If your child complains of leg pain at night, it might be growing pains. Learn the common ages, causes, symptoms, and soothing remedies to help ease the discomfort.
You might find one night that your child starts complaining about a lot of pain in their legs. This can be painful enough that they start to cry and even struggle to sleep. When this happens, it might be growing pains.
Common Age for Growing Pains
Growing pains typically happen between 3-12 years old. Not all children experience growing pains, and those who do experience them do not experience them for that entire duration of time.
Causes of Growing Pains
Growing pains are definitely real. I distinctly remember my own growing pains as a child and remember one of my children crying in pain from them. Ironically, growing pains are not caused by growth or by growth spurts. The exact cause is not known. The Mayo Clinic lists likely causes as overuse of the legs, specifically running, climbing, and jumping.
Some people hypothesize that growing pains can be related to things like anxiety, loose joints, and vitamin D deficiency, to name a few.
Symptoms of Growing Pains
If your child is having growing pains, they will complain of pain in their legs like their shins, calves, thighs, and behind the knees. This pain is also usually later in the day and evening or night.
Growing pains feel like cramping in the muscles or aching pain and the severity can vary. It is usually leg pain.
How to Alleviate Growing Pains
While these pains can be normal, you will want to help ease and even stop the pain as much as possible. Pain is never fun, especially when it disrupts sleep. Here are some things you can try. If these things do not help the situation, it is wise to talk to your child’s doctor.
- Pain medications (like acetaminophen or ibuprofen)
- Ease up on physical activity
- Try warming the affected area with a heating pad or warm bath
- Gentle massage
- doTERRA Deep Blue stick or Icey Hot for Kids
- Muscle stretches
- Vitamin D supplement
- Anecdotally, my grandmother always swore by eating bananas
Conclusion
Growing pains is not a serious problem. Do what you can to provide some pain relief so your child can feel better and sleep well. If your child has symptoms that exceed what is listed here (like swelling, limping, or rashes) it is probably not just growing pains and warrants a physical exam by a doctor.
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