Waking at night crying and saying her legs and feet are really sore

V - posted on 10/18/2012

I know this post is old but just incase someone comes across this now with the same problem you should know that what is considered "growing pains" is not something that occurs every night.



Do some research on it and know that not all doctors know everything and you shouldn't be afraid to question them or show them your research. Someone has to take a stand for your childs health.



If your little one is having pain every night/day etc.. they probably need to see a rheumatologist.



My son is 2 years old right now and he has had problems with leg pains since he was about 1 year old. I shrugged it off as growing pains for a while not knowing any better but when he started limping (only a few times) and waking up still hurting I knew something was wrong.



His doctor says that it doesn't sound like growing pains (and I wish I would have asked sooner). She did some blood work and x-rays which have all come back normal so we are taking him to a rheumatologist next month.



Here are some links you can check out:



http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/growing...



http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth...



http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/200...

Shaun - posted on 07/27/2011

My daughter is also going through pains in her feet. I also had this as a child I remember it vividly and it was very uncomfortable. She tells me that it doesn't hurt during the day when she is playing only when she is at rest sitting or laying down. It is not always at night when she is sleeping. I will try the bananas and warm soaks in a foot bath with a little Motrin and see if that works. :-) Will post an update!

Lorna - posted on 06/27/2011

Hi Charlotte.....Its 10 pm & my 7yr old son has just gone to sleep after crying with leg & foot pain for 2 hours. A friend brought me round a tube of BioFreeze Pain Relieving Gel which I massaged in & it done the trick. This can be used on kids aged 2 & over. Peace at last.....Ive been the shoe specialist route & have diagnosed 'growing pains' myself. Stick the kettle on love.....im whacked out from the stress of it!! lol.....good luck with your daughter :)

Rachel - posted on 11/21/2010

Hi Charolette-- so sorry your daughter is going through this. Sounds like "growing pains"..I had them as a kid and I do remember them. My mom would give me warm milk and rub my legs for me. Maybe you could give her a low dose of ibuprofen, which is an anti-inflammatory, so if there is inflammation because of the rate of growth, that could help. Massage is also excellent, maybe you could make it a bedtime ritual. You should be sure to use a hypo-allergenic massage oil so not to irritate her skin, and I'd stay away from the "warming" ones at first, unless it seems to help the pain.

Sara - posted on 11/20/2010

could be a potassium deficiency. my youngest complains at night about her leg hurting, and i can almost always pinpoint the nights that it will be. and actually there is alot of juice that is high in potassium.

Sarah - posted on 11/16/2010

My three year old has been going through leg pains...I have found that vitamins, and lots of fresh fruit with potassium and magnisum help. Also, if the aches are bad childrens motrin always helps.

Carly - posted on 11/15/2010

Is she running around a lot during the day? My son was getting terrible leg cramps at night, and so I started giving him some orange juice or a banana before bed and he's back to sleep now!

Christy - posted on 11/08/2010

Keep her hydrated with water (NOT JUICE) and massage her legs when they hurt. My 3 y/o is going through this now and it's leg cramps for him, I feel his leg muscles and they are wound up tight. I massage them for about 10 minutes and he feels a lot better.

Katherine - posted on 11/07/2010

My 5 yo complains of the same thing. It's usually in the middle of the night. She comes running into my room telling me her little legs hurt. I give her ibuprofen and put her back to bed. Growing pains are very painful and they could be shin splints too. I remember as a child having my legs ache. Kids are very hard on their bodies when they play. I would believe her, she isn't making it up.

Heather - posted on 11/06/2010

My oldest has been battling nighttime legpain since he was about 2 1/2. At first i thought it was growing pains but lasted too long (he is 7 now). After going to a bunch of specialist (ortho, pt, ot, looked for arthritis, etc) everything checked out fine but he continued to have issues. he also is not an attention getter and the problems would be when he was really sleepy or sleeping.. We have figured out it is probably restless leg syndrom. That being siad if you don't think it has been going on long then i would vote for growing pains. Maybe try putting arnica on them when they are sore, that works really well for my kids. Also i found that motrine works better then tylonal, i think cuz it is antiinflamitory. ALso make sure she is getting really good nutrition, lots of fruits and veggies. Good luck, it is prob temporary

Sarah - posted on 11/04/2010

I went through that as a child. I would wake up almost every night with leg pains so bad that I would be crying. My mom would often times have me sit in a warm bath (which did help) or take some Tylenol. We calked them up to "growing pains". But as I have gotten older I have noticed that if I wear shoes that don't have much of an arch or the arch in the shoe is high then I will get the leg pains at night. As I have started to do more running/walking I have done some research on shoes and have learned tons about arches and feet. The shoes you are buying are probably good shoes, but depending on her feet it might not be the right arch for her foot, which then causes her pain latter on. I would take her to the foot specialist and just see what they say. It could be nothing and then you are really not out anything. You just know that that is not the cause of the pain. If she does need inserts or the arch in her shoes are causing her pain it is always nice to know that sooner then later. You will be able to get more rest at night and she will not be in pain. Ironiclly my parents did take my sister to the foot specialist when she had lots of leg and foot pains and they found out that she is flat footed. She wears inserts in her shoes to help. They did look at my feet, but they do have an arch....I just have to becareful when getting shoes that I don't buy ones that have a high arch as this then puts preassure in spots that ends up hurting my feet in the long run.

Charlotte - posted on 11/04/2010

Thanks to all the responses. I really appreciate it x

Brianne - posted on 11/03/2010

It might be an attention thing, it might be growing pains, it might be something else all together. It probably wouldn't hurt to take her in for the check up. It's not likely anything serious, but if someone could help you figure it out, or just how to deal with it, it would be her pediatrician!

Tricia - posted on 11/03/2010

Are they hurting at night when she is in bed or while being active? I believe that "growing pains" are typically felt at rest. If she is feeling 'pins and needles' pain, that could be a sign of nerve involvement. I had collapsible arches growing up but they never caused me pain in my legs--however, they can cause knee problems, hip probelms, etc. I would get charlie horses in my arches at night when I was asleep. My wet footprints looked different than normal b/c my entire arch hit the ground. My foot looked normal other than when there was weight on it b/c the tendon that supports the arch was not strong/tight enough.

You might start with a podiatrist to rule out any foot issues and he/she can also check for any misalignment in the spine or unevenness in the length of the legs.

Hope this helps.

Ashley - posted on 11/03/2010

I went through that when i was a child it was growing pains i would wake up in the night and be bawling my mom took me to the ER a couple time's but the pains go away in time. My mom used to give me warm milk and that helped not sure why lol but it did it was incredibly painful also effected my back i still have scares from growing so fast. I would give her a low does of Tylenol when she wakes up with some milk after making sure it is growing pains.