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 you’re uncertain about whether to give him any medication or take him to the doctor. Sound familiar? KidsHealth.org explains that your child is probably experiencing growing pains, a normal occurrence in about 25 percent to 40 percent of children. They generally strike during two periods: in early childhood, among 3- to 5-year-olds, and later on, in 8- to 12-year-olds.
Although it’s not known for sure what causes the pains, the most likely causes are the aches and discomforts resulting from the jumping, climbing and running that active kids do during the day. The pains can occur after a child has had a particularly athletic day.
Growing pains always concentrate in the muscles, rather than the joints. Most kids report pains in the front of their thighs, in the calves or behind the knees.
Although growing pains often strike in late afternoon or early evening before bed, pain can sometimes wake a sleeping child. The intensity of the pain varies from child to child, and most kids don’t experience the pains every day.
Diagnosing Growing Pains
One symptom that doctors find most helpful in making a diagnosis of growing pains is how the child responds to touch while in pain. Kids who have pain from a serious medical disease don’t like to be handled because movement tends to increase the pain. But those with growing pains respond differently; they feel better when they’re held, massaged and cuddled. Some things parents might do to help alleviate the pain include: massaging the area, having the child stretch, placing a heating pad on the area, giving the child ibuprofen or acetaminophen.
Because a child seems completely cured of the 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 kids grow up can help them relax.