| Your 8-year-old son wakes
up crying in the night complaining that his legs are throbbing. You
rub them, and soothe him as much as you can, but are uncertain about
whether to give him any medication or take him to the doctor.
Sound familiar? Your child is
probably experiencing growing pains, a normal occurrence in
about 25% of children. Read below to find out more about this common
problem.
Growing pains generally strike during two periods: in early childhood
among 3- to 5-year-olds and later on in to 8- to 12-year-olds.
Causes
No firm evidence exists to show that growth of bones causes pain. The
most likely causes of growing pains, therefore, are the aches and
discomforts resulting from jumping, climbing, and running pursued by
active children during the day. The pains can occur after a child has
had a particularly athletic day.
Signs and Symptoms
Although growing pains often strike in late afternoon or early evening
before bed, there are occasions when pain can wake a slumbering child.
The intensity of the pain varies from child to child, and most kids
don't experience the pains every day. "Growing pains are often
intermittent, coming once a week or even more infrequently," says
Dr. James White, a family practitioner.
Growing pains always concentrate in
the muscles, rather than the joints. Most children report pains in the
front of their thighs, in the calves, or behind the knee. While joints
affected by more serious diseases are swollen, red, tender, or warm,
the joints of children experiencing growing pains appear normal.
One symptom that doctors find most
helpful in making a diagnosis of growing pains is how the child
responds to touch while in pain. Children who have pain for a serious
medical disease do not like to be handled, since movement tends to
increase the pain. Children with growing pains respond differently;
they feel better when they are held, massaged, and cuddled.
Treatment
Massage with body lotions stretching, heat, acetaminophen (Tylenol) or
ibuprofen (Advil) may help to relieve the pain. Although the pains
point to no serious illness, they can be upsetting to a child (or a
parent!). Because a child seems completely cured of her aches in the
morning, parents sometimes suspect that the child faked the pains.
However, this usually is not the case. Support and reassurance that
growing pains will pass as children grow up can help them relax.
see also: Growing
Pains are a Genuine Ailment
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