Bone pains (growth, overload) are common in children as they grow

Terrified parents come to the pediatrician with children complaining of pain in the knees, calves or ankles. Often their cause is not any disease. Bone pain in children may be related to rapid growth, these are called growing pains, as well as with physical activity during the day - these are the so-called overload pains.

Childwhen asked by a doctor when their legs hurt most often, they usually say it is in the afternoon or at night. Concerned parents confirm that sometimes the pain is so severe that it keeps the child awake or wakes him up at night. On a ten-point scale, it is rated at 6-7 points. Fortunately, however, it is short, sometimes only a few minutes, rarely longer than half an hour. Interestingly,bone paindisappears quite quickly after rubbing the sore spots, even without the use of pain-relieving ointments.

Detailed baby examination

The doctor first carefully looks at the joints of the little patient. It checks that they are not swollen and that the baby can bend them without restriction. Quite often the knees are slightly lopsided (it is popularly said that the legs resemble the letter X), but flat feet are much less visible. Usually, after examining the child, the pediatrician orders additional tests: blood count, ESR and general urine test. The results of these analyzes are usually within the normal range. And then the doctor tells you to do the so-called ASO test, i.e. blood analysis determining the amount of antibodies to streptolysin O. This test is used, among others, to distinguish rheumatic fever from rheumatic arthritis. Doctors regularly order its performance, although it has no significant diagnostic value and in most cases it is positive (it shows over 200 contractual units). Then the child is referred to a rheumatologist, which most often frightens the parents. The presented symptoms do not herald any disease. An elevated ASO titer only indicates a recent or current streptococcal infection (e.g. pharyngitis, angina, chronic tonsillitis or tooth decay).

Stress pains in children

Leg pains,which children often complain about, are typically overload. And that means they are not permanent. They only make themselves known at the greater levelthe child's physical activity. No wonder that he complains about them in the evening, after a long day of walking, jogging, roller skating, boarding or cycling. However, they are not accompanied by symptoms typical of inflammation (e.g. edema, erythema, increased ESR) and disappear even after a short rest. Small deviations in the structure of a child's legs, such as valgus knee joints, cause uneven distribution of loads in the joint and can significantly aggravate these ailments.

Important

Although many children suffer from overload pains, they are mainly complained of by those who are oversensitive and a bit spoiled. Sometimes they signal even a slight pain to attract the attention of those around them when they feel neglected, rejected, terrified by the situation at home or at school. Then it is often enough for mom or dad to devote more time to the child, talk to him cordially, rub his knee and … everything passes, when he took his hand away.

Growing pains in children

Stress pains are often accompanied by the so-called growing pains. The child usually grows by leaps and bounds, from time to time for a few centimeters. And it is during such a "jump up" or just before it, the discomfort intensifies. Why do you feel pain especially during a night's rest? Probably because growth hormone (HGH) is secreted by the pituitary gland mainly at night. Then the surrounding periosteum simply cannot keep up with the baby's growing bones too quickly. Expanded from the inside, it reacts with more or less pain.
To make sure whether it is really growing pains, it is worth checking the child's level of alkaline phosphatase in the blood serum With this type of pain, it is usually significantly increased (over 110 contractual units).
Although the growing leg pains are not a result of any disease, they can be extremely annoying for the child. Pain relief ointment (e.g. arcalen) for joints is also beneficial, taking a calcium supplement with vitamin D3 (e.g. vitrum calcium) for several weeks. try to limit the child's physical activity. It may be a certain consolation for parents and children that the same ailments disappear after a growth jump. Unfortunately, they appear with the next one.

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