Growing Pains - Itasca,IL

If in doubt then always ask his doctor. Being safe and knowing for sure is good.

Its always best to check with his dr. better to be safe than sorry. But I took my son in for this same problem he is 4 and he never would cry but he complained a lot of his legs hurting similar areas as you mentioned. Anyway. His dr. said that if there are other symptoms associated like bruising, fever, loss of appetite, etc. then they would do a blood test to check into other things such as leukemia. She said that growing pains usually are worse at night when laying down. She suggested to give him more calcium (actually suggested the viactiv chew whole one) and make sure he is getting a daily vitamin. She also said to massage the leg for him cause kids dont know how to deal with this stuff. Anyway. I would definitely check things out with his dr to be safe. Good luck though!!!

I, too, had always heard that growing pains were a myth...until my poor daughter started crying-out in pain in the middle of the night. On nights when she awakes in pain (and it is VERY easy to tell that she is truly in pain and not just looking for attention!), we give her a dose of ibuprofen.

I took her to see a Pediatric Orthopeadic Surgeon earlier this year (not for growing pains...for a non-related issue) who confirmed that growing pains are real, they only affect some kids, and it should be treated with a dose of ibuprofen!

This has never happened to my son . But my own Mom told me that she remembers having terrible pains when she was a very young child.

Check with his doctor just to let them know what is going on. Some doctors don't believe in growing pains... Can you try giving him a warm bath before bed to see if that smooths the muscles?

I grew up having horrible pains in my calves that would come and go throughout the day. Even with all the stretches everyone told me to do it didn't help until I stopped growing completely.

My son has growing pains in his feet. They have woken him up many times at night. There have also been times that it stopped him from doing normal activities during the day. We took him in for x-rays and found nothing. My first instinct was to massage his feet and when I told his doctor this, she said that was the best thing I could do for him. He even asks for it now when they are hurting him. Perhaps that might help your son. Use your thumb and move in circular motions over the area that is bothering him. I hope it gets better!
-N. Hodgins
Helping Moms Work From Home
www.MyFamilyFirstCareer.com

Take him to the doctor.

Growing pains are very real! They can hurt really bad...most of the time, they are on both legs (and sometimes even arms), behind the knees, worse later in the day going into the evening. They should never wake a child from sleep in the middle of the night, and only occasionally they may interfere with activity. There is never joint swelling or warmth. That is the usual presentation.

It can be hard to differentiate from leukemia -- but leukemia is more likely to wake a child from sleep. If there is any ambivalence, you ask your doctor for bloodwork as a "screen."

1/2" a month is a lot of growing. My stepson grew 6 inches in one year (1/2" a month for 12 straight months!, as a teenager, and he had aches and pains in his legs fairly often.

Is he doing anything new or different physically? How long has he been in soccer? Kids can get sore muscles from new exercise, just like we adults do.

I agree with the massaging, also. But if it continues or changes or gets worse, I would check with your doctor.

Inflammation. Have him checked for a strep infection- it often causes knee pain and often tummy upset (esp. at night.)

Don't give Tylenol- it is toxic if you have inflammation. Motrin (ibuprofen) is much better and won't deplete the minerals that are helping him.

I had growing pains as a child. I think it finally stopped when I was about 16 yrs. old. I got pains in my legs from the thighs down, and would hurt only at night. Sometimes I would cry. My mother would give me a liquid calcium & magnesium supplement added to some juice. I would monitor the intake of ibuprofen closely, cause too much could lead to other problems.

I know that some people do not believe in growing pains but I can tell you, I do. It seems to be more prevalent in boys than girls for whatever reason and it comes and goes. I have two boys, both of which have experienced growing pains, starting at around 3 with rough bouts starting around 4 and 5 years old. My older son had what I consider fairly normal aches and pains with growing. We have found that stretching his legs often help his muscles loosen up for the extra growth. I also give them ibuprofin or Tylenol to ease the discomfort. I must say, he never had the growing pains in the morning.

Then came my second son. His growing pains are significantly more extreme. In fact he once had them so bad in his ankles that he would not even walk for 4 days (he had just turned 4). I of course took him to the doctor, had Xrays, MRIs the whole work up. Ultimately the doc told me that since he is extremely tall for his age (he was taller than most of the 1st graders at his school at 4) and that in 6 months he had grown several inches that he will experience bouts like this from time to time. He even explained that kids who grow tall very fast will experience stretch marks, sore muscles and even have been known to break bones in their ankles because of the rapid growth. He just turned 5 and has only had small bouts of growing pains that correct easily with stretching. I do not doubt that it is anything more than rapid growth as we are all a very tall family and have all felt it and been there.

In short, you know your baby. You know if something is really wrong. Try different things like stretching, warm baths, Tylenol, heating pads, etc. Growing pains in my experience do not last but a few days to a week and go away. If you are noticing it is longer or not letting up then you need to push for a more thorough diagnosis.

Good luck.