My child always complains about leg pain, what's going on?

Leg pain is a very common symptom in children. Generally speaking, there are many reasons for leg pain in children, both physiological and pathological. When children have leg pain, parents must learn to distinguish them so as not to delay the disease. Pathological leg pain requires timely treatment of the child, the earlier the treatment, the better. Physiological pain can be slowly adjusted through daily long-term life.

Why does my child always complain of leg pain?

If a child always complains of leg pain, it may be growing pains. What are growing pains?

Growing pains are a physiological phenomenon unique to children's growth and development period, and are common in children aged 2-12 years with normal growth and development. According to surveys, the incidence of growing pains among school-age children is as high as 10%-20%, and the incidence rate among girls is higher than that among boys.

Growing pains are not a disease, but a physiological phenomenon. Therefore, parents do not need to worry. The pain of the baby is only temporary and will disappear naturally after a while!

What are the symptoms of growing pains in children?

1. Mostly intermittent pain in the lower limbs

The most common areas for growing pains to occur are the front of the knee, calf, and thigh, and are most common around the knee joint. Typical growing pains are bilateral pain, but there may also be unilateral pain. The pain in the lower limbs is intermittent and prone to recurrence.

2. No redness or swelling in the joints

When growing pains occur, the baby's limb joints are in normal shape, and the main symptoms are muscle pain, not joint or bone pain. There is no redness, swelling or heat in the painful area.

3. Pain often occurs at night

The biggest characteristic of growing pains is that they almost always occur at night. The frequency of leg pain in babies during the day is significantly less than at night. Sometimes the child would complain of leg pain during the day, but his running and jumping as usual were not affected. At night, the pain becomes more severe and even unbearable.

Why do growing pains occur?

1. Rapid bone growth

Children's bones grow faster at night. Due to the rapid growth of bones, the surrounding nerves and muscles are stretched and cause pain. Therefore, babies experience growing pains more frequently and more severely at night. During the day, bones grow more slowly, so pain attacks are fewer and weaker. In addition, during the day, the child runs and jumps all day long, and even if the baby feels uncomfortable, the baby may not easily notice it because he or she is focused on other things. At night, when people are preparing to rest and relax, and when they are quiet, the symptoms of pain can easily make children feel uncomfortable.

2. Tibial inward curvature

When a child is in the toddler stage, the tibia of the lower leg is more bent, and the body compensates by causing a certain degree of knee valgus. As they grow and develop, a small number of children do not receive timely correction. In order to maintain joint stability, the leg muscles are often kept tense, which is prone to pain.

3. Metabolite accumulation

Children who are overly active during the day or whose developing tissues produce too many metabolic products may accumulate acidic metabolites, leading to muscle soreness.