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Muscle pain, also called myalgia, is a condition in which a person has pain in one or more muscles in the body. The pain may be mild, moderate, or severe. It may feel sharp, achy, or burning. In most cases, the pain lasts only a short time and goes away on its own.

Most children have muscle pain at some point. It is normal for your child to feel some pain in their muscles after they start a new exercise program. Muscles that have not been used a lot will be sore at first.

What are the causes?

Your child may have muscle pain when they use their muscles in a new or different way after not having used the muscles for some time. Muscle pain can also be caused by overuse or by stretching a muscle beyond its normal length (muscle strain). Your child may be more likely to have muscle pain if they are not in shape.

Other causes may include:

1. Injury or bruising.
2. Infectious diseases. These include diseases caused by viruses, such as the flu (influenza).
3. Certain medicines.
4. Autoimmune or rheumatologic diseases. These are conditions that cause the body's defense system (immune system) to attack areas in the body.

What are the signs or symptoms?

The main symptom is sore or painful muscles. Your child's muscles may be sore when they do activities and when they stretch. Your child may also have slight swelling.

How is this diagnosed?

Muscle pain is diagnosed with a physical exam. Your child's health care provider will ask questions about your child's pain and when it began.

1. If your child has not had muscle pain for very long, the provider may want to wait before doing much testing.
2. If your child's pain has lasted a long time, tests may be done right away.
3. In some cases, your child may need tests to rule out other conditions and diseases.

How is this treated?

Treatment for muscle pain depends on the cause. Home care is often enough to relieve the pain. The provider may also prescribe NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen.

Follow these instructions at home:

Medicines

1. Give over-the-counter and prescription medicines only as told by your child's provider.
2. Do not give your child aspirin because of the link to Reye's syndrome.
3. Ask the provider if the medicine prescribed to your older child requires them to avoid driving or using machinery.

Managing pain, swelling, and discomfort

If told, put ice on the painful area for the first 2 days of soreness.

1. Put ice in a plastic bag.
2. Place a towel between your child's skin and the bag.
3. Leave the ice on for 20 minutes, 2–3 times a day.
4. For the first 2 days of muscle soreness, or if there is swelling:
5. Do not have your child soak in hot baths.
6. Do not have your child use a hot tub, steam room, sauna, heating pad, or other heat source.

After 2-3 days, you may switch between putting ice and heat on the area. If directed, apply heat to the affected area as often as told by your child's provider. Use the heat source that the provider recommends, such as a moist heat pack or a heating pad.

1. Place a towel between your child's skin and the heat source.
2. Leave the heat on for 20–30 minutes.

If your skin turns bright red, remove the ice or heat right away to prevent skin damage. The risk of damage is higher if you cannot feel pain, heat, or cold.

If your child is injured, have them raise (elevate) the injured area above the level of their heart while they are sitting or lying down.

 If the muscle pain is caused by overuse:

1.  Slow down your child's activities so the muscles have time to rest.
2. Teach your child to stretch and warm up before they exercise and to cool down after they exercise.

 Have your child:

1. Stay as active as they can without causing more pain.
2. Do regular, gentle exercise if they are not normally active.
3. Stop exercising if the pain is severe. Severe pain could be a sign that a muscle has been injured.

 Your child may have to avoid lifting. Ask your child's provider how much they can safely lift.

Have your Child return to normal activities as told by the provider. Ask the provider what activities are safe for your child.

Contact a health care provider if:

1. Your child has a fever.
2. Your child has nausea and vomiting.
3. Your child gets a rash.
4. Your child has muscle pain after a tick bite.
5. Your child's muscle aches and pains do not go away.
6. Your child's muscle pain gets worse, and medicines do not help.
7. Your child has muscle pain after they start a new medicine.
8. Your child has redness or swelling at the site of the muscle pain.

Get help right away if:

1. Your child has a headache with a stiff and painful neck.
2. Your child who is 3 months to 3 years old has a temperature of 102.2°F (39°C) or higher.
3. Your child who is younger than 3 months has a temperature of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher.
4. Your child urinates less or has dark, bloody, or discolored urine.
5. Your child has severe muscle weakness, or they cannot move part of their body.
6. Your child has trouble breathing or swallowing.

These symptoms may be an emergency. Do not wait to see if the symptoms will go away. Get help right away.

This information is not intended to replace advice given to you by your health care provider. Make sure you discuss any questions you have with your health care provider.