Why does my child's legs hurt at night?

The baby at home always complains of leg pain, especially at night, he cries and makes a fuss because of leg pain, which seriously affects the baby's sleep, and the parents are worried and anxious. It is very common for babies to have leg pain. This is mainly because babies are in the growth and development stage. If the nutrition supply is insufficient, resulting in calcium and potassium deficiency in the body, leg pain will occur. So what should we do?

1. Growing pains

The so-called "growing pains" are physiological pains that occur during the growth and development period. They are physiological and self-limiting pains.

&It is more common in children aged 2-12 years old, mainly occurring around the knee joint or on the front of the calf.

The pain usually occurs in children who are more active and disappears on its own after a period of time.

&The pain mostly occurs at night because the brain is in an excited state when playing during the day, which inhibits the occurrence of pain.

2. Causes of growing pains

The cause of growing pains is currently unclear, and there are many explanations: some believe that it is caused by periosteum involvement (the first proposed), while others believe that it is related to excessive use of the child's limbs, malalignment of the lower limbs, bone growth and mental factors. Recently, some scholars have proposed that growing pains are a type of late-onset rickets, while others have suggested that growing pains may be a type of bone pain caused by long-term calcium malnutrition and insufficient bone calcium deposition.

*The periosteal traction theory believes that: in children aged 2-12, the average height increase is 6-7cm per year, which is a relatively fast growth rate. In some children, the growth rate of long bones is faster than that of local muscles and tendons, and the growth and development of the two are not coordinated. In addition, some children are relatively active and produce more metabolic products that cannot be discharged in time, causing local irritation, resulting in pain and discomfort.

3. Note

There is no history of trauma to these painful areas, and the activities are normal. There is no redness, swelling or tenderness in the local tissues. It is necessary to exclude the possibility of illness after relevant examinations before it can be considered as growing pains. Not all children’s leg pain is caused by growing pains. Parents must pay more attention and make a clear diagnosis.

4. Related inspections

Serum calcium, phosphorus level, ionized calcium level, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, rheumatoid factor, anti-O, leg X-ray, etc. Because X-rays contain radiation, they can be done when necessary to help differentiate it from other diseases.

5. Identification

Diseases that can cause leg pain in children include:

① Rheumatoid arthritis: local inflammatory changes with redness, swelling, heat and pain, joint stiffness, limited movement, symmetry changes, fever, elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and positive rheumatoid factor;

② Osteochondritis of the femoral head: severe pain, limited movement, difficulty walking, children may have limp, and abnormal X-rays;

③Tuberculous hip arthritis: local redness, swelling, heat, and pain, low-grade fever in the acute phase, and erythema and other skin lesions on the skin;

④ Rheumatism: joint deformity, joint swelling and pain, positive anti-O, elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate and CRP, characteristic X-ray changes

⑤ Fracture: history of traumatic fracture, limited movement of the affected part, local swelling, and severe pain;

⑥Malignant bone tumor: pain at the tumor site and muscle atrophy;

⑦Childhood leukemia: anemia and bleeding in various parts of the body. Such as nose bleeding, bleeding gums, bone and joint pain, enlarged liver, spleen, and lymph nodes.

6. Related processing

Growing pains are physiological, self-limiting pains. As long as they do not affect activities, no medication is needed, but some family interventions can be actively provided.

① Psychological guidance: Parents should tell their children that "growing pains" are a good thing, a phenomenon that occurs when children grow taller and will naturally ease, thus eliminating or reducing their anxiety and fear about growing pains and turning negativity into positivity;

② Take adequate rest and reduce activity when in pain;

③ Local massage, use your thumb or palm to gently rub the painful area, 2-3 minutes for each leg each time, for a total of 10 minutes. Children's skin is delicate, so pay attention to gentle massage techniques, local hot compresses, and warm water baths can also have a certain effect;

④Supplement vitamin D and calcium as needed;

⑤Do more muscle stretching exercises;

⑥ If the pain is severe, appropriate analgesics such as paracetamol can be given.