What should I do if my child has foot pain at night?

Children are usually more active, and excessive exercise or standing for too long will cause foot pain. In most cases, this is caused by growing pains. That is to say, children need to supplement sufficient calcium during the growth stage. If the calcium deficiency is serious, it will lead to bone dysplasia and cause foot pain. You need to observe your child's daytime exercise more often.

Growing pains often occur in the spring when children grow and develop rapidly before and after school age. This is mainly related to the relatively increased activity of children during this period, the rapid growth of long bones, and the uncoordinated growth and development of local muscles and tendons. Growing pains mainly manifest as pain in the limbs, most commonly in the thighs of the lower limbs. The symptoms are generally mild, mostly bilateral, and last a long time, sometimes for several months or longer. The pain mostly occurs in the afternoon and evening and disappears after a night's rest. Growing pains are a type of physiological pain and are temporary. They will heal after a period of time and do not require treatment.

Since growing pains are a physiological phenomenon that occurs during children's growth and development, some parents often mistake leg pain caused by other diseases as growing pains, thus delaying the treatment of such diseases. The following are some of the diseases that may cause pain similar to growing pains:

1) The cause of growing pains is still unclear. Generally, they will disappear on their own as the child grows and develops. When a child has leg pain, please distinguish it from the following types of leg pain to avoid delaying treatment:

1. Transient hip periostitis

Its symptoms are sudden leg pain, sudden inability to walk or stand after getting up in the morning, no clear history of trauma in the child, and sometimes fever and other symptoms. Doctors can find limited hip joint movement during examination, X-ray examination of the hip joint is normal, and a few children have swollen hip joints. This disease can be treated with hot compresses, bed rest for 1-2 weeks, and oral taurine and vitamin B1.

2. Tuberculous hip arthritis

This disease is more common in preschool children, has a slow onset, and is more common on one side. In the early stage of the disease, the affected limbs are sore, so the child's gait changes when walking, and the pain gradually worsens, especially when the child is awakened by pain during sleep at night. This is the main feature of this disease.

3. Femoral head necrosis

The disease has a slow onset, with more severe pain and gradual lameness. There is often trauma a few weeks before the onset of the disease. The AP X-ray of the hip joint can show that the femoral head becomes smaller. This disease requires timely treatment. Delay may cause disability after hip dislocation.

A child's growth is closely related to his or her health during childhood. I hope parents will pay more attention to the causes of the child's pain and observe the degree of pain. If it is just mild foot pain, you only need to soak your feet in hot water or rub them with ointment. If the situation is more serious, go to the hospital to check the cause and treat it in time.