Growing pains are real but essentially harmless muscular pain that can affect children between the ages of three and five years, and from eight to 11 years. Boys and girls are equally affected. Some young people may continue to experience growing pains into their early adolescence or teenage years.
Growing pains are harmless, self-resolving, non-inflammatory pains in the extremities that occur later in the day and may wake children from sleep. Despite their name, growing pains are not actually caused by growth, and they do not affect a child's growth.
Most kids with growing pains have pain in their thighs, calves, shins, or behind the knees. The pain usually is in both legs and does not involve the joints. Occasionally, kids may have pain in the arms along with leg pain, but they do not have pain only in the arms.
Growing pains usually start in early childhood, around age 3 or 4. They tend to strike again in kids aged 8-12.
There's no evidence growing pains make you taller. They're not connected to rapid growth or a growth spurt in any way. Growing pains are deep cramping or aching pains in your child's limbs, specifically their legs. The pain typically affects both legs and occurs at night.
Growing pains are deep cramping or aching pains that most commonly occur in the shins, calves, thighs, or back of the knees. They most typically affect children ages 3 to 14.
Could It Be Arthritis? Yes -- it doesn't just affect older people. It's common for children to be told the pains in their legs are just growing pains, when they actually have juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), says Richard Vehe, MD, director of the division of pediatric rheumatology at the University of Minnesota.
Adults may experience pains similar to those of childhood growing pains. For some people, these pains may be due to delayed onset muscle soreness following a workout. In other cases, they may signal an underlying medical condition.
You can try a heating pad, or if they prefer it, you can even try ice. Sometimes just a dose of ibuprofen or Tylenol can be very helpful. And if they have this pain that comes up pretty frequently, you might even see if they'll be willing to stretch a little bit during the day and see if that helps at night.
Growing pains by age
Growing pains mainly affect children between the ages of 4 and 12 years, with most children experiencing them between the ages of 4 and 6 years. Teenagers and adults who have ongoing pain in their limbs most likely do not have growing pains.
Most girls stop growing taller by age 14 or 15. In contrast, after their early teenage growth spurt, boys continue gaining height at a gradual pace until around 18. Note that some kids will stop growing earlier and others may keep growing a few years more.
And here's what you can do to help alleviate the symptoms.
It's the middle of the night and your tween-aged child cries out in pain. When you get to her room she's in a puddle of tears complaining about the pain in her legs. Although it may seem alarming, it may be nothing more than growing pains.
The movement can make the pain worse. Even just gentle touching can cause excruciating pain. But those with growing pains actually feel better when they're held, when their legs or their arms are massaged, when they're cuddled, they get to curl up on your lap.
Muscle fatigue – too much high-intensity exercise is one of the most common links to leg pain, as overworking your muscles can cause them to cramp during the night. Nerve issues – a pinched nerve or spinal cord injury can put pressure on your nerves, causing muscle cramps in your legs.
Disturbances in certain electrolytes can cause leg cramps that feel like growing pains. This includeslow magnesium, low potassium, and low calcium. If you feel these pains or cramping at night during sleep, see your doctor for a blood test of these levels.
Growing pains are real but essentially harmless muscular pain that can affect children between the ages of three and five years, and from eight to 11 years. Boys and girls are equally affected. Some young people may continue to experience growing pains into their early adolescence or teenage years.
Leg pain can be as simple and benign as you may have overworked your muscles in your legs causing soreness or tendinitis while cramps in your legs can often mean you are dehydrated. In these cases, drinking plenty of fluids, stretching your muscles, and rest will often relieve the discomfort.
Growing pains usually cause an aching or throbbing feeling in the legs. This pain often occurs in the front of the thighs, the calves or behind the knees. Usually both legs hurt. Some children may also experience abdominal pain or headaches during episodes of growing pains.
During the teen years, it's easy to dismiss discomfort as “growing pains” in the hips. But the fact is, when hip pain develops in a teenager or a young adult, often an underlying hip deformity is to blame.
It is fairly common for children to experience some pain from ages 8-16 while they are growing.
Usually activities can be modified with the help of your physiotherapist to allow continued participation in sport. In most cases this is a pain limiting condition. A very general rule is that activity can be continued as long as your child is not limping during or after the activity.
When you are inactive, blood will move more slowly through the veins, so more fluid will build up than when you are moving. As you get your blood pumping by moving from a seated or standing position, you may feel pain develop or worsen because of the added weight and pressure in the legs.
Without movement or exercise, the muscles are weakened and deprived of a steady supply of blood, oxygen and nutrients. This, in turn, can lead to muscle pain. Postural Adjusting Stress can also cause you to shift, sit, or stand in ways that aren't necessarily healthy or comfortable for your body.