I watch out for is dehydration. If he hasn't been drinking enough water, he will start complain of legs aches, headaches, doesn't sleep as soundly etc. People underestimate the importance of water for our system. It would not hurt to consult with the a Dr either though. It isn't always good to assume there is nothing wrong. Good luck.
A.

I haven't had any of my children, But my mom had that proublem with my oldest brother. She use to have to sit there and rub his legs, just to try to help relive the pain. Talk to your doctor about? My brother is 6'something know. Best of luck.

From what it sounds like yes i believe it is growing pains, my sister-n-law is gowing on 11 and she has had them most of her life...she drinks milk and alot of it to keep the pain away my mother-n-law was told that she is in lack of calcium.good luck i know it is hard to watch your child in pain.

I would probably take her to the pediatrician just to get her legs checked out. Good luck.

Although I haven't personally had this problem my friend did with her daughter. She was (and still is) very tall, and since she was young complained of pain in her legs. Unfortunately, they ran tests, etc. but never found out what caused this pain - dr. said "just growing pains".
I know these pains continued until she was at least 12 - maybe longer. Maybe your dr. could find something their's didn't. Besides the leg pain she is a healthy child!

I know it's weird but my grandma swears by a bar of soap under the mattress to stop leg cramps. It sounds like your daughter is having growing pains so technically it's not the same, but i tried it for my son, he used to wake up all the time wanting his shins rubbed. He knows the soap is there and very rarely needs to have his legs rubbed. IT might be worth a shot if you've tried everything else.

if in shin splint area, make sure she wearing good support shoes. not flip flops, or barefoot.

I know my kids get them in soccer cause of very little support cleats.

My 9 yr old son was complaining about the same pains for months. And I too thought
it may be growing pains however when I took him to the doctor she said he was really
flat footed and his right foot (slightly) so slight I didn't notice curved outward towards
the right. She suggested we use those gel inserts for flat footed people and if that
doesn't work she will then recommend we see a orthopedic specialist. It really has
worked for him however I'm not sure how this summer will go wearing flip flops and
crocs. I'm not sure how small gel inserts come I bought the size a woman would wear
and they fit in his shoes. Good luck and to make yourself feel better see the doctor
it always makes me feel better even if it is nothing!

Hi J.

My daughter has growing pains. There hasn't been much we can do except for give her Motrin and elevate her legs when she is home.

Good Luck!

B.

My son was a little bit older than this, but he had the same thing going on. You could take her to the podiatrist. I did and it ended up my son needed orthotics, because he was growing so fast and his feet weren't developing at the same rate the rest of his body was.

I think your daughter may have shin splints. It is not serious at all. Shin splints can occur when someone is running around alot more than they had been and are a little heavier than they were when thye last ran. Atletes get them in training camp and preseason games.

You daughter is tall and consequently heavy for her age - certainly heavier than she was when she was last running around outside. She probably is playing/running more with the warmer weather lately and that running may be on the concrete playground at the day care. The harder surfaces outside compared to inside can also contribute to the shin splints.

Make sure her shoes are comfortable and the soles are padded. Forsake 'nice' shoes and keep her in sneakers. Rest is also something that would help but I know that would be difficult with a 3yo. You can also massage her legs right next to the shin bones with your thumbs - this with move the lactic acid out and bring in some blood to heal the minor damage.

Good luck!