From children, you can often hear complaints of pain in the knee. It can be a sign of a serious illness. Indeed, in addition to SARS and indigestion, there are many other diseases. Therefore, it is important to monitor the manifestation of even the smallest symptoms that bother the child. Because they may be a sign of a more serious illness. Why does a child have knees hurt? This question cannot be answered unequivocally. Since there are many causes of pain in the knee joints .
For most children, knee pain is not a sign of illness. With age, it passes. But still there are inflammatory diseases of the knee joints or systemic arthritis in children. If the disease is detected in a timely manner and treated consistently, success in therapy is guaranteed.
Sometimes the child may miss the attention of the parent. Therefore, complaining of knee pain, he may need parental involvement. Often children pretend to be pain, because they lack parental affection, especially this constantly occurs in preschool age. If so, then usually pain occurs when parents are busy with something and do not pay attention to the child. If he plays or is busy talking with other children, then discomfort usually does not bother him.
Rapid growth and Osgood-Schlatter disease
The child has a knee pain at night or before bedtime. Usually this affects older preschoolers or adolescents. This is due to the fact that during this period the child grows rapidly, and, therefore, his bones also grow. In such cases, the pain affects not only the knee, but also the lower leg. Osgood-Schlatter disease manifests itself in similar symptoms when there is no inflammation in the joint, and after a few months it disappears.
What causes pain?
There are various factors that provoke knee pain. We will consider them now:
- Increased activity throughout the day.
- The intensity of movements, especially during sports, can also lead to knee pain. In obese children, this happens more often. Because the load on the joints is higher.
- When there is an overload of the knee joints, the pain will remain the next day.
- After a fall or injury, a fracture or crack in the knee joint is possible. At the same time, the knee swells, swells, the child complains of severe pain, it becomes impossible to move the leg.
- If the elastic cartilage has displaced or damaged, then mobility will be constantly limited.
- With tumors, osteomyelitis and other joint pathologies, the childās knees also hurt. What to do in such cases, only the doctor will say. In this case, examination and monitoring may also be required.
Other causes of pain
The most common reason why a childās knee hurts is injury. Moreover, even the simplest can entail serious consequences. After all, children's joints and bones are very fragile.
If there is inflammation or damage to the knee joint, the child will also feel pain. This may be the initial stage of arthritis that occurred after a fall or injury. When the baby falls, it can hit a hard surface, and this blow will be enough to cause inflammation or trauma to the knee joint. The trigger for arthritis can be an infectious disease such as tonsillitis (tonsillitis).
Arthritis
If the childās red knees show swelling in their area, these are the first manifestations of acute arthritis. Juvenile arthritis can be dangerous because the symptoms of this disease do not appear immediately. Moreover, there may not be any obvious inflammation.
It can all start with the fact that the childās knee hurts when he wakes up in the morning or goes up the stairs. This disease can be diagnosed only after an X-ray examination and blood donation for several types of tests. After this, adequate treatment can be prescribed.
This disease can occur when the immune system is weakened, and its causes have not been fully investigated. But there is an opinion, however, not confirmed by anything, that the development of the disease can provoke preventive vaccinations.
Congenital pathologies and neuritis
If the pathologies of the development of the joints are congenital, then the pain in them during movement can become constant. When the ligamentous apparatus slowly develops, it interferes with walking, and the childās knee hurts constantly. Therefore, you need to consult with a traumatologist and surgeon. Also, the cause of pain can be neuritis, that is, when the nerve is pinched or inflamed. If this happened, then you need to contact a neurologist.
Rubbing and massage
How to treat knee pain? More experienced parents who have been through this know that nighttime complaints of pain in the knees will help rubbing with a warming ointment. Suitable, for example, "Asterisk" or "Doctor Mom." You can also do massage with warm hands. This will bring relief and help the child sleep peacefully.
A fall or a blow may result in a rupture or sprain, which will be characterized by pain. How to treat knees after such incidents? The knee is fixed with an elastic bandage. You also need to contact a trauma center for advice from a trauma surgeon.
How to treat knee pain? With motor activity in a teenager, pain under the knee can begin unexpectedly and for no reason. This may be a manifestation of Osgood-Schlatter disease, a small massage will help here.
Acute Arthritis Treatment
If the child has a knee pain, and, in addition, swelling, redness, and high fever have occurred, this suggests that inflammation is manifested, and you should definitely visit a doctor.
Treatment for acute arthritis should be started immediately. Usually prescribed medications that relieve inflammation, and compresses with Dimexidum. The child needs rest, vitamins and drink. The joint must be controlled. You also need to fix any manifestations of arthritis.
Knee joint: causes of pain in it
To determine why a childās knee hurts, you need to know how the joint itself works. Between the upper and lower bones of the knee are two discs (meniscus). They share these bones. Ligaments, tendons and muscles hold the bones of the thigh and lower leg together. And the cartilage tissue covers the surface of the bones inside the knee joint. It is necessary to absorb shock and provide a sliding surface so that there is no pain during movement.
So why can a child have a knee pain? Due to the fact that there was an injury or infection spread to this area. But sprain can heal without the intervention of doctors after a certain period of time.
Knee structures (cartilage, tendons, periarticular bags) may be damaged. And it will cause knee pain. Also, such discomfort will be present if various knee structures are damaged.
Pay attention to complaints
Often, because of solving their problems, parents do not pay attention to the complaints of the child, which can lead to such a dangerous disease as chronic arthritis. It can cause damage to joints, heart, eyes and lungs. Therefore, a timely visit to a doctor will not only allow you to cure the child, but also save his life.
To date, a disease such as arthrosis is often detected at the age of 20, and osteochondrosis at 30. Therefore, any complaints from a child can frighten parents even more. Especially if there is no apparent reason for them.
Overvoltage
So why can knee pain occur? If there was a long walk or very intense physical education, then perhaps there was an excessive load on the body, in particular on the joints. On the area where the pain appeared, you need to wind an elastic bandage.
If such symptoms recur, you need to carefully select the load for the child. In this case, all factors should be taken into account: overweight, and flat feet, etc.
Ligament injury
How to treat knees during trauma and deformation of joints and ligaments? First you need to pay a visit to a traumatologist who, after an X-ray, will determine the severity of damage to the knee joint. Before that, you need to fix the leg so that it has as little load as possible.
Little conclusion
Now you know the reasons why a child may have pain in the knee. As you may have noticed, these can be serious diseases. Therefore, at the first complaints of the baby, it is better to take him to the doctor and make a diagnosis in order to exclude the presence of serious pathologies. After all, at the initial stage it is easier to cure a particular disease.