3 year old with knee pains

[egil710]

my three year old has been complaining about a pain in her knees for about a few months now, i noticed it started when i was living in an apartment with no heat, it was very cold. could she have arthritis? if not what else can that be. her doctor said it was just growing pains but I have doubts.

[carolanivey]

That's terrible that it took so long to get your daughter diagnosed! I guess I'm lucky that my grandmother and uncle had it, because my mother knew exactly what it was and wouldn't take no for an answer. I would have hoped that medical science has advance since the 1960s, but apparently not so much. :/

[grendslori]

My daughter started having joint pain (specifically the knees) just after she turned 3 years of age. She would scream in pain, literally and had a very hard time walking. At first they thought it was ';growing pains' but later changed that diagnosis to Juvenile Rhuematoid Arthritis. They told us that growing pains are found in the long bones of the legs, NOT in the joint. Every time they would try and get my daughter to say the pain was in her leg, she refused showing them the pain was in the knee joint only. It took 2 1/2 years before they diagnosed her with JRA. By that time her hands and wrists and hips were hurting as well and it took a year of physical therapy to straighten out her knees as they were contracted. If JRA is truely your daughter's problem, there will be little doubt there is a problem; the pain for the little one can really be horrific and does not allow much ability for the child to walk or play comfortably. They have rashes, swelling can run high fevers and as someone mentioned above can have normal RA and Sed Rate levels in their blood. See a pediatric rhuematologist.

[jennerfennerbenner]

The dr I work for beleives there is no such thing as growing pains. He referrs alot for shoe inserts with a hugenpercentage getting relief og knee and leg pain --all children.  No child needs to suffer in pain.  Give a good multi v and drink milk.  Call a rheumy or a foot dr

[carolanivey]

Rheumatoid arthritis can strike at literally any age, so if your instinct is telling you something is wrong, by all means take her to a pediatric rheumatologist. I've had it since age 5 and have had two healthy children, but every time they had a growing pain I was concerned!

Check out arthritis.org for JRA onset symptoms. They include joint swelling, pain, redness, and heat. Skin rash may accompany onset of symptoms, as well as a low-grade fever, fatigue, flu-like symptoms. Keep in mind blood-work may show nothing is wrong, but keep an eye on it. A significant number of patients are "sero-negative". A good rheumie will take into account a broad range of evidence, not just bloodwork numbers.

[marsidoats]

Do not take these  pains as just growing pans because they could be something more serious.A rheumatoligist can help you with this i think