Leg Cramps ** Toddler**

My daughter started this around 2.5 and would get so bad some days that she would limp or refuse to walk. After several dr. visits, and orthopedic dr suggested that it could be caused by a build up of toxins in certain joints etc. He asked if it seems to be worse right after she had been sick,because sometimes when your body is ridding itself of a toxin (or disease) it gets "trapped" in spots. We have done lots of different things, but the chiropractor has helped the most. She loves a heating pad, but she is 7 and old enough to handle it, but the rice pack should help too. I really do highly suggest trying a chiropractor though, it really helps with so many things that you dont realize might be related. Good luck!! ~A.~

Try giving her Potassium. Banana's are a great source or if you can give her a pill that would work as well.

My sons both go through this too the warm baths and tylenol help alot. You might also try ky warming gel.. Yes it works. It doesnt have as bad of a tingle as the other stuff like icy hot and it helps.

We use a rice bag heated in the microwave until warm. That is usualy our first step and does the trick. Sometimes we have to go to Motrin for the really bad ones but the rice bag will help to soothe it in the mean time!

It is miserable for them! My son has a pretty high pain tolerance so I know it must be bad!

Good Luck & if you find something else that works, please post it! I'd love to know!

Hi N.,

I have a son that just turned 3 & he goes through the same thing. I even went as far as taking him to the doctor because I couldn't do anything to help him. All they told me is that they are growing pains & after I tried the tylenol & motrin & that doesn't help to put him in a very warm bath & massage his legs in there. This really helps him & I hope it helps your little girl. I know how hard it is not to be able to fix it right then. Good luck!!!

Calcium, magnesium and Iron vitamins is what the Dr ordered for me as a child. I had this pain/cramps in my legs until I was 21 yrs old. My parents rushed me to the ER many times. We eventually learned a routine of soaking in a hot bath, towel wrapped heating pad, Absorbine Jr. there are probably some other products on the market that do not stink so bad and work better. I was told it was growing pains but I only grew to 5'3". The vitamins did make a difference and I learned to keep my diet very balanced with nutrients. Exercises of light stretching helped me too once I got old enough to understand. I sure hope the best for you and your DD. I would suggest to take her to the Dr because of the pain involved with cramps. My prayers are with you.

Ok, I know you're going to think I'm crazy, but I believe I got this information from the Dallas Morning News in the "Ask a medical question" section (not sure of the actual name of the section but I believe it's on the same page as the Dear Abby/Ann Landers columns).

If your child is actually having leg cramps, not just growing pains, this remedy might help. Now, this is one of those old wives tales home remedies that has been passed down for decades, but it has even baffled scientists because it truly does tend to work. Take a bar of soap and place it between your child's mattress and her fitted sheet near the foot of her bed. That's it. If her problem is cramping, it's possible she won't have any more problems with leg cramps after that.

Now, growing pains, I've heard, are different because that's actually caused by the stretching of skin and muscle, but I would guess trying this might be an option (???).

I know it sounds crazy, but my husband was suffering with leg cramps nightly for a while several years ago and my mom told me she read about this remedy and gave me the article from the paper. Neither of us have had leg cramps since we've put the bar of soap in our bed. It's just a new unwrapped bar of ivory. My mother-in-law had a circulation problem she ended up having to get surgery for and she had terrible cramps. She was even having them in the hospital after she had her surgery. We put one of those small hotel size bars of soap under her fitted sheet on her hospital bed and the cramps stopped.

Again, I don't know why or how it works, but for everyone I know who's tried it, it has worked. If you give it a try, maybe it will work for your little one too.

Good luck! :-)

N.,

Hyperkalemia (too much K) can cause cramps just like hypokalemia. But I doubt she is getting too much potassium unless she is going crazy on the greens plus a vitamin, etc. But it could be several other issues like (and please don't freak out...these are all just off the top of my head things that could be associated with leg cramps) diabetes, neuromuscular disorders, other electrolye imbalances, etc. Calcium is another biggie...and often a big cause in toddlers and kids having muscle cramps. Even overexertion can cause healthy people to have cramps without any other issues. I would let a doc run some blood work just to rule things out, but in the meantime, give her some extra calcium...fortified milk and juice, dairy, etc. As much as she hates it, try to stretch the leg out...and putting an ice pack on for a bit can help too. Hope that helps!!!