Growing pains

Definition

Your 8-year-old daughter can't fall asleep because her legs hurt. Your friend's 6-year-old son wakes up in tears with the same complaint.

Coincidence?

Probably not. An estimated 15 percent of children experience occasional nighttime leg pain without an apparent cause — often called growing pains.

Growing pains aren't a disease. In fact, the term "growing pains" may be a misnomer because there's no evidence that growth hurts. Still, growing pains are real for many kids. And it's important to take your child's complaints seriously. Occasionally, growing pains may be due to an underlying condition that can be treated.

Growing pains typically end by the teen years. In the meantime, simple comfort measures can help your child make it through the night.

Symptoms

Growing pains are often described as an ache or throb in the legs — often in the front of the thighs, the calves or behind the knees. Usually both legs hurt.

Growing pains often strike in the late afternoon or early evening and disappear by morning. Sometimes the pain awakens a child in the middle of the night.

Causes

There's no evidence that a child's growth is painful. However, running, climbing and jumping can be hard on a child's musculoskeletal system. Muscle pain at night from overuse during the day is the most likely cause of growing pains.

Risk factors

Growing pains are most common from ages 2 to 12. Running, climbing or jumping during the day might increase the risk of leg pain at night.

When to seek medical advice

Consult your child's doctor if you're concerned about your child's leg pain or the pain is:

• Persistent
• Still present in the morning
• Severe enough to interfere with your child's normal activities
• Associated with an injury
• Accompanied by other signs or symptoms, such as swelling, redness, tenderness, fever, limping, rash, loss of appetite, weakness or fatigue

Tests and diagnosis

Your child's doctor will do a physical exam and ask questions about your child's signs and symptoms. Other specific conditions — such as restless legs syndrome, which is characterized by unpleasant sensations in the legs and an uncontrollable urge to move them for relief — must be ruled out before your child's leg pain can be attributed to growing pains. Rarely, the doctor may use blood tests, X-rays or other diagnostic tests to help determine the cause of your child's leg pain.

Treatments and drugs

There's no specific treatment for growing pains, but you can help ease your child's discomfort.

• Rub your child's legs. Some children respond to gentle massage. Others feel better when they're held or cuddled.
• Stretch your child's legs. You might make it a habit during the day and again before bedtime.
• Use a heating pad. Heat can help soothe sore muscles. Use a heating pad on a low setting before bedtime or when your child complains of leg pain. Remove the heating pad once your child falls asleep. A warm bath before bedtime may help, too.
• Try a pain reliever. Offer your child ibuprofen (Advil, others) or acetaminophen (Tylenol, others). Avoid aspirin, due to the risk of Reye's syndrome — a rare but serious condition linked to giving aspirin to children.

It may also help to simply offer your support. Remind your child that growing pains are normal — and they won't last forever.