Often young mothers notice that the joints of the baby are crunching. There is a natural concern about this. What is the reason for this phenomenon? Is it considered a serious pathology or norm? Pediatricians note that the sounds of a crunch in the joints arise due to the physiological characteristics of the child. In most cases, crunching is not dangerous and does not bother the baby, if clicks occur rarely.
Feature of the phenomenon
In newborns, the connective tissue is not as dense as in an adult, and the muscles are not well developed. Therefore, crunching in joints of infants is heard much more often than in older children. As they grow older, the crunch disappears on its own with the condition if there are no internal pathologies.
Causes
There are a lot of factors of the occurrence of joint crunch in newborns. Most often, they are harmless, but sometimes indicate serious problems with the musculoskeletal system. The main reasons why joints in a baby are crunchy (6 months) are as follows:
- Physiological features. Crunch in children under one year of age is considered normal. It appears due to an insufficiently formed muscle system. It disappears on its own when the baby grows up.
- Rapid bone growth, lack of fluid in the joints. Due to the fact that children are rapidly growing up to five years, the amount of fluid produced by the body is insufficient.
- Features of the anatomy of the baby, hereditary predisposition.
- Lack of vitamins and minerals, calcium, vitamin D.
- Arthritis.
- Rheumatism.
- Dysplasia.
- Inflammatory processes in the joints.
If crunching in the joints occurs frequently and causes pain to the baby, a doctor’s consultation and examination are necessary.
Should I worry?
If the baby rarely has joints crackling, do not worry. For children under one and a half years, this phenomenon is considered a kind of norm. Parents should pay attention to cases when you should still consult a doctor:
- A crunch is heard in one leg or arm, not both.
- Constant cracking of joints during movement.
- During the crunch, the baby begins to cry or is naughty.
- The skin around the joint turned red and inflamed.
- A crunch is heard when the child is lying on his back, and the legs bent at the knees are spread apart.
Often such symptoms indicate diseases that require timely diagnosis and treatment.
Dysplasia
This disease is hereditary. The cause of dysplasia in a baby is insufficient production of collagen and other substances that make up the connective tissue. If the baby crunches the joints pathologically, then the ligaments are stretched and do not have elasticity. When the baby moves, the cartilage tissue touches each other and leads to a characteristic sound. The joint falls out of its bed. For dysplasia, the occurrence of a crunch is characteristic during the removal of the legs to the sides.
Dysplasia is a dangerous disease that can lead to disability without timely treatment. In infancy, this problem is solved much easier and faster. Dysplasia is removed with the help of therapeutic massages, which are carried out by a specialist, gymnastics, calcium intake. In difficult cases, the method of treating dysplasia is different: wearing corrective pants, tires, stretch marks.
Arthritis
Joint problems occur in children of different ages, so babies need diagnosis and therapy. If the baby's crunching joints on the legs, this may indicate an inflammatory process. It can lead to delamination, thinning and cracking. The disease progresses rapidly. In the future, the baby may have seals and growths on the joints, as a result of which the bone tissue is deformed. Arthritis is accompanied by pain, discomfort, crunch, swelling, redness of the skin. Parents urgently need to see a doctor if:
- The joints crackle very often.
- Toddler cries during a crunch.
- The skin around the joints was inflamed, swollen.
What does baby crunch say?
If the hip joint crunches in the baby, this is not always a sign of disturbances in the body. Most likely, the main problem lies in the lack of formation of the musculoskeletal system. When a child grows rapidly, his joints and ligaments strengthen, and the crunch disappears. Unfortunately, some pathologies are also accompanied by a crunch. For example, dislocations, subluxations, increased joint mobility, juvenile and reactive arthritis, rheumatism.
What to do, how to treat?
If the baby crunches the joints regularly and causes anxiety, you should visit a specialist’s office. The doctor will prescribe a standard set of examinations: ultrasound of the heart and joints, a biochemical analysis of blood and urine. If the diagnosis does not reveal abnormalities, treatment is not required. Experts recommend giving the baby more water, as it is responsible for the formation of interarticular fluid. If the cause of the crunch is infection, rheumatism, arthritis, the baby is prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs, analgesics, antibiotics and other medicines that do not harm the health of the child. With weakness, underdevelopment of the muscles or their increased mobility, therapeutic massage is prescribed in combination with medications. Experts strongly advise not to self-medicate the baby!
Prevention
In order to prevent joint crunching in babies, parents should focus on light massage and gymnastics. For babies from 0 to 1 year old, “Ladushki” and “Cobra” are useful exercises. They develop tactile, mental skills of the baby, as well as ligaments of the joints. If the joints of the hands are crunching in the baby, the Cobra exercise will have a positive effect. The baby should be placed on the stomach, raise the breast with emphasis on the palm of the outstretched arms of the child. For newborns, light types of gymnastics are perfect. These are the usual flexion and extension of the legs and arms in different positions. Pay attention to the water treatments that can be done at home in the bathroom.
A sufficient amount of calcium in the body of a newborn also belongs to the prevention of diseases of bones and joints. During growth, this is the most important trace element with which the structure of tissues occurs. A child receives a certain norm of calcium with mother's milk, so it is very important that a woman eats properly. The diet of a nursing mother should consist of calcium-containing foods. These are milk, cheese, cottage cheese, yolk, cereals, seaweed, vegetables, fruits, herbs, fish. If the baby is on artificial feeding, add vitamins and minerals in powders or capsules (as agreed with the doctor).
If the shoulder joint crunches in the baby, this may indicate dehydration. Many mothers believe that a child up to a year does not need to give water. This is a huge mistake! Give your baby clean water as often as possible. Experts also do not advise to panic if a child's joints crackle from time to time. Endless trips to doctors upset the baby. It’s worth the alarm if a crunch in the joints gives the child pain and appears very often. Remember that advanced joint disease in the future disrupts gait, provokes lameness, and deformation of the legs.