Leg Pains

Both of my boys went through this, between 3 and 4. Try to increase potassium in his diet. We added a lot more bananas into their diet until the leg pains stopped. Even though this is a horrible phase it will pass quickly. Also, on really bad days I would give children's motrin to help.I hope everything works out.

L.,
I'm so sorry, I know right where you're at. My youngest son has growing pains, and has had them since he was about 20 months old. They came and go, it's not a daily thing, but it can drive you crazy. The waking up screaming in the middle of the night where you think they're dying is actually perfectly normal. Unfortunatley, there's not much you can really do for it other than comfort them and give them a little bit of ibuprofin in case it helps. Growing up, I can remember my little brother having them too. We'd go six months sometimes with quiet nights, then out of the blue, the middle of the night screaming would start again, sometimes lasting up to two weeks. It gets better, and he's probably going to be pretty tall. My little brother is 6'6" now, lol. It's difficult, but just hang in there. You can get a second opinion, but unless you really have a reason to second guess pediatrician I probably wouldn't. I hope this helps.
S.

I had leg cramps as a kid and both of my children have had them. What I do is wrap their little legs in a warm wash cloth and then wrap that with a hand towel. I like this because one it is soothing and 2 I don't have to worry about it getting too hot. Cold will also work, but in the middle of the night most kids don't want to be wrapped up with a cold towel. I will also gently massage the leg muscle. My son had them really bad when he was little, he is now 9 and will still get them at times. I will also give them a little ibuprophin....
The grabbing the leg in the middle of the day is a little different for me unless it had really never gone away from the previous day. As a physical therapist and a Mom, I say if you are concerned then get another opinion. You might also ask for a referral to see a PT, he might be a little tight, or be moving in a way that is making the pain worse. There are other factors that cause muscle cramping, but I do not work with that age child, in older kids to adults it can be dehydration, vitamin issues, a number of things...

My daughter went through the same thing at the age of four from test and scans we finally all realized that as she was getting into larger shoe sizes the arch support for her feet was going a way. her symptoms would manifest at night and during the day. we finally had to make sure she had arch suuports, and boy it is hardd to find shoes with supports. She does were inserts still with her shoes and does well, now almost 7. I hope the best for you and your son.

Hi L.,

I'd get a second opinion if only to set your mind at ease. My son experienced the same type of pain in his legs and it was contributed to growth spurts. He's now a 6' 16 year old and still experiences the pain when he sprouts up. Massage helps a little...especially when it occurs during the night when it interupts his sleep.

Good luck,

W. Q

Hi L.. I went through this with my oldest (now 8 years old) and it sounds like growing pains. For some children, they can be worse. Increase his potassium: bananas, papayas, lima beans, tomatoes, cantaloupe & mangoes are all good sources. Also, increase his calcium. Encourage him to drink more milk, eat yogurt, ice cream for dessert or snack on cheese sticks. You could try Gatorade or a sports drink after he has been running around and playing to boost his electrolyte levels and prevent cramping[keep in mind these drinks do have plenty of sugar - good for after playing, not so good at night:o)] With my son, he drank a glass of milk before bed and I gave him children's motrin as well to help through the nights. These suggestions worked for us. I do want to add, if you want a second opinion - get it! There is not a thing wrong with that, a second opinion never hurts, especially if it eases your worries! Hope you find some relief soon.

Growing pains do hurt but I would definitely get a second opinion. I'm of the opinion that if kids are really hurting, something is going on. I had significant growing pains in puberty and ended up with temporarily damaged knees, both knees. However, my pain felt more like I suppose arthritis feels. It wasn't such sharp pains. I'm no doctor but I'd get another opinion. Good luck!

I would hold off on the second opinion for a while. My daughter (4 yrs.) has had a few rounds of growing pains this year. When it was her legs she would sit in the floor and rub them whining that they hurt. This lasted 2 weeks and then her jeans were too short. Give him a little Tylenol or children's Motrin before bed for a few nights to help him sleep. If this persists for longer than 3 or 4 weeks, call the Dr. again.

J.

Hi L.,
What part of his leg is he complaining of hurting? If it's his calf muscle (that big muscle in back of the lower leg) it may be "charlie horses" that he's getting. These are muscle spasms and they can wake him from his sleep. Increasing potassium in diet with orange juice and or bananas may be worth a try for a week. If they don't get better with this, I'd either return to your doctor or get a second opinion. Hope this helps!
D. (I'm a mother of 5 who happens to be a pediatrician)

We are talking about your child/your heart. Please get a second opinion

Hi L.,
Most likely it is just growing pains, and you have some great responses about them. There is one thing that struck me though. Growing pains usually hit both legs about the same. If you notice that one leg seems much worse, you might want to request an x-ray to rule out bone cancer. I don't want to scare you, but it is one of the most common kids' cancers. That said, it is likely just growing pains. Most kids have a growth spurt around age 3. Growing pains are thought to happen because the bone grows suddenly, faster than the muscles, which causes painful stretching of the muscles. You can help by stretching gently every day/night ang giving motrin. This too will pass!!!

they probably are growing pains i used to get them in my feet so bad id wake up in the midel of the night crying. id go to my parents room and my dad would have to massageg them until it went away.hpoe that helps

I believe growing pains are real and they normally occur in the evening. My son when he was 3 would wake up limping and sometimes complain during the day. His dr. suggested we have him tested for JRA Juvenile Rhematoid Arthritis. They had to get sufficient amount of blood which was an ordeal in itself. The test came back just slightly elevated and we went on to a specialist who determined it was just growing pains. He didn't have the other symptons of JRA - redness and fever around the joints. He continued to limp every few months, but now he is almost 10 and we haven't had any further problems.
With your son it may be that it is just growing pains. He also may be noticing your reaction to his pain and be over emphasizing it for attention. I would continue to watch it and be aware, but maybe not let him see your concern and see if it subsides. If it continues I would still mention it to the dr.

Hi L.,

I have a daughter (she's 17 now) that suffered from severe leg pain ("growing pains") as a child...it was really bad around the ages of 3 and 4. One thing that worked for us was bananas. We found that if she ate a banana every day (increasing her potasium intake) these "pains" didn't happen near as often and when she did hurt, it didn't seem to be as bad. Don't know if it will help with your son or not, but it's worth a try.....

My oldest boy had the same problem and it turned out to be juvenile arthritis. It is not serious and they outgrow it by age 10 or 11. You should definately get a second opinion.

Absolutely you should be worried and insist on a second opinion. As a nurse, I see many red flags with the continued severe pain. They do not like to do invasives on children but see if you can get her to do an MRI which is like a high powered x-ray, and insist on a pediatric orthopedic (bone) doctor. Good luck and really listen to your "gut". I have learned in my 23 year nursing career that moms know their children better than anyone else.

Hi! Well my son is 5 and has some delays and he was doing the same thing and even limping on his leg. This went on/off for about 8 weeks. We did Lake After Hours, Pediatrician, Xrays and the orthopedic doctor (he sees once a yr. anyway) nothing was wrong. Ortho dr. said give him motrin not tylenol before he even goes to bed. He told me it was safe to do this on a regular basis. We do not do it every night. Now he rarely complains. They basically just said kids get pains and there are no explanations. I know how frustrating this can be, especially when they wake up at night in pain. I hope he gets to felling better. I just wanted to share what we went through.

My daughter started with those at about 2 1/2 yrs. They still happen at least once a week. Take notes on when they're occurring (hers are usually evening after an active day), if he's been especially active beforehand. Also note the location of the pain and if the pain occurs in different legs at differnt times (this is especially important). If it's happening often and always the same leg talk to your doctor again. These are the things I've both read about and talked to the pediatrician about. If it is just growing pains, Motrin works wonders in the middle of the night. Warm baths and massages help too.

YES! Even if you have a doctor that you really trust, your son is still in pain and you'll feel better if it's checked out more thoroughly.

Let us know what you find out.

Leg cramps can be terribly painful. To help ease them, make sure he is getting plenty of hydration (they love to carry sports bottles of cold water outside to sip on when playing) and have him eat bananas (soundsd strange, but they are high in potassium and this helps alot!). Besides doing those things, I would definitely get a 2nd opinion. See if they will run labs on his blood and urine to make certain everything is at normal levels.

I think I've heard that leg pains can be a sign of food allergy. I don't have any idea where this came from and I could be totally off, but it's definitely coming to mind.

Just checked google. Here's the result page: http://www.google.com/search?q=leg+pain+food+allergy&...

You'll find a lot of info here. Sure enough, food allergy, but it could be other things, too.

It never hurts to get a second opinion.

A mother knows her child and if you think something is wrong, BE PERSISTANT.

Been there, done that. It is heart breaking to hear those screams. We went thtough this with K when she was 3 and 4. We started giving Motrin at the first sign and that really helped. We would rub up and down her shins and thighs and then up and down her calves and thighs for hours sometimes. It won't hurt to have your doctor take an X-ray but it usually will not show anything.

You should at least be worried enough to request some testing done - potassium for starters, low potassium is known for causing leg cramping. Check his diet, if he's getting a lot of processed foods (bag, box or can) and no fresh veggies or fruits, that could be the culprit too. :]

Hey L., Both of my boys had leg cramps/pains from "growing pains". Neither of them are "go to the dr." kind of guys but both requested a dr visit, which we did. Both were told that they were having "growing pains". Neither of them were as young as 3 but it's still a very real thing. Our dr gave them stretching exercises to do to help with them...maybe ask your dr or check on line for possible exercises that may help him. L., i can more than likely promise that this won't be the only time he has these. Don't be fearful, it's just part of boys growing up. It may be the same for girls, but i raised boys. Just tell him he's growing and see if you can find the exercises to help. Take care. R.

If I were you, I would get a second opinion. I have never heard of a child in pain like that with just "growing pains." For your child's sake, get a second opinion.

Just another opinion, my son is now 8 years old and still has growing pains. They started when he was about 3 and every time, I notice that his appetite always increased.
I did like the others, I gave him Children Tylenol or Children Motrin. The pain always passed with in a few days. At the age of 7, we were at the state fair and waiting in line for a ride, when he started complaining that his legs hurt, we went on one last ride and left the fair early because of the pain. AT that time from May through September he grew a little over an inch. He is now 4 foot 7 1/2 inches tall. Good luck