Growing Pains Or Growing Problem? 4 Points To Know About Childhood Knee Pain

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The complaint about a sore knee from your child may not warrant further attention at first glance. After all, children, particularly those who play sports, often complain about aches and pains as they grow up. But, if the complaint is coming up often enough to trigger the concern alarm of your radar, it is time to look more closely at what is causing the problem. Here are four details you need to know about knee pain in children.

Overuse of the Knee

It is wonderful when a child embraces a sport as this promotes both physical and mental well-being. However, all sports can lead to an overuse problem over time, particularly if they are repetitive such as baseball pitching, ballet, or swimming.

The reason why children suffer from overuse symptoms more than adults is because an adult has finished their growth cycle, but a child's body is still a work in progress. The bones may grow faster than the ligaments and tendons, or vice versa, and this could cause an injury because the knee is still being put under pressure while playing sports.

Most of these injuries can be treated through a combination of rest, and pain relief medication.

Muscle Strength Imbalance

When a child only plays one type of sport throughout the whole year, they put continuous stress on the same muscles, and joints every day. While you might think you are doing the right thing because your child is at least getting physical activity, this repetition could be the reason behind the knee pain.

When an athlete trains, they alternate the muscle groups they focus on each day to make sure that all muscle groups develop at the same pace. If they did not, then a muscle strength imbalance would occur as one group of muscles is stronger than the rest.

Try enrolling your child in two or three seasonal activities. Not only will you promote overall body health, but you will also alleviate any mental boredom from occurring too.

Growth Disease

If your child's sport of choice is one that involves jumping or running, the knee pain they are experiencing could be Osgood-Schlatter disease. This disease is responsible for a painful lump forming behind the kneecap.

Because the disease delivers a variety of symptoms, it is best to have a medical professional diagnose this for you. There are some children who will only experience pain while they are playing sport, and a lower level of pain may be easily brushed aside as a mild sprain or strain.

If the knee appears red, swollen, or inflexible, then it is time to look at the problem more closely.

Daily Painkillers

While the taking of painkillers is one way to take the ouchies away, you should seek medical advice if the pain does not subside after two weeks. Long-term daily consumption of painkillers such as ibuprofen and acetaminophen can lead to:

Ibuprofen, for example, is used to reduce inflammation within the knee joint. Therefore if the pain is not subsiding, the cause of the inflammation needs to be investigated further.

If your pediatrician has particular concern about the knee pain your child is experiencing, you may be referred to an orthopedic doctor. Orthopedics is also known as the medicine for the bones. This specialist can help to determine what is causing the knee pain, and what the best course of remedy is.

Mother's intuition should always be relied on if your child's pain is causing you concern. The sooner you seek medical intervention for knee pain, the faster your child can return to being a happy, healthy kid who can run around with their friends.


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