What you need to know about growing pains. 

Growing pains are often categorised as muscular pain experienced in the legs of children between the ages of 3-5 years and 8-11 years. Symptoms are often felt in the calf, front of thigh or behind the knees – and it is often worse in the afternoon or evening. Symptoms subside by morning.
 
At this stage the cause of growing pains is not determined. Some think it could be due to bones growing however this is not conclusive. Fortunately, it is harmless although the child can be in a lot of pain. Growing pains do not affect how your child walks or runs and they do not make the child feel unwell. It is often seen in children who do a lot of physical activity.
 
Things to look out for:

• Is your child limping?
• Are they complaining of pain throughout the day?
• Do they feel unwell?
• Is their leg sore to touch?

If they are presenting with any of these symptoms then it is advised to seek professional advice.

Diagnosing growing pains
A practitioner will diagnose growing pains after ruling out all other causes of leg pain including:

• Problems that effect the muscles working together – such as knock knees or severe flat feet
• Infections and some viruses
• Arthritis – which damages joints
• Osgood-schlatters
• Severs disease

Treatment of growing pains

• Comfort and reassurance

• Gentle massage of the affected area
• Apply warm compress being careful not to burn the skin
• Temporarily reduce the amount of physical activity – especially for very active children
• Attend to any biomechanical deficiencies – feet that roll in, poor posture, movement patterns

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How we can help
Our practitioners will be able to help diagnose your child’s pain, offer reassurance, treatment and management advice. They can liaise with other health professionals to ensure your child is getting the best treatment possible.