Joint and Bone Pain in Kids : Causes, Symptoms and Treatments

Joint Pain and bone pain in Kids: When to Worry?

“While Pain in Joints is commonly reported by children, knowing when to worry is essential to ensure little children don’t suffer with serious conditions in silence.”

Children can complain of joint pains very often, they are physically active and most pains are not serious and are a part of growing pains. However, at times this pain can be continuous or repetitive and present with other symptoms. This could be a sign of a serious underlying condition and warrants timely consultation with a pediatrician and pediatric rheumatologist for timely diagnosis and treatment.

What causes Joint and bone pain in Children?

Joint and Bone Pain in Kids : Causes, Symptoms and Treatments

Joint pain in children can be caused by many simple or serious conditions as mentioned below:

• Growing pains: This is the most common cause of pain in children. As the name suggests these pains are a part of growth. Since children, especially between the ages of 3-10 are very active they can get growing pains very commonly. Such pain presents in the evening and night and goes away by the morning. Most commonly affects the legs of the child. In some cases, the pain can be severe and cramp-like, and may even wake the child up from sleep. However, it is important to note that it has no other accompanying symptoms.

These are not worrisome. Massaging, heat application, analgesia in severe cases can help in the resolution of this pain.

• Infections: Infections can be a common cause of joint and bone pain in children. These often result from viral illnesses like the flu, common cold, or other viral infections like dengue or chikungunya . Join pains in this condition, known as viral arthritis are transient and mild. It may cause pain and stiffness in the joints that last for a few days to a couple of weeks and generally resolves on its own or might need supportive therapy.

Some cases of bacterial infection, known as septic arthritis or osteomyelitis can cause severe joint pain, swelling, and warmth along with  This is a medical emergency and warrants prompt diagnosis and treatment to prevent any joint damage.

• Injuries: Injuries are a frequent cause of joint pain in children. Acute injuries, such as sprains, strains, or fractures, usually result from falls, direct blows, or sudden twists and can cause immediate pain, swelling, and limited movement in the affected joint. A sprain is the stretching or tearing of ligaments, while a strain affects muscles or tendons around the joint.

Acute injuries present with acute and obvious symptoms and require immediate attention for proper healing.

• Hypermobility Syndrome: Some children may have hypermobile joints. These are joints that move beyond the normal range of motion. Children with hypermobility often experience joint pain after physical activities, as their joints are more prone to stretching beyond the normal range of motion, causing discomfort and sometimes chronic pain.
• Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis and Autoimmune diseases: As soon as one hears the term Arthritis, they associate it with old age. But unfortunately, children too can be affected by the diseases of the joint. Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis is one such disease that affects the joints of children and can be a cause of joint pain. JIA is an autoimmune condition and can affect the joints in any part of the body. It is a long-lasting condition and requires specific treatment by a Pediatric Rheumatologist.

Joint pain in this condition is associated with a variety of other symptoms, including, swelling of joints, morning stiffness in joints, change in gait including limping in children, restricted joint movement, fever and  rash. Other autoimmune diseases manifesting as arthritis in children include systemic lupus erythematosus, Henoch schonlein purpura, Kawasaki disease, etc.

• Hematological problems: Some children may develop joint swelling immediately after a trivial trauma or injury because of an underlying bleeding disorder. In some children, with bone pains, night pains causing awakening, night cries, a serious condition such as leukemia could be the cause.

What should alert a parent to see a doctor for Joint Pain in children

Joint and Bone Pain in Kids : Causes, Symptoms and Treatments

Apart from injuries, a parent should visit a doctor for joint pain in case they notice any of the symptoms listed below in their children:

• Swelling of joint
• Early morning stiffness or Joint stiffness and pain that is worse after rest
• Change in gait
• Limping
• Restricted joint movements
• Fever
• Rashes
• Night pains with child waking up in the middle of night
• Bleeding tendencies- ex- bruises/ red spots on skin
• Loss of appetite
• Weight loss
• Persistent joint pain

What to expect when visiting the Doctor?

Identification of the cause of joint pain is the first step to treating it. A detailed physical examination, history, and medical tests including scans or blood tests may be required for a child. After the initial examination, the general pediatrician may refer the child to a pediatric subspecialist depending on the presenting condition. Joint conditions can be addressed by a pediatric rheumatologist and immunologist or pediatric orthopedic surgeon depending on the cause of pain. While fractures and injuries will be addressed by the latter, a pediatric rheumatologist and immunologist diagnoses and treats conditions like arthritis in children.

Treatment for joint pain can vary from simple medications to long-term treatment depending on the presenting condition.

Joint pains in children though common, can be due to serious underlying conditions at times. Parents should not ignore the subtle signs of joint pain in their children and make sure to consult a pediatrician and pediatric rheumatologist in case of any doubt. Early diagnosis and treatment are essential to help children stay free of unwanted disabilities, deformities and complications.