Growing pains is a term to describe the pain adolescents experience during childhood as the body grows and develops. The pain is typically described as aching or throbbing in the legs and some children may experience abdominal pain and headaches.

Causes of growing pains

Some medical professionals attribute growing pains to bone growth however no firm evidence supports bone growth as the cause of pain. One probable cause is the high level of physical activity children perform such as jumping, climbing and running.

Growing pains are usually experienced in two stages of a child's life, from 3-5 years of age and again between 8 and 12 years. Some children may be predisposed to growing pains and if a parent suffered with the problem the child will too.

Symptoms of growing pains

Growing pains are typically experienced at night and first thing in the morning. Once the child begins stretching the muscles they usually feel relief from the pain.

Pain is concentrated on the muscles rather than the joints particularly around the thigh muscles, calf muscles and behind the knee joint. There is usually no visible symptoms such as redness or swelling which if present would indicate disease such as arthritis.

Diagnosis of growing pains

To rule out any underlying conditions a GP will test how a child responds to touch while experiencing pain. Growing pains are typically relieved through touch such as massage while if a serious medical disease is present then the child will draw away from being handled.

A GP will make a diagnosis of growing pains by excluding other conditions. This can be done through taking a medical history of the child and performing a physical examination. Should the GP require further diagnostic tests the child may be sent for blood tests or X-ray studies.

*Source: GoToSee.co.uk

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