Leukemia Bone Pain

Bone pain or joint pain is caused by the bone marrow expanding. This happens due to excess white blood cells that build up in the bone marrow.

It is usually felt in the long bones of the arms and legs. It may also be in the ribs and the sternum of the rib cage.

Joint pain and swelling in the hips and shoulders is another symptom associated with leukemia.

This pain occurs in nearly 25 percent of patients at the onset of acute lymphocytic leukemia.

This symptom is not as common in acute myelogenous leukemia.

Our son, Kaden, experienced a lot of pain in his legs at the onset of his leukemia (ALL). He woke from a nap complaining that his leg hurt and he was limping. For the next 5 days it continued to get worse. By the fifth day, the day that he was diagnosed, he could not walk. He did not walk for seven weeks.

He didn't have pain for the entire seven weeks but as a 3 year old he did not want to walk out of fear. He remembered the pain he felt earlier and he was afraid it was going to continue to hurt. As time pasted he also lost muscle mass in his legs from not walking which just added to the situation. After physical therapy and lots of practice he is back to running around and playing like he was before. You can read Kaden's story and view his heart touching video here.