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Night-time foot pain in children

Discussion in 'Ask your questions here' started by Unregistered, Jun 28, 2008.

  1. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest


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    Thank you for all the information. My 2-year old just started complaining of foot pain in the middle of the night, so bad that he couldn't sleep at all. Gave him some Motrin and massaged his feet and he finally settled down. We will closely monitor him and take him in to see the doctor if need be. Any more information or advice would be greatly appreciated.
     
  2. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    Thank God for the internet. My 9 y/0 daughter has been complaining of foot pain for years. It's always in one foot, at night, and very sporadic. She cries and describes the pain in her arch as the bone being cold. Not much really helps but we'll use warm socks, a heating pad, and/or ibuprofen. I will be looking for a podiatrist that has experience w/ Kohler's disease.
     
  3. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    My 7 year old daughter has had a history of bad leg pain at night from 3 years old til she was 6. Our doctor said it was growing pains. Now my 4 year old daughter often wakes with foot pain. We used to think she must be laying on it funny and cutting off the circulation. Recently we've wondered if her pajamas elastic near her ankle was too tight. She has suffered from night terrors in the past. I know someone else mentioned her daughter also had a history of night terrors. Her foot or feet hurt mostly at night but also occasionally during the day, like today. Sometimes I have to carry her because it hurts her too bad to walk on it but it never lasts all day. We have a podiatrist friend. I'll see what he has to say. Glad to find out that Kohler's disease is a possible answer.
     
  4. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    My daughter is 9 and has complained of foot pain at night since she could speak (about 18 months). It is somewhat random, but always at night. Sometimes one foot, sometimes both. It comes in spurts. I have asked pediatricians on several occasions and was just told "growing pains" or to just use tylenol.

    Yesterday I took her, for the first time, to a podiatrist. Her x-rays were completely normal but he noted that her plantar fascia was extremely tight, and felt that was the cause of her problems, plantar fasciitis. We are going to work on stretches and she is getting custom inserts for her shoes (her feet are too small for premade ones). We will see how it goes.
    mk
     
  5. morgansmum

    morgansmum New Member

    Hi
    My son is 2.5 years old.He has Torticollis ( wry neck) and has had stretching exercisies for this and he has come along way but his whole body is out of enlignment i think he may have scoliosis and also walks on his tip toes. He complains of his feet hurting, he screams with pain i was up with him for the best part of the night with him. It doesn't happen every night but it seems to be getting regular. I am so glad i have found this website its good to know i am not on my own.
    Mel
     
  6. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    Our 5 yr old seems to be having much the same as others have described. I'll have to ask about the cold sensation but he didn't say that yet. This is the first serious bout of it and I'm glad to find this information. We've already given him Motrin so hopefully that'll help.
    Interesting topic and thanks to all
     
  7. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    I have always had "growing pains". Thats what my mom always called them. My son recently has been waking up in the middle of the night or even after a nap and complains his feet hurt. Sometimes he says they are cold as well. If your foot has ever "fallen asleep" sometimes it will have a painful and cold sensation as it "wakes up". My chiropractor educated me on calcium citrate. Not enough calcium in our diet will cause muscle contractions. Charlie horse is a good example. Surprisingly milk does not offer the amount of calcium needed to fulfill our daily intake and supplements are often the case. Try calcium citrate not carbonate. Carbonate is a manufactored version and citrate is natural. I give my son multivitamins daily.
     
  8. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    My daughter (turned 3 recently) has had a few instances of leg pain, but tonight woke up crying about her feet hurting. We gave her ibuprofen, and rubbed her feet. I asked if it felt like lots of pokes all over her feet and she said yes, so it made me think of the "asleep" feeling, but it took a long time to go away. After reading some of this post I asked if her feet were warm or cold, she said warm.

    Now she was diagnosed over a year ago as having Internal Tibial Torsion (a twist in the tibia bone) and it causes her to walk toes in. The Orthopedic Pediatrician said it would correct itself by age 7 by encouraging sitting cross legged. Anyway, I'm wondering if any of the other children have leg bone concerns, or walk toed in as I'm wondering if this is a piece of it.
     
  9. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    My son is 3 years old and he also wakes up in the middle of the night in pain with his foot,
    Doctor said it was his shoes adidas, nike that was giving him the pain so we stopped putting those type of shoes on him but he is still in pain.
    I would just love to find out once and for all what the problem is, good luck with your little boy. xx
     
  10. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    My son is almost 4 years old and also developed foot pain with no history of injury. It is worse at night causing him to wake up crying, and is also relieved by motrin. As is turns out, his father and I are both physicians and I am an orthopedic surgeon. I brought him to a friend who is a pediatric orthopedist who believes this is Kohlers' and he is being treated in a walking boot. To offer another possibility for those whose kids do not have radiographic changes consistent with Kohlers' (collapse and sclerosis of the navicular bone), there is also an entity called osteoid osteoma. This is a small benign bone lesion (often less than 1 cm) that is tremendously painful, hurts more at night, and is reliably relieved with NSAIDS (motrin, etc.). The foot is not a common area and it is usually seen in the 10-20 year old range, but I have seen it in kids younger than 10. It usually resoves on its own in a couple of years but occasionally requires a procedure to remove it or a radiofrequency ablation in cases where the symptoms are intolerable. They are frequently visible on xrays but occasionally a CT is required to see them in smaller bones. Just a thought...
     
  11. FootDoc

    FootDoc New Member

    Thank you for, as you must have noted, one of the very few knowledgeable posts in this thread. I too, as well as I believe one or maybe two other posters suggested Kohler's as a reasonable possibility. I had also thought of osteoid osteoma, but discounted it in relation to the number of posts with this complaint due to, as you pointed out, its relative rarity in the foot and the fact that it appeared that most of the suffers were substantially below the age when one would generally see such a lesion.

    Thanks again for participating in a meaningful fashion,
     
  12. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    To the parents whose children also have other torsion and muscular problems--you might have your children checked for mild cerebral palsy. My daughter is having muscle cramps (though it is during the day and night) and it's from her CP. Of course, this affects other parts of the body besides the feet, but if it's not just the feet, you might consider this.
     
  13. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    Has anyone tried changing shoe brands? When my daughter was 3 she would wake up screaming inconsolably at night with foot pain (bottom of foot) and I would have to give her pain medication and rock her until it took effect - sometimes about 30 minutes of screaming. I used to buy whatever cheap shoes from the local store, but when I had her foot professionally measured and checked by an associate at a pricier brand-store (like stride-rite and new balance) she didn't have the pain. The associate also mentioned that because of her foot the kind with the actual ties keeps the shoe on her foot a little better than Velcro. Yesterday I went out and bought her a not-so-pricey brand because my husband thought I was being a little insane about my daughter's shoes - sure enough she woke up crying hysterically (4.5 now) when she hasn't for a very long time. Anyone else have seen this issue?
     
  14. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    Isn't the internet a marvelous thing? How else can you find people going through the same thing as you at 3 am to make you feel like you are not alone?! My 8 year old son is complaining of pain on the top of his foot tonight. It woke him up from a sound sleep. The pain is so severe that he was crying. I too gave him Motrin and rubbed his foot and he is feeling a little better. Of course, like any good mother, I turned to the internet for answers. :) While none seem to be available, it does feel good to know that it does not seem to be anything serious. I will keep my fingers crossed that it goes away on its own shortly. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
     
  15. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    After reading this forum, and knowing that the "worst case" must be ruled out, I'm going to assume foot pain in 6 y.o. children is fairly common.

    What I'd like to know is: Are these night time foot cramps any way related to swimming, swim lessons, or running around barefoot? I'm pretty sure that the cause of my daughter's foot cramps are the pointed toe position needed for swimming. She was in the pool all day agin.
     
  16. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    Well to add to the chorus of parents, my 4yr old son woke again last night crying with pain on the top of his foot, where the foot meets the ankle. He's been suffering from this sporadic pain for over a year, possibly two. It also happens at night, around 3 in the morning. It can occur in both feet, or one or the other. It occurs probably about once a fortnight, maybe more often when more active. He gets some comfort from a cold flannel on the affected area, and sometimes his feet do feel hot - so different from the cold feet the first post mentions. Rubbing doesn't seem to help. He's often inconsolable until the paracetamol kicks in.

    When he wasn't able to articulate where the pain was I assumed it was foot cramps. I later looked up growing pains, but they all seemed to be documented in the leg, although he did used to be asked to be carried a lot, because his legs weren't "working" - He's still quite reluctant to walk any distance. So finally went to see the medics. It was suggested to me that my son was over-pronating his feet (rolling inwards) and should probably see a podiatrist.

    We have an appointment for an ultrasound soon, because a strange lump also appeared on the inside of his foot, below his ankle bone. This seems less prominant now, but was there for about 3 or 4 weeks. Hopefully this was related to new sandals and nothing more serious. He's now back in "start right" supportive shoes... After this we should get to see the podiatrist. I just hope that's going to sort this out, because it's very distressing.

    Good luck to the rest of you.
     
  17. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    my son is now 6 years old but he has been waking up in the middle of the night crying about leg pains since he was 2. As he got older he showed me that the pain was under his feet, under the arch. He wakes up more when it's damp and wet and cold outside or if he walked a lot that day and also if I keep him up longer than usual so that he goes to bed very exhausted. I feel for all the parents on this site because I too went to see a doctor and after drawing so much blood (which it was horrible) all his tests came back normal. The doctor ruled out growing pain because they are mostly in muscles, in the calves mostly in legs but even so he didn't have an explanation for what my son has. There have been times that after long waks my son would complain about the pain even though it wasn't night time but now it doesn't happen as often but it usualy starts when he is tired. I give him tylenol or motrin sometimes even before he goes to bed because I can tell that certain days he will be waking up in pain. It is good to know that I'm not alone. When I was smaller and even until now I get pains but they are mostly in my knees they are more rhumatory but I also get them more when I'm exhousted or when it's damp outside. Good Luck
     
  18. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    My 4-year old son just cried to sleep because of pain at the top of his foot, for both legs. He keeps asking me to massage the painful part. It seemed to make him feel better, but in the middle of the night, he was rolling in bed again due to the pain, tearing again. My husband decided to bring him to the hospital to check. But upon reaching the hospital he seems fine again! This foot pain seems to come and go. The problem started since he was 2 years plus when he could point at his foot to say 'pain pain'. I also notice a roundish bump on the top of both feet. It felt like bone, but I do not feel the same bone in my feet. I wonder if it is abnormal. Do any one of your kids have a round bump on the top of the feet too?
     
  19. Sharon

    Sharon Guest

    Hi, just want to share... my daughter is 3.5 years old and has been having night foot pains for the last 9 months... it's always the same foot and it hurts near the toes... sometimes it happens continuously for few nights then stops then recurs again.

    I have mentioned this to a few doctors, they said it's growing pains. Finally, we brought her to do an x-ray on her foot but there was nothing wrong. She was referred to a specialist who also said there is nothing wrong and that it's very common for young children to suffer from this. I have come to accept this as growing pains as internet research also mentions it as growing pains.

    Looks like there is nothing much we can do except to massage her foot which seems to help a little. My aunt said my cousin used to suffer from this too and it lasted for years.

    If u are worried, can do an x-ray just to rule out any possibility of a growing tumor or anything else.
     
  20. Unregistered

    Unregistered Guest

    My 7 yr old daughter has been suffering from foot pain (arch) for the last 3 yrs. We have visited over 10 different doctors and its been diagnosed as "growing pains" She was prescribed foot orthotics which helped for a couple of months. I have noticed that she complains on days that she plays/ walks a lot, and on days that she wears flat shoes/sandals.
    Massage with a pain balm/rub followed by a bandanna tied around the foot seems to help and she manages to sleep through the night.
     
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