Growing Pains

07 Jun Growing Pains

We can all probably remember experiencing growing pains in our childhood. Growing pains are unfortunately a normal part of life. However, a lot of parents worry about if the pain their child is experiencing is growing pain or is it something else.

Symptoms 

• Pain experienced in both legs 
• Pain described as an ache 
• Onset of pain in late afternoon and early evening 
• Pain that can wake your child or prevent your child from sleeping 
• Pain is not eased with leg movement – suggesting joints are not impacted 
• Pain is gone by morning 
• Mobility is not impacted 

When to be concerned 

Always seek further advice from a medical professional such as a GP if: 

• Your child is limping 
• Your child is unwell or had been unwell recently – including symptoms such as fever, loss of appetite, weight loss and skin rash 
• Swelling, redness or joint pain  
• Pain due to injury 

If your doctor if concerned they will likely refer for X-Ray and blood tests to rule out other conditions. 

Treatment 

Unfortunately, growing pains is a part of life, it’s not something we can stop of prevent. A lot of treatment is about reassuring your child that their pain will be gone by morning. It is important not to blame any activity your child does on the pain as we do not want to scare your child from participating in these activities. 

Overnight when the pain is worse, you can use pain medication as guided by your doctor. Children also benefit from use of heat packs and warm baths. This helps to ease muscle aches. Gentle massage over the painful area can provide your child with some relief. 

Overall growing pains is a normal part of development. However, it can be quite confronting for children and parents alike. Please do not hesitate to contact the physios as Western Paediatric Physiotherapy if you have any further questions.