Kids and Arthritis: Painful Symptoms are Often Fleeting
From BestHealth, April 2007
When Christie Perrell noticed her son Jackson limping a little in the morning, she became concerned. When he had trouble getting out of bed and wasn’t able to hold a spoon to eat cereal, she called the experts at Brenner Children’s Hospital.
Jackson was diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, formerly known as juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA). About 300,000 kids in the United States are diagnosed with arthritis each year, said Kelly Rouster-Stevens, M.D., a pediatric rheumatologist at Brenner Children’s Hospital.
“Many of these cases last only a few weeks and go away on their own,” she said. “If the arthritis persists more than six weeks, juvenile idiopathic arthritis is a consideration. Juvenile arthritis is very different in children than adults who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis, which is why we are moving away from that term. Kids usually don’t have the crippling effects that adults do. Kids can be diagnosed with the disease, be treated and never have problems with it again. That typically doesn’t happen with adults.”
Jackson required medication and physical therapy in the form of swimming to help him bounce back. Today the healthy six-year-old plays baseball, swims regularly and is symptom-free.
“I am delighted with the care I received at Brenner Children’s Hospital,” Perrell said. “Dr. Rouster-Stevens was wonderful and Jackson responded well to her. I was impressed when Dr. Rouster-Stevens called me herself to answer questions I had. You rarely have a physician return a call to you personally.”
Oftentimes physicians cannot pinpoint why a child has arthritis, which affects as many children as Type 1 diabetes. The disease is known to appear, respond to treatment and then never occur again, Rouster-Stevens said.
“Some children are diagnosed after they have had some type of infection,” she said. “But many times we have no idea why the disease is present.”
Most children complain of knee pain initially. They may have tenderness at the site and some swelling. “Treatment consists of using non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs like naproxen and ibuprofen. In more severe cases, stronger medications are used,” Rouster-Stevens said.
And while a child may be uncomfortable, most do not miss school or after-school activities. “Most kids are very functional,” she said. “It’s unusual for a child to sob in pain or miss school from this type of arthritis.”
Rouster-Stevens is the only pediatric rheumatologist in western North Carolina. She treats all areas of rheumatology including spondyloarthritis, lupus juvenile dermatomyositis, mixed connective tissue disease, sarcoidosis and vasculitis.
For more information about Brenner Children’s Hospital, which is part of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, visit www.brennerchildrens.org.
Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
Juvenile idiopathic arthritis is an autoimmune disorder which causes the body’s immune system to malfunction and attack the body’s own joints. The disease is rare but is as common as Type I diabetes and strikes girls four times more often than boys. Symptoms can include fever, swelling at the joints (often the knee), tenderness, pain and warmth around the joints, and stiffness in the morning or after naps.
Juvenile idiopathic arthritis usually strikes children between the ages of 2 and 10. Episodes can reoccur over the years; however, symptoms seem to lessen with each occurrence. Most children respond to treatment and symptoms are relieved within a few weeks.