5 year old complains of shin pain

[Madders]

My daughter is 5 years old, and complains of shin pain 2 or 3 times a week. It seems to always be before bed, and it seems to get worse when she stretches her legs out. Sometimes it's both legs, but usually just one.

She doesn't have pain in her calf or upper legs, just the shins.

I'll be making a dr. appointment for her, but I was wondering if anyone else has had a child experience this?

[californiajenn]

I would guess she needs more supportive shoes. My dd wears well made shoes but it often given cheaper shoes from relatives. She ALWAYS gets rid of them with a couple weeks b/c her shins hurt.

[Madders]

Her shoes seem to be well made (stride rite and nike). My DD has extremely skinny legs and is very active. She has had a few serious bumps and bruises on her shins that I did not get checked out. Now I'm worried that she might have a lasting injury from those.

[kjbrown92]

As odd as it is, my DS used to complain of leg pain (lower leg) when he was 5 or 6yo, which the doctor said was "growing pains". Turned out to be a symptom of dairy intolerance.

Is she pigeon toed? Because that could also do it.

[JessicaS]

It sounds like shin splints.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/shin-splints/DS00271

[Skim]

Originally Posted by kjbrown92

As odd as it is, my DS used to complain of leg pain (lower leg) when he was 5 or 6yo, which the doctor said was "growing pains". Turned out to be a symptom of dairy intolerance.

Is she pigeon toed? Because that could also do it.

I'm very interested in this. Do you have any informative links you could share so I could research it further? TIA.

[karliyanchus]

my son complained of leg pain and the doc said it was growing pains. he said the muscles to strengthen and stretch were the ones used in bike riding, and it was funny, my son had recieved a new bike that morning! after he did alot of riding over the next couple weeks the pains went away.

a hot water bottle at night helped alleviate the pain.

[flg mama]

My almost 3 yo son has been complaining of a "tummy ache in his knees" so cute. I just started babysitting for two kids and he is so busy running around with them. Usually around dinner time he crashes and gets whiny and overtired and thats when his legs hurt. It has actually kept him (and me of course) awake 3 times in the last couple of weeks. I massaged his legs with a little arnica cream and lavender oil and eventually still had to give him children's motrin. I was also considering if it might be caused in part by a nutrient deficiency or a food intolerance. I used to get "growing pains" as a child too though and did not have any food intolerances that my mom knew of.

[aspenleaves]

I too would guess growing pains. My dd has them and so do some of our friends... I am interested in the diary intolerance link too.... I wouldn't guess this is the case with every case of growing pains, but maybe there is a link. Personally unless there is an issue with other things related to her legs I would not go see the doctor/ but I guess there isn't much I would go see the doctor for anyway.

[FrannieP]

Since you're going to the doctor anyway it may be worth testing Vitamin d levels. My niece (8 yrs) had shin pains that her said may have been due in part to her levels being too low - (she was VERY deficient nearly to the point of Rickets!)
My sil says she's doing better but it took nearly 6 mos of vit d3 supps.
fp

[Jenaka]

My DD (5 also) has "growing pains" on a weekly basis. It usually flares up after a long day playing, especially running around on hard surfaces. I used to have them alot as a kid, as did my dad. Must be a hereditary thing. That's interesting about the dairy, although DD doesn't consume much dairy anyway. She also takes a calcium/vit D supplement daily which seems to help. It certainly wouldn't hurt to see your Dr. At least give you some peace of mind. Good luck!

[SuburbanHippie]

My 6yo had terrible leg pains during bedtime when she was 5. We attributed it to growing pains because there was nothing physically wrong with her and growing pains are typically at night.

If you have a warm rice sock, that can help. We got rid of our microwave during this time so we started using a heating pad instead (even though that made me nervous for some reason).

The dairy intolerance really makes me wonder though. I have 2 milk intolerant kids (10yo, 4yo). They both get diarrhea from it. My 6yo also had bad allergies last winter which made her almost constantly sick. I wonder now if she is also milk intolerant. Oh man, she is a real milk-lover too.

[kjbrown92]

I don't know that it's specifically linked to milk intolerance. Maybe it can be any food. My DS happened to be intolerant to milk but I believed the doctor who said it was growing pains. But Motrin didn't help. And one night I gave him gripe water, which is for stomach issues, and within 5 minutes, he was asleep. It was quite bizarre. And then I took milk back out of his diet (he'd been intolerant as an infant) and they disappeared. I've trialed it on him a couple times since and the leg pain always comes back. I just wanted to throw it in as a possibility because most people wouldn't think of it.

My DD1 is pigeon toed, and he said during adolescence she'd have pains in her shins because of it. She hasn't had them yet though and she's 12. So I am waiting for shin pain in her.

[happyh]

I know this is an old thread, but I came across it in my search, and it's been very helpful.  My daughter's 5 and she keeps telling me that her leg hurts, and when I ask her where it hurts she runs her finger along her shin from her ankle to her knee.  I wasn't sure if it was a pulled muscle, but it happens frequently and seems to go on and off.  Also sometimes it's her right shin and sometimes her left.  She has loads of energy and does run around a lot, at school and at home.  I have shin pains myself now, but I don't remember having them when I was young.  So I'm wondering if it's something she's inherited from me, or if it's growing pains.

I'm interested in the bike suggestion.  She has a bike that she doesn't ride nearly enough, so I think I'll take her on more bike rides.

Thanks for the interesting information. :)