Leg Pain in Children

It is quite common for growing children to face the symptoms of leg pain at some point in their lives. Sports injuries and malnutrition are the most common causes. Pain in the legs needs to be taken seriously as it may bring on other more complicated medical problems such as paralysis. The below-mentioned information on leg pain in children will certainly help you in protecting the sound health of your child.

Causes of Leg Pain in Children

• Damage to bones, muscles and joints due to falling or twisting injuries is the foremost cause of leg pain in children.
• Inflammation of sciatic nerve due to arthritis, muscle spasm, herniated disc or injury in the back cause leg pain in children that can further radiate down to lower portions of the legs.
• Fracturing of the leg bone is another reason for mild to severe leg pain in children. It is generally symptomized as the pain that arises in the nerve endings present in the lining of the bone. The surrounding muscles develop spasm that further intensifies the pain. Read more on different different types of bone fractures.
• Traumas may cause bleeding in tissues and joints. The swelling due to the presence of blood increases pressure in that particular region of the leg and causes severe leg pain in children.
• Occurrence of sprain, i.e. stretching of ligament fibers and strain, i.e. stretching of muscles and tendons are other common causes of pain in the legs of children.
• Formation of blood clot in the arteries responsible for blood supply to the legs by any sort of physical blow, results in poor circulation of blood. This causes leg pain in children at night, day, or any other time. More on leg pain at night.
• Poor circulation in legs due to constricted blood vessels causes leg pain in children while walking. This is because, while walking, the legs require more oxygen for the muscles. Since sufficient amount of blood is not available to the legs, pain in the legs arises.
• Leg pain in children may also be caused by peripheral neuropathy. It is described as the inflammation of those nerves that are not associated with the spinal cord. This can be triggered by nerve irritation.
• Chronic medical illnesses such as cancer, vitamin and mineral (potassium and calcium) deficiencies can affect nerves controlling the movement of legs. This is a common cause of leg pain in children at night.
• Other causes of leg pain in children include inflammation of hip joints, physical stress causing damage to growth plates, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and rheumatoid fever.

Home Treatments for Leg Pain in Children

• Massage your kid's legs with warm olive oil every night. This will provide him/her comfort from leg pain.
• Ask your child to perform exercises for sciatica leg pain if sciatic nerve problem is the reason behind his/her leg pain.
• Take mustard oil and camphor in the ratio of 20:1. Mix them well by heating. Massage your child's leg with this mixture. It is very effective for treating severe leg pain in children with fever.
• Ibuprofen will give temporary relief from leg pain in children. This is taken when the pain is not constant and has occurred suddenly. This will ease both lower and upper leg pain in children.
• Soak your kid's legs in warm water mixed with a little amount of salt for 15-20 minutes daily. It will bring comfort within a week's time.
• Make your child wear appropriate foot wears, especially when he/she is going to have a long day of walking or standing.
• Standing in a position in which the body's weight is unequally distributed on both the legs can give rise to leg pain. Check out your kid's posture of standing.

More on leg pain: causes, symptoms and treatments and pain management. By trying out the above given home treatments for leg pain in children, your child should start feeling better in a couple of weeks. If he/she does not, you need to consult a pediatrician for the necessary medical intervention.