Child Hip & Leg Pain Information

Parents may find that their child suffers from hip and leg pain at some point during adolescence. This pain ranges from mild to severe and requires medical care to rule out a serious injury.

Causes

• Hip and leg pain in children is often caused by trauma that occurs when a child has fallen or the leg and hip have been overused.

Effects

• Children who suffer from hip and leg pain have mobility issues. They may need assistance with everyday activities or require devices such as a wheelchair or crutches to be able to get around.

Identification

• To identify the cause of the hip and leg pain, a doctor will ask a series of questions about the activities that led up to the pain. In some cases, an x-ray is ordered to determine the cause of the pain.

Treatment

• Treatment includes pain or anti-inflammatory medication. If the hip and leg pain is caused by an injury that will not heal on it's own, surgery may be required.

Prevention/Solution

• To prevent hip and leg pain in children, it's important to avoid activities where injury can occur from falling or overuse of the hip and leg. For contact sports, protective pads should be worn.