my child is 3 years old and had a broken leg that is healed now but the last few nights has been waking up crying that is leg hurts. he will stop if I go in and rub his leg then he will fall back asleep. the weather has been in the higher 20' s the last week, so I was unsure if maybe the cold weather was causing the pain at night. what are you moms thoughts on this?
I think that there's a really good chance that you are right about the cold causing it. However, regardless, I'd continue to massage his leg. It may bother him for a long time. The growing makes it harder.
Dawn
I use heated rice bags on my kids for their aches and pains (growing pains). It's safer than a heating pad. You can make one just by sewing up a pillow-like sack and filling it with rice (not the minute-rice, but the slow cook stuff). http://www.ehow.com/how_###-###-####_make-rice-bags.html
Then stick it in the microwave for 30-45 seconds, depending on the size. It generates heat for up to an hour. The weight of the bags is also comforting. I've made several and we use them all the time, I especially like them when I've got a headache.
If you don't sew, you can also pour rice into a long sock and tie the end -- that's how my grandmother did it.
It could be the cold weather and your rubbing it warms it up. It could also be that his muscles are rebuilding themselves or some such thing and your rubbing it relaxes the muscles.
You could put him to bed with a hot water bottle on his leg and see if that helps. Or even put on long johns or a couple of knee socks.
I had back surgery and have nerve damage in one leg. The cold does bother it and massaging it does soothe it. I get a lot of foot cramps on that side.
It's entirely possible he's beginning to have some growing pains.
Right when my son turned 4 they began for him and sometimes he woke up crying in the night they were so bad (although he could have pains anytime of the day and it might come in any of the long bones areas in arms or legs).
We tried Tylenol, Aspercream, heating pad, warm bath, massage, daily multi vitamin (for potassium, calcium, iron, etc).
Nothing worked every time, but they did sometimes.
My son grew 4 inches that year (I had a hard time keeping him in clothes/shoes that fit).
And he did it again when he was 6 yrs and again at 8 yrs.
It might be it's related to his injury if it's only that one leg, but he's at the right age for some rapid growth spurts to start up.
has it been recently since his cast was off? Could be a compressed or pinched nerve? Might want to call the Ped about it soon.
Also barometric pressure changes do affect broken/healed bones. When I was 8 years old I was in a bad car accident that shattered my nose ridge, and brow. When a cold front moves in and out of the area I can feel it in my face. I also broke my pinky toes several times and these will ache. I can imagine its bothering his bones.
C.:
WELCOME TO MAMAPEDIA!!!
he's growing - so depending WHERE he broke his leg, he might be experiencing growing pains. Massaging it is good for it as well - keeps the blood circulating.
I would contact the orthopedic surgeon who reset and cast his leg to see what he/she says. Cold weather CAN affect people that have had broken bones and arthritis (not saying he has it) and cause pain in joints.
GOOD LUCK!!!
Sure could be. I have a brother who nearly lost a leg in a motorcycle accident when he was 19, it was broken and mangled. He has unbearable pain in it when the weather is cold, doctors have told him that's what causes it, he even became addicted to pain meds for a time because if it. It's been almost 30 years since the accident, the only thing he can do is keep it warm, he wraps a blanket around it on cold nights.
I broke my arm at 12. REALLY bad. From that time until currently, my wrist kills me when the weather is cold. Aches like crazy, it's awful. I use a heating pad on mine. (NOT dry heat like a plug in pad, a rice pad.) He could also have growing pains. The massage and heat will help that, as well.
Give him about half a dose of Ibuprofen before bed so he can rest during the night for a couple of nights. We have this with our granddaughter nearly every night.
She does gymnastics and dance, she also rides BMX. So her legs get a real work out. When she wakes up it's usually screaming and writhing in pain. So the first thing we do is the Ibuprofen then the rubbing helps.
You have good intuition. The cold is definitely exacerbating it. An injury usually provides an opportunity for cold to enter and cause more pain, especially at this time of year. Find an acupuncturist in your area who can teach you how to do acupressure on your son, and how to do moxa, a herb which is burnt over certain acupuncture points, and penetrates heat deep into the body to promote healing. I am an acupuncturist and I swear that using moxa turns certain pain patients around. Using moxa does not necessarily require using needles. I have treated many kids successfully using moxa and acupressure.
