Why do I have severe leg pain at night?

Many children have told their parents about their nighttime leg pain. When parents hear about their children’s leg pain, they will take them to the hospital for examination. However, sometimes the cause of the children’s nighttime leg pain cannot be found out at all. In fact, if a child has leg pain at night, it may be caused by growth and development. The following will give parents a detailed introduction to why children have severe leg pain at night and what the main symptoms are.

1. Growing pains in children

Growing pains are a physiological phenomenon unique to children's growth and development period, and are more common in children aged 3 to 12 years old with normal growth and development. It refers to pain around the knee joint or the front of the calf in children. There is no history of trauma to these areas, the activities are normal, and there is no redness, swelling or tenderness in the local tissues. After the examination, the possibility that the child had other diseases was ruled out, and it could be considered as "growing pains".

2. Causes of growing pains

So far, there is no conclusive evidence that growth is painful in children. In daily life, children's running, climbing, jumping and other movements may put pressure on their musculoskeletal system and may also cause pain. Doctors usually diagnose growing pains based on your child's symptoms and the results of a physical examination. In some cases, your doctor may also do blood tests, X-rays, or other diagnostic tests to determine the cause of your child's leg pain.

① Rapid bone growth

Children, especially those aged 3 to 6, have rapidly growing bones, but the nerves, tendons, and muscles around the bones grow relatively slowly, thus causing pulling pain.

②Accumulation of metabolites

If children are overly active during the day, or if there are too many metabolic products in their tissues during their development and they cannot be excreted and cleared quickly, it will cause the accumulation of acidic metabolic products, resulting in muscle soreness.

③ Tibial inward curvature

When young children begin to learn to walk, the tibia of their lower legs is more bent. In order to adapt to this phenomenon, the human body will compensate by developing a certain degree of knee valgus. As the body grows, most children will gradually correct these two temporary deformities, tibial inward curvature and knee valgus, by relying on the strength of their leg muscles. However, in a few cases where these deformities are not corrected in time, the leg muscles must always be kept tense in order to maintain joint stability, resulting in pain.

3. Main symptoms of growing pains

Growing pains mainly manifest as intermittent pain in the lower limbs. The pain is mostly dull pain, but can also be stabbing pain, or even severe pulling pain. The pain is usually in the knee joint, followed by the thigh and calf, or in the front of the calf bone. The pain occurs intermittently at irregular intervals, often at night, lasting from a few minutes to a few hours, without migratory nature, and without restriction of limb movement.

①Many symptoms include pain in the lower limbs

Growing pains commonly occur in the front of the knees, calves, thighs, and occasionally in the groin area, and the pain is usually felt outside the joints. Typically the pain is bilateral, but unilateral pain may also occur.

②Mostly manifested as muscle pain

Growing pains are primarily muscle pain, not joint or bone pain. There will be no redness, swelling or heat in the painful area.

③ Growing pains often occur at night

The biggest characteristic of growing pains is that they almost always occur at night. During the day, children are more active, so even if they feel uncomfortable, they may not notice it because they are focused on other things. When the body and mind have relaxed at night and are ready to have a good rest, the "pain" symptoms will make the child feel particularly uncomfortable or even unbearable.

How to treat growing pains

The most important thing for treating growing pains is to rest in time. If your child has knee or calf pain after school, don't force him or her to do more exercise. In addition, before going to bed, you can soak your child's feet in hot water. If the pain is severe, you can perform local massage, hot compress, apply wind oil or take painkillers, or take vitamin C in appropriate amounts. When children are not tired, they should be encouraged to participate in more activities and exercise their muscle strength to promote the natural correction of tibial inward curvature.

①Many symptoms include pain in the lower limbs

Growing pains commonly occur in the front of the knees, calves, thighs, and occasionally in the groin area, and the pain is usually felt outside the joints. Typically the pain is bilateral, but unilateral pain may also occur.

②Mostly manifested as muscle pain

Growing pains are primarily muscle pain, not joint or bone pain. There will be no redness, swelling or heat in the painful area.

③ Growing pains often occur at night

The biggest characteristic of growing pains is that they almost always occur at night. During the day, children are more active, so even if they feel uncomfortable, they may not notice it because they are focused on other things. When the body and mind have relaxed at night and are ready to have a good rest, the "pain" symptoms will make the child feel particularly uncomfortable or even unbearable.

5. How to treat growing pains

The most important thing for treating growing pains is to rest in time. If your child has knee or calf pain after school, don't force him or her to do more exercise. In addition, before going to bed, you can soak your child's feet in hot water. If the pain is severe, you can perform local massage, hot compress, apply wind oil or take painkillers, or take vitamin C in appropriate amounts. When children are not tired, they should be encouraged to participate in more activities and exercise their muscle strength to promote the natural correction of tibial inward curvature.

6. Beware of other "pain" diseases

Pain that has an uncertain pain point and is relieved after rest is generally more likely to be "growing pains", which usually occur intermittently. If the pain is caused by disease, tumor or inflammation, it will generally manifest as pain in a fixed area, persistent pain and paroxysmal aggravation. Taking medication will temporarily relieve the pain. The first symptom of many malignant tumors is persistent night pain. Therefore, you must be alert to the following situations that are most easily mistaken for "growing pains."