With the arrival of a baby in the family, caring parents monitor his every move and skill. Moms and dads are increasingly turning to pediatric orthopedists with problems with the musculoskeletal system.
A common complaint is that a baby's joints are cracking. An experienced specialist will answer that articular tissue is just beginning to form and mature. You shouldn’t worry when a crunch appears, but you shouldn’t let the situation take its course either.
When sounds appear and the baby makes movements for a long time, a pathology may develop that must be treated with medications, massages and physical therapy.
Most often, pathology in infants is diagnosed during examination of the lower extremities and pelvis. A characteristic sound occurs when the legs are pulled apart.
Symptoms
Routine examination by a specialist orthopedist of a three-month-old child.
A fragile child's body is formed in such a way as to protect the baby from possible injury when turning over from side to side, while crawling and taking the first steps.
The bones of babies have the structure of cartilage tissue. The joints are underdeveloped and when making the first movements, parents may hear them crunching.
In the first months of life, babies lie on their backs and play in the air with their legs. The baby's joints crack when he tightens his limb and returns it to its original level position. The ligaments contract and produce a characteristic crunch.
A common position in which parents pay attention to extraneous sounds when the child makes movements at home.
In a healthy baby, sounds disappear during growth and full development. Parents can help get rid of crunching by attending massage courses at a children's clinic. The procedures will help the child actively develop physical abilities.
Important! In the medical practice of orthopedists, there are cases when the crunching sound does not go away on its own and an inflammatory pathological process begins to develop, in which the child needs to receive specialized treatment.
Tight swaddling inhibits the physical development of babies and their motor activity.
Why does jaundice last?
In some cases, jaundice may be more severe: with higher levels of free bilirubin and/or lasting up to 3-4 months. There are several reasons for this:
- A reduced volume of breast milk or formula, and nutritional deficiencies immediately after birth somewhat worsen and prolong the course of jaundice.
- Fully breastfeeding in the first months of life can prolong the period of jaundice and increase bilirubin levels. This condition is called breast milk jaundice.
The cause of “breast milk jaundice” is still not clear. You can talk about such jaundice if it:
- delayed longer than 1-2 months of life;
- bilirubin level remains above 170-180 µmol/l;
- there is a tendency to a slow decrease in bilirubin;
- temporary withdrawal of breastfeeding leads to a sharp decrease in blood bilirubin.
Both conditions are safe for the baby and do not require treatment. In case of breastfeeding jaundice, in rare cases, with very high blood bilirubin levels, the doctor may recommend a temporary refusal of breast milk. However, in the vast majority of cases this is not required. Neither Russian nor international clinical recommendations recommend weaning such a baby.
Causes of crunching in joint tissue in children
Why do newborns have cracking joints?
| Main reasons | Detailed description of the pathology |
| Physiological changes
| It is normal for a baby to have cracking joints before reaching 1 year of age. During this time period, significant changes associated with physical activity occur in the child’s body. When the joint and muscle tissues are formed and help the child take his first steps, the crunching disappears. |
| Active growth
| Crunching in the joints of a baby is considered normal and does not cause concern. In some cases, the pathology can last up to five years. This process is associated with a sharp growth spurt in the child and insufficient production of lubricant in the joint tissue. |
| Genetic predisposition
| Crackling joints in infants can be passed on from parents through the hereditary chain. This pathology occurs in children whose parents suffer from an inflammatory process in the joint tissue. Also, the sound during movements appears in case of thinned joints, which close relatives have a history of. |
| Vitamin D deficiency
| If the family lives in the south, there should be no problems with insufficient vitamin intake. Orthopedists recommend walking with newborns in the morning, when the sun releases the required amount of a vital microelement. When living in the north, vitamin D can be given to the baby in the form of drops of the drug Aquadetrim. |
| Rheumatoid arthritis
| Multifactorial pathology develops in children whose bodies are prone to developing the disease. Rheumatoid arthritis can develop after an infant has had a viral illness. Frequent provocateurs of the disease are viruses and streptococcal infections. Due to tissue damage, the infant's joints crack. Also, the reason for the development of pathology is living in a populated area with poor ecology and an increased radiation field. |
| Hip dysplasia
| Congenital pathology of the pelvis can cause clicking sounds when the baby makes movements (read more here). The disease begins during the intrauterine development of the embryo. The reasons are: exposure to chemical and physical reagents on the mother’s body, abuse of alcohol, impaired water and salt metabolism in the baby with acute kidney disease. Hip dysplasia develops when the fetus is in a pelvic position and with a sharp gain in body weight, which happens when the due date of birth is exceeded. |
We strengthen the weak shoulder girdle at 5-6 months.
It happens that even at 5-6 months a child has weak arms, in which case he only leans on his elbows, and it’s time to lift his body on straight arms and try to get up on all fours. In this age period, you can repeat the exercises that are used at 3 months and, taking into account age, you can add the pose of all fours, holding it for several seconds, and lifting from the stomach onto all fours, supported by straight arms. At this age, the child should already confidently reach for a toy with one hand, leaning on the other.
Effective for children 7-8 months old:
1. boxing lying on your stomach,
2. push-ups from the stomach to all fours and back, supported by straight arms,
3. fixation of the pose on all fours, possibly with rocking.
What difficulties may arise when strengthening the shoulder girdle? Of course, this is the patience of a child. Children do not like intense or prolonged physical activity. The specialist’s task is to individually select such a load for the baby so that it is effective and tolerable. Based on my many years of experience as a massage therapist, I recommend inviting a specialist to work with your child. Attempts to independently strengthen the upper shoulder girdle of a child without skill in this matter will have little result and the child’s indignation.
How much do you need to work with your child to make his hands stronger? In all cases there are individual characteristics, but most likely this is no less than 10-15 sessions of high-quality gymnastics.
What you need to pay attention to
Pain caused by movement of the limbs indicates the beginning of the development of pathology. Parents need to take the baby to a specialist and get a diagnosis.
When visiting a specialist, he will definitely explain why a baby’s joints are cracking and what features you need to pay attention to. Occasional sounds while the baby is moving are acceptable.
You should suspect the onset of inflammation in the joint tissue when symptoms appear:
- When a crunch occurs, the child begins to become very capricious. He can pull a limb under himself, which causes discomfort and pain.
- Carrying out the slightest movement, sound in the joint tissue is heard from several places at the same time.
- At the site of localization of the pathology, swelling of the soft tissues or an increase in body temperature occurs.
- Hyperemia of the skin appears.
- When attending a massage course, the joints of the knee and pelvis make sounds when the legs are bent in different directions.
Important! If your baby’s joints are cracking and causing him discomfort, you should contact a pediatric orthopedist to take an X-ray and prevent the development of the inflammatory process.
Rheumatoid arthritis distorts the functioning of the heart. An experienced specialist will notice changes in tones and the addition of noise when listening to the organ during a routine examination. An ultrasound examination will confirm the development of pathology.
Possible complications
The crunch itself is not dangerous. The diseases that caused its appearance can provoke complications. With timely treatment, it is possible to prevent all undesirable consequences. If the pathology was not diagnosed for any reason or the parents did not follow medical recommendations, then the condition of the musculoskeletal system worsens. Against the background of joint destruction, pain intensifies and range of motion is limited. Due to deformation of bone and cartilaginous structures, fusion of the joint space, ankylosis occurs - complete immobilization of the joint.
Diagnosis of joint tissue pathology in children
Blood sampling from a small patient with suspected development of joint and cartilage pathology.
Before making a final diagnosis and understanding why the baby’s joints are cracking, it is necessary to properly examine the child.
The orthopedist prescribes laboratory and instrumental studies for the newborn:
- Take a general blood test, the results of which will show whether there is an inflammatory process in the body.
- Take a biochemical blood test, the results of which will reveal rheumatoid factor and seromucoid.
- An ultrasound examination of the joint tissue will help identify dysplasia and scan the level of synovial fluid.
Ultrasound examination of the pelvic bones of a newborn. The study is carried out routinely at the age of 1 month. The price of diagnostics in a private clinic is up to 700 rubles.
Important! X-rays are performed in rare cases, but provide a complete description of the picture of possible pathology. Computed tomography of joint tissue is performed when a child reaches the age of three under general anesthesia for medical reasons.
CT and MRI are performed in childhood under general anesthesia. The procedure lasts up to 40 minutes. The child must be immobilized and in a relaxed state at all times.
How does HDN occur?
Features of the course of HDN are:
- earlier (as early as 1 day) onset of jaundice;
- the ability to achieve higher (sometimes critical) bilirubin numbers;
- high intensity of skin coloring;
- the presence of other symptoms - swelling, enlargement of the liver and spleen, lethargy, refusal to eat;
- possible addition of neurological symptoms;
- presence of anemia in a blood test;
- positive Coombs test.
HDN can be either mild or quite severe. As a rule, jaundice is easier when there is blood group incompatibility, and more severe when there is incompatibility according to the Rh factor.
What is the treatment for TTH?
Most often, phototherapy is used to treat tension-type headache: the newborn is placed for a while under a lamp emitting light of a certain wavelength. As a rule, phototherapy is well tolerated by babies, but in some cases it can cause dry skin and mucous membranes. Therefore, frequent breastfeeding and additional fluid administration are recommended for children undergoing phototherapy. The duration of phototherapy depends on the level of bilirubin in the blood.
Less commonly, HDN is treated with medications, red blood cells, or intravenous immunoglobulin preparations. In exceptional situations, a replacement blood transfusion is performed. These manipulations are carried out only in a hospital setting.
In some cases, with mild HDN, treatment is not required.