Happy Saturday everyone! I have been thinking about the direction I want this blog to go and how it would be most helpful to nurse practitioners and moms alike. One thing I really would like to focus on is common health and wellness problems that come up in our kiddos and last night, my son gave me the perfect research topic, growing pains. No, not the great TV show of the 80s, but the actual phenomenon some kids experience early evening or in the middle of the night. Our own experience had my 5-year-old not sleeping soundly from 1 am-2 am last night because his feet hurt and little that I could do in the fog of sleep was helping.

Growing pains, also known as benign nocturnal limb pain of childhood or recurrent limb pain of childhood, was originally described in 1823 as recurrent bilateral leg pains (Lehman & Carl, 2017). There have been many theories over the years of what causes growing pains, but many are unsubstantiated. Times of increased growth velocity, children with increased body mass, decreased bone strength, flat feet, increased activity, and joint hypermobility have all been researched as causes with little evidence to support these theories (Evans, 2008).

Growing pains can be found in children from ages ranging from 4-12, with the typical age of onset between ages 3-6 (Lehman & Carl, 2017). Typical findings include bilateral lower extremity pain, typically in calves, thighs, shins, and knees, less common findings occur in upper extremities (Lehman & Carl, 2017). Pain is typically episodic, occurs at night, is resolved by morning, and does not affect regular activities (Lehman & Carl, 2017).

Growing pains are typically self-limiting, meaning they do not require much in the way of treatment, however, studies have shown that massaging the affected area, applying heat, and treating with acetaminophen or ibuprofen can be helpful in symptom relief (Lehman & Carl, 2017).

From my personal experience, my five year old fits the mold for growing pains fairly well. He will wake in the middle of the night sporadically complaining of bilateral foot pain. In the beginning, I would full-on assess him to look for swelling, bruising, etc and think about possible trauma and all of that has lead to nothing. He pretty much just likes me to lay in bed with him and “squeeze” his feet until he falls asleep. I do occasionally give him ibuprofen when it is bothersome, but of course, last night could find none!!

Growing pains are common in childhood, with approximately 15% of children experiencing them at some point (Ringold, 2019). Now, the question to ask is, “Is every childhood musculoskeletal pain growing pains?” My answer to that is no. The information provided here is not meant to diagnose or treat, so if you do have concerns about your child’s pain, I recommend following up with your primary care provider.

xoxo, Tara

Works Cited

Evans, A. M. (2008). Growing pains: contemporary knowledge and recommended practice. Journal of foot and ankle research, 1(1), 4. doi:doi:10.1186/1757-1146-1-4

Lehman, P. J., & Carl, R. L. (2017). Growing Pains. Sports health, 9(2), 132-138. doi:10.1177/1941738117692533

Ringold, S. (2019, April). Growing pains. Retrieved from Up to Date: https://www.uptodate.com/contents/growing-pains?search=growing%20pains%20children&source=search_result&selectedTitle=1~25&usage_type=default&display_rank=1