Are "Growing Pains" Real?

I experienced this when I was young and my doctor said that potasium would help. My son had the same thing. Bananas have always helped. When he is going thru a growth spirt we always have bananas for snack befor bed. They haven't been a problem since.

Hi N. p
My daughter (now grown) had leg pains quite often as a child. It was not cramping as she described it, the pain was aching and .. well, just very painful. I would sit and rub her legs and she would moan and cry. I shed some tears, too.
We took her to the doctor for it several times, and they literally called it 'growing pains.' However, her brother never had an issue like this. Both my children ate a balanced diet, and took vitamins. We never kept junk food in the house.
Now that I'm older and looking back and that period, I would handle things quite differently: I would order a complete blood panel, and get a copy of it. I'd then take it to a medical doctor who practices holistic medicine. I think that may be the best of both worlds.

Best of luck, please keep us posted.

N.:

It sounds like your son is describing what medical professionals call "phantom pain". The cause does not show up with medical testing, but seems "real" to the person. Fibromyalgia and TN patients were originally diagnosed with this.

We had this experience, and an Upper Cervical doctor located the cause: the brain stem. We didn't know that 70 trillion nerves run from the brain to the body through the brain stem. Trauma, a fall, or birth trauma, can move the atlas bone and interrupt nerve communication at the brain stem level. This can create nerve spasms that cause painful spikes in any area of the body. (My husbands was in the face; another woman had them in her vaginal area, and another we met on top of her face. In the legs or feet are well documented.)

I don't know what state you are in, but there are 1760 UC DC's world-wide. Only Upper Cervical DC's are trained to take exact Xrays to see the position of the atlas and then precisely correct the bone. NO GUESSWORK! No popping or rotating of the neck! They train for 3-5 years after their doctorate to learn this science.

You can Google Upper Cervical Advocates and find a web site that has leads to a list of UC DC's on the Links page under the Blue Add'l sources.

Blessings! Hope this information helps solve your problem. After our 12 year battle with nerve pain we don't want to see anyone suffer again, and have thousands of stories form those who found their answer with Upper Cervical.

R. Tomasi
ps I forgot to tell you that you can sometimes "see" this problem. Lay him on his back and straighten out his legs. Is one leg shorter than the other? Stand him up and look at this ears, eyebrows and shoulders? Is one lower than the other? If Yes, his body is reacting to an atlas bone that is shifted and the spine is curving causing one leg (shoulder, eye, ear) to appear shorter than the other.

You can see this on many TV personalities! Or, friends and family. Just look! Posture checks don't lie, and they confirm this instead of the potassium deficiencies mentioned.

Hi N.,

My son has had growing pains and still occasionally does. I had called the pediatrician when they first started and she looked at his chart and said his potassium levels, etc. were very good. She also stated that growing pains are very real and could occur for years.

The very best thing that you could do for him is to rub them with isopropyl alcohol. They will almost immediately disappear.

They actually make something I found at CVS called alcohol rubbing wipes. When my son has a growing pain, I just take one of those and rub his leg where it is cramping, and it really does fix the problem.....immediately.

Hope this helps and best wishes!
~T.

Of course growing pains are real! I remember them from when i was little they were horrible. My daughter also got them, the best thing i found was a warm bath and massage. now if it was in the middle of the night (as they usually are) tylonol and massage help.

.

While I do believe growing pains are real, this does not sound like the typical growing pains. They usually happen while awake and active. This sounds more like it could be a Calcium/Magnesium/Potassium imbalance. If it continues, have his blood levels checked to see which, if anything, he needs more of. Perhaps its as simple as giving hi a bananna or glass of milk as a bedtime snack.

Hi N.,

My 3 year old just started having these same pains last week. I had them as a child, and I remember that there really wasn't a lot my mom could do, but being comforted helped. :-) I've been giving my son Ibuprofin (he's had them twice) and I rub his legs and give him lots of hugs while he's crying. I hope your munchkin feels better soon!

-D.

While "growing pains" can be real, as the muscles and bones struggle to keep the same pace, be very careful your doc isn't one who overuses this term. I became very angry at one point as *everything* was being called growing pains instead of investigating it. For my daughter, it turned out that she had a bone spur that was causing her great pain that the first doctors didn't bother to look for. Also, I had some very strange pain and weakness growing up, and now I have Fibromyalgia; it seems that the early problems may have been the first symptoms, according to the lastest studies. Also, it scared me, as there is Duchyenne's Muscular Dystrophy in my family. I knew girls don't get that form, but it still scared me as a child.
Growing pains is just too easy a diagnosis. Try the extra potassium, etc., but if it doesn't work, don't just buy the growing pains diagnosis without more research. Bless you both.

I definitely remember my growing pains from middle school, and they were no fun. I was crampy and twitchy, and couldn't sleep with them, it really does feel like your bone is being stretched. I think I would still ask the pediatrician about it though.

My son had muscle cramps at night. My mom is a dietician and she said to increase the amount of potassium that he eats. Potassium is in food like milk and bananas. Try giving him a banana and a glass of milk for his bedtime snack. When I have had muscle cramps the thing that really helps is getting out of bed and walking around. If he can't do that make sure that his foot is not pointed. Pull his toes back like his foot would be if it was flat on the ground and then massage his muscles.

Yes, my girls had these during their early years. I would give them Tylenol and put warm towels on their legs. That sometimes helped.
If they had this with a gain in appetite, that usually meant a trip to buy new clothes was in the very near future. These were my warnings that they were in a growing spurt.
Good luck. They do out-grow this, too.
W.

Growing pains are very real. Both of my kids had horrible leg cramps right before a growth spurt. Just give tylenol or ibuprofen for the pain and if it hasn't eased up in a week or so go see a doc just to make sure it's nothing serious.

Since these are incidents, and they do not last, I would think that he is cramping, like getting a "charley-horse" in his leg, that's an old saying. I would not be too worried, it may follow a bad dream which he can't verbalize.
If this continues, I would take him to the doc. My son had osgood schlatters at about 4, but he fell to the floor crying with pain while he was playing one day.
You might also give him some extra calcium.

My son started having the same thing when he was two. He is now 10 and still has them. It happens two or three times a year and each time they last a few weeks. It is mostly at night and he wakes up crying. I have asked the Doctor about it and they said as long as he is not having any problems walking it is probably growing pains. Not to worry. Just give some motrin or tylenol when it is happening.

My 2 1/2 year old has also recently been experiencing the same thing and I attributed it to growing pains. I gave him Motrin for a couple nights before bed and it seems to help. He has occasionally complained during the day of his legs hurting but when I ask him to show me where he just kind of points any old place. :)

Could be cramping from not enough potassium. Try giving him more bananas (and other potassium-rich foods) and see if that helps.

Hi N.
I truly believe that "growing pains" are very real. Actually, my 2 1/2 son has been having these. He's just been generally fussy, clingy, and has an incredible appetite. It goes in waves over the past few weeks. Tylenol has worked. I wouldn't be too worried, unless, it seems to get more severe or he exhibits worsening symptoms - then you may want to check with his doctor.
I actually remember having growing pains as an older child. I would wake up and my bones ached. It was short lived and my Mom gave me Tylenol or something to help.

Good luck
P.

Taking minerals, especially magnesium, will help with growing pains. You can find childrens suppliments in most health food stores. - S.

Hey N.,

This is off topic....but I have 2 boys also....an almost 2 1/2 yr old and almost 3 1/2 year old as well. Don't find many of us that had kids that close together. They are 13 months apart. Anyway, never had the growing pain thing....but thought I would comment on our similarity....where are you located? And, yes it is wonderful and stressful all at the same time!

My daughter starts to get pain in her legs when she hasn't eaten fruit in awhile and has eaten too many chips. So I think that throws off her potassium/sodium balance. I would make sure he is eating some fruit each day - banana is good but cut up apple and grapes would be good to include to.

Also, if it is growing pains sometimes a warm wet cloth on it helped my daughter. Good luck.