Leg cramp in 3yo boy?

[kkrpainmum]

My son, 3, woke up at 10.30 last night with terrible pain in his legs, he was screaming and screaming and clutching his feet, then his calves, then his thighs, saying the sheets hurt him, rolling on the floor, on the bed, it was just awful. I figured it was cramp and tried to help him to stretch it all out, massage his legs, and then walk it all off.
However, he then woke up at midnight, same thing, then at 1.30am, then 3am then 4.30am then finally slept through till 10am this morning (sheer exhaustion i think)
Obviously this has been incredibly traumatic for him (and me!) and he is terrified it is going to happen again. We live in the country and he is a very very active child who goes on long walks or plays in the garden every day, so i don't think it is excercise related.
Has anyone had this before with their children? Have you heard of this? Is it common? How can I help him? Is there anything I can do to prevent cramp? Any ideas at all????
Thanks so much xxx

[LovelyDaffs]

Growing pains, I had them and my ds has had them for years he's 8 now. Don't be robbed off by anyone telling you they don't hurt or don't exist at that ages (there was a recent thread),

What helps is a hot water bottle wrapped up so he's not boiled, calpol and rubbing it although sometimes ds can't cope with massage/rubbing as it hurts too much. We found at that age it helped to explain it was growing pains and a sign he was getting bigger.

Poor thing, hope it's better tonight.

[LovelyDaffs]

We also distract a bit too after the calpol and let ds come downstairs, put on a DVD for say ten minutes, which often calms him down before putting him back to bed.