UCB Parents Health & Medical Advice
Leg Pains
Advice and recommendations from the UCB Parents mailing list.
This page is brought to you by UC Berkeley Parents Network
Back to Health, Medical, & Dental Advice
April 1999
Every week or two, our 8 year old daughter has leg/foot/hand pain.
Last night she woke up 4 times with pain--first it was her right leg,
then her left leg, then her right foot, and finally her right hand.
She is a very heavy sleeper, so I imagine the pain was quite intense
for it to wake her up. She has been unable to give us a description
of what kind of pain (e.g. sharp, throbbing, achey)it is. We didn't
give her Tylenol last night, but we have in the past and it seems to
help. We've talked to the pediatrician about this and she didn't have
anything definitive to say about it. A couple of theories are:
these are growing pains (although it's the joints that are supposed
to hurt, and our daughter's joints don't hurt); leg cramps due to
dehydration or too much strenuous activity. I would appreciate hearing
from other parents who have children experiencing any of these symptoms.
Thank you.
Just an idea: I remember my best friend growing up had leg pains a lot,
and we used to rub her legs with oil of wintergreen, which is
over-the-counter available at pharmacies. She did not have joint
pain either. She called them "legaches"! Good luck!
When I was about 6 years old, I experienced aches and pains in my legs.
Although I don't remember what time of day they would occur most often,
I do remember they bothered me quite a bit. Probably within a year of
when these aches first occurred, I was tested for food allergies and
found that I was allergic to cow's milk. My parents stopped giving me
milk, which I quickly lost my taste for, and put me on calcium
supplements and the pains went away. Up until my late twenties, if I
ever drank more than 8 oz. of milk, I would still get the same kind of
leg aches. Also, I would only have this
reaction from drinking milk, not from eating dairy products like cheese
or ice cream. I still have other allergic reactions to milk (sinus
problems), but the leg aches are finally gone. I know this sounds kind
of weird, and I've never heard of anybody else having the same kind of
reaction, but this might be a theory to explore.
My eleven-year old son complained of his legs and ankles hurting so I
started giving him chewable vitamin B-12 which my doctor had adviced I
take as part of treatment for my occassional leg cramps, headheaches and
iron absorption problems. He has not complained of the leg pains for
the past few months since he has taken the B-12 in the morning with his
chewable daily vitamin and breakfast.
My son had pains also, mostly in his legs (not specifically the joints).
We went so far as to have them x-rayed. Nothing. Normal. His doctor
decided they were growing pains, so we all stopped worrying about them.
They'd come and go and now have gone for good.
I'd suggest a couple of home remedies if your doctor can also find no
cause for your child's pains: try a heating pad with him in bed at
night. Or try ice packs. Try one of those stretchy bandages. (These
plus a bandaid cure a lot of aches and pains!) Good luck.
The opinions and statements expressed on this page
are those of parents who belong to the
UC Berkeley Parents Network and
should not be taken as a position of or endorsement by the
University of California, Berkeley.