Pain in joints in children

Pain in the joints of children of different ages can occur for many different reasons. It can appear as a result of natural growth and development of the child. In addition, it may be accompanied by stiffness, decreased mobility. Joint pain in children can be the result of stretching, deformation, fracture, dislocation, or Osgood-Schlatter disease, the course of which becomes more severe due to sports activities. Slightly damaged (stretched or overturned) muscles, ligaments and tendons remain mostly as elastic and functional as they used to, and as a rule, they only need rest for healing. Because with more serious damage, tissues can be cut in places or completely torn, and in order to recover completely, surgical intervention may be necessary.

Joint pain in children can also cause arthritis (inflammation of cartilage, ligaments and tendons), muscle inflammation (myositis), bacterial infection of bones (acute arthritis, osteomyelitis) and sometimes tumors (bone cancer). With the correct diagnosis and treatment of pain in the joint, provoked by most of these reasons, cure and disappear without any complications (dislocation of the joint).

[1]

Diseases in which there is pain in the joints in children

1. Inflammation of the septic joint (arthritis). This ailment can cause streptococci, staphylococci, influenza virus and other common infections. As a rule, large joints are affected. The disease suddenly begins with a fever, then there is swelling of the joint, pain during movement, painful sensations when touching. If the knee joint is affected, the child experiences lameness.
2. Rheumatism. This disease occurs on the basis of acute infection of the upper respiratory tract. A typical form of rheumatism is manifested in the form of fever and joint pain in children. Suffer, as a rule, large joints: wrist, elbow, ankle and knee. Pain is characterized by a volatile character, the ability to move from the joint to the joint. A redness of the skin and swelling may appear around the affected joint, but irreversible changes do not occur. If the course of the disease is prolonged, then the so-called rheumatic nodules appear around the joint. They look like dense, similar in size to lentil formations. They appear, as a rule, in places that are subjected to pressure: the elbow fold, wrist, forearm, knee. On the skin of a child suffering from rheumatism, specific rashes may appear: a pale reddish hue, a curved or annular shape of the spot, and narrow bands. If the ailment continues to progress, serious heart disease develops.
3. Chronic arthritis lasts at least 6 weeks. The most common form of chronic arthritis in children is juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, but in addition there are about 50 rare forms, in particular those accompanying chronic lupus erythematosus (skin, joint and internal inflammatory disease) and adolescent ankylosing spondylitis (inflammatory spine arthritis ). Arthritis is characterized by the successive appearance of pain, immobility, warmth, redness, swelling and, in the end, some decrease in the functional activity of one or more joints. Restriction of mobility of the affected joint can cause muscle spasms or accumulation of fluid around the affected joint. If juvenile rheumatoid arthritis is considered, then among the symptoms there is a general weakness, in particular fever, rash, lethargy and loss of appetite. All this occurs before involvement in joint disease and lasts up to 6 months.
4. Serum sickness. This ailment is an allergic reaction to the introduction of drug sera or drugs (for example, penicillin, aspirin and others). Appears, as a rule, on 6-12 days after the child has contacted the provoker of the disease. The main symptoms: joint pain (arthritis), fever, muscle pain, skin rash (urticaria), itching, swelling of the face and neck.
5. Injuries of joints. Usually pains are felt only in one joint. There is its edema, deformation, it acquires a red or cyanotic shade. Movement in the affected joint is limited, accompanied by pain. Sharp pain occurs when the physical load on the affected joint. At very small children (1-4 years) often there is a subluxation of an elbow joint of traumatic character, for example at falling when the child "drag" by a hand. In this case, the annular ligament tears at the place where it is attached to the radius arm of the forearm, and its clamp between the radial bone and the head of the humerus. As a result, the child stops moving his arm and keeps it slightly bent at the elbow and turned inside the forearm area around its axis.
6. Tuberculous arthritis. This ailment most often affects the femoral joint. The disease initially manifests itself in the form of symptoms such as light lameness and pain when walking, which radiates to the middle of the thigh or to the knee. After a certain time, the movements of the femur become limited in any direction, a swelling is observed around the joint. The affected hip takes a bent look, presses against the other leg and slightly turns inward. If the spine is affected, the child may complain of pain in the place that is innervated from the affected area of the spinal cord. It is very difficult for him to lift objects on the floor, he walks with great care, practically on tiptoe, his torso keeps straightened. More lies on the stomach.
7. Arthritis of the cervical spine. This disease provokes the appearance of curvature, and the child must support his head with his hands. If this process affects the thoracic spine, the hump usually develops.

So, if you notice the pain in the joints of children, you need to urgently seek medical advice from the appropriate profile. The sooner an accurate diagnosis is made, the sooner you can cope with the disease.

[2], [3], [4], [5], [6]