Growing Pains in Kids?

This happens with my 9 yo son, who will be 10 in Oct. Mostly when he lays down to go to bed. He will say his legs ache. I end up rubbing Vicks on them and it helps him to go to sleep. I think it is growing pains since this is the time they are growing. I think he grew 2in this summer alone! =)

My daughter is 7 and she gets growing pains too. Always her legs, usually at the back of her knees and her shins. It's always at night when she's in bed. Hers are usually pretty brutal- to the point that she's in tears. Tylenol and massaging the spot works for us.
I agree with Laura- if it goes on for longer then a day then I would take her to the doc. Have you tried warm compresses or a heating pad or massaging it? Hopefully you can find something that works. I remember having growing pains when I was a kid. It HURTS.
Good luck

I had growing pains, SH. My son did too. His were late at night, in bed. I would give him some Tylenol and it helped.

Someone on here once said that popping a pill in your kid's mouth for every ache and pain would make them pill-popping hypochondriac adults. I wondered if that was HER experience (though I didn't ask). My son is grown now and doesn't take pills for anything and has to be sick as a dog to ask to go to the doctor. (Typical GUY!)

That said, perhaps all your daughter needs is a Tylenol or Advil to help her out. If that doesn't help, THEN consider taking her to the doctor. According to how much she works out with her sport, perhaps she just needs to power down a little to give her growing muscles a chance to catch up with her activity.

Another thought is that sometimes massage can help. When my son was swimming full-time, his back started bothering him a lot. I took him to a massage therapist and she worked on his back 3 times (she was actually a neuromuscular therapist) and that fixed his back. No more problems!

Dawn

My son is almost 10 (in September) and he has "growing pains" as well. Just achy legs and joints. I usually have him put a warm compress on his legs or have him take a warm bath. If he really is in some pain I will give him some Tylenol.
I wouldn't go to the doctor unless it was days of pain. One day is uncomfortable for sure but probably not a reason to go to the doctor.
L.

Both of my boys have gone through periods of "growing pains" that sound just like you describe. I do just like others have posted, apply a heating pad and give Motrin if necessary. Motrin works better than Tylenol for my boys.

I used to have them BAD when I was a kid. To the point where I couldnt sleep and was in tears.
It is an aching, stabbing kind of thing. Sounds like what I had, but it wouldnt hurt to mention it to the doctor if it really worries you.

It may very well be a combination. My son had them also. And yes they come and go. What happens with growing pains is that the ligaments or muscles are tight. There is no "proof" that it has anything to do with bone growth, but it seems to happen to most kids in the 8-12 yr old range, which coincidentally is when many kids are having obvious growth spurts.

Over exertion or high impact activity (running, jumping jacks, jumping out of swings, or oooh I know.. martial arts where they kick kick kick and run laps and jump knees to hands!).... can cause the muscles to be tight (contract) and put pressure on the ligaments, which can cause "growing pains".. because it still is causing the ligament to stretch more than it "should" to attach the bones and muscles, when those muscles are contracted and don't relax into a normal "relaxed" state.

I have 2 kids in martial arts, and I know what they can do in classes. They don't have to be doing tons of calisthenics to over exert or have high impact. They do all KINDS of drills. Sparring, flying side kicks, crab walks, etc. I doubt it is simple overused muscles (like when we suddenly start exercising and do too many squats and then can't sit on the toilet for 3 days, lol)... it is probably more the "impact" factor. Or so I've read in the past.

I hope she is better soon and doesn't have too bad of a time with it.

For my son, we gave advil and let him soak in warm baths. Many people use massage or heating pads. I would avoid ice paks, though, because that might cause the muscles to contract further...which could make it feel worse.

http://www.itsamomsworld.com/preschool_development_growin...

Could be. Could also be lactic acid or uric acid build-up in the muscles. Could be restless leg syndrome. Could be some joint inflammation. She could be having trouble identifying the problems and their locations, or she could have issues in more than one area. There's a lot you can do with nutrition to cleanse out those waste products - I work with a lot of kids who've had those issues. So there are solutions.

My nephew just went through a huge growth spurt and had lots of "growing pains". It turns out he was growing so fast, he had/has a condition called Osgood-Schlatter Disease.

http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/aches/osgood.html

It's an issue with parts of the body (tendons, bones, etc) not growing at the same rate at the same time.

This is not to say that every kid that has growing pains has this condition, but if it's on-going, it's worth checking out.

I sometimes I wonder if I had this as a child as I have a small bump below the knee and kneeling on hard surfaces is painful (because of the bump).

if it feels like it is muscles it is from the martial arts. If it is in the tendons it is growing pains. Is she getting taller quickly? Muscles have the ability to stretch to accommodate the new growth. Tendons and ligaments are tougher and it is more difficult for them to stretch rapidly and that causes pain. She should ice for 20 minutes at a time when she is having pain. If it is super bad you can also give her some ibuprofin but I wouldn't do that too often. A doc will probably just tell you rest and meds. If you have a sports trainer or physical therapist she can go to they should give her exercises she can do to be more comfortable. Plus if it is the martial arts they can help with that too.