Growing pains

Xenia IM

Xenia IM

My 2nd child, now 11, has been experiencing what has been diagnosed with "growing pains" for the past 2 years.

She complains of pains in her legs, shins, ankles and Lower back. Ok during the day but can't get to sleep due to the pains - and neither can I :(

She's had multiple blood tests and x-rays and there is nothing conclusive that is causing the pain.

We've tried epsum salts and massage and diet changes and hot/cold packs and magnesium oils and all sorts of things.
Unfortunately the only thing that works is Panadol which I hate her taking but sometimes sleep deprecation takes the better of me - so it temporarily masks the problem at least for one night to allow us both to sleep!

Advice from people with older children please, has anyone gone through this? How did you cope?
Any advice?
 
Amongst the tests and issues was Vitamin D, Joint Hypermobility Syndrome and Ehlers Danlos looked into?

All can cause similar symptoms. I had growing pains as a kid and unfortunately still get the same thing but I'm no kid anymore. My kids get it too. Lots of no sleep in our house.
 
This was me. I was constantly told Growing Pains, same age. Eventually I did outgrow it but I always believed it was a type of rheumatism.

I might add it was just before I got appendicitis...probably no link but that sticks in my mind.

I had rheumatic fever as a young child (4) in London.

Now a little old lady no pains whatsoever. So maybe I got my old pains when I was a child :)

Hope she grows out of it soon.

Chris
 
Thanks for replies everyone.

Westminster
I have no idea to be honest - I know they ruled out all the nasties like arthritis, but I don't know what those things are to be able to comment.
When you say you still have the same growing pains, did it come down to a final identification of the cause?

Chrispy - thanks, great that you can now enjoy your life pain free :). It gives me a sign of relief that she could just grow out of them!

kathryn - was your experience also with a child that outgrew them?
Sometimes all you can do is manage it until it hopefully goes.
 
Oh, I think they tested for vit D and other factors. All was found to be normal. Not sure about the other things Westminster mentioned.
 
Xenia IM said:
Thanks for replies everyone.

Westminster
I have no idea to be honest - I know they ruled out all the nasties like arthritis, but I don't know what those things are to be able to comment.
When you say you still have the same growing pains, did it come down to a final identification of the cause?

Chrispy - thanks, great that you can now enjoy your life pain free :). It gives me a sign of relief that she could just grow out of them!

kathryn - was your experience also with a child that outgrew them?
Sometimes all you can do is manage it until it hopefully goes.
Click to expand...

It would be about 20 years now, but I'm pretty sure my daughter complained about her legs aching...but not any of my sons complained.
Probably went along with all the hormonal changes from that age.
She physically 'matured' early.

As an adult, she has trouble with her knees, occasionally.
She refers to it as water on the knee..not sure if it was diagnosed by a doctor.
 
Hi Xenia,

My eldest son suffered from growing pains from about 5 years old. It seemed to stop around when he was about 13 years old.

He would usually wake in the middle of the night clutching his knee/s in great pain. This would occur approximately one night per week but sometimes he'd get a 'run' of it occurring for quite a few nights in a row.

Massaging really helped but I found that panadol or even nurofen worked best (not recommended too often though, your pharmacist can advise).

Our family doctor always said it was growing pains however another doctor suggested that, because the pain was always just below the knee cap/s, it could have been a condition called Osgood Schlatter disease. Apparently the symptoms are similar. Although given my son's pain started at such a young age and lasted for years, I'm more inclined to think that it was growing pains.

Unfortunately my younger child also suffers from growing pains too, although thankfully not as bad.

All the best to your daughter.
 
Xenia IM said:
Thanks for replies everyone.

Westminster
I have no idea to be honest - I know they ruled out all the nasties like arthritis, but I don't know what those things are to be able to comment.
When you say you still have the same growing pains, did it come down to a final identification of the cause?
Click to expand...

Mine is due to hypermobile joints.

When I'm tired and do a lot of exercise (even like a gentle long walk) it can spring up and I'll be awake in pain then causing me to be tireder and so on. Bad vicious circle

I need to do the exercise to strengthen the muscles to hold everything together though. At the moment I'm struggling with a torn lining of my hip causing my femur to sublux all the time. Surgery soon then work more on strengthening muscles to hold joints together again.
 
I remember in Y7 or Y8 at school I had to hold onto the rail up the stairwell of the train station as the pain in my knees was so bad. I lived on anti inflammatories.

I now have weak knees/ankles because of it. I struggle to walk down lots of stairs and bush walking/uneven ground is tough to walk on.

It didn't stop me playing any sports tho. Was a good distraction really.
 
All three of mine had it although the younger two were eventually diagnosed with Osgood schlater. An x-ray will have picked this up if it is the case. They have all grown out of it. The older 2 played a lot of sport, the younger one none at all. It didn't seem to make any difference either way. Good luck, and hang in there.
 
Have you tried a strong multivitamin, they may have some mineral deficiency that is causing it, because the body is growing it is using a lot of ??? and is now deficient.

You may be more comfortable with them taking a MV rather than pain killers.
 
I had it while growing up - so did my younger sister (and one of hubby's older daughters) ... excruciating ... and now junior (11 yrs old) has also had them on and off since she was 2 yrs old (perhaps younger but she couldn't tell me).

I have been told by an expert that the cause is hereditary and the pain is triggered by the bone and muscle growing in length at different stages ... if the bone puts on a growth spurt, and the muscle doesn't, this causes the muscle to cramp and spasm as it is stretched.

Rubbing and stretching the leg doesn't really seem to help other than "there there" - however - we've recently got onto the Magnesium tablets when there is an attack and these, combined with an anti-inflammatory seems to halt the pain in it's tracks ... the magnesium seems to have significantly more effect than the pain killer alone.

She will grow out of it - and I feel her pain.
 
gottabespotless said:
He would usually wake in the middle of the night clutching his knee/s in great pain. This would occur approximately one night per week but sometimes he'd get a 'run' of it occurring for quite a few nights in a row.
Click to expand...

Junior had this also (as well as) around 6 months ago ... after a lot of complaining by her, took her to the doctors and got x-rays. Turns out the tendon attaching her kneecap to her shin had detached.

Apparently this is quite common in active children as the tendon is very weak and cannot compete if the thigh muscles are to strong.

She spent 8 weeks in a knee brace (the fabric kind) with no sports and healed nicely - but the doctor warned she could do the same again, or with the other knee, so keep an eye on it if feeling tender.

Yay - not - wonder if both conditions go hand in hand, both being to do with muscle/tendon stretching and inconsistent growth between the bones and the fixings?
 
gottabespotless said:
Osgood Schlatter disease. Apparently the symptoms are similar. Although given my son's pain started at such a young age and lasted for years, I'm more inclined to think that it was growing pains.
Click to expand...

I had terrible growing pains, and also above mentioned disease in my knees and left heel.

I found swimming helped, for whatever reason. Low impact movements.

I guess the best thing is you outgrow them (some pun intended). Also means you should surpass 5'9" which is enormous for my pigmy family.
 
lizzie said:
I have been told by an expert that the cause is hereditary and the pain is triggered by the bone and muscle growing in length at different stages ... if the bone puts on a growth spurt, and the muscle doesn't, this causes the muscle to cramp and spasm as it is stretched.
Click to expand...

Assuming nothing else is causing the pain, this is what my chiro told me when our kids experienced "growing pains". She said bones can grow overnight, literally a measurable growth, and the muscles just have to catch up.
 
wylie said:
Assuming nothing else is causing the pain, this is what my chiro told me when our kids experienced "growing pains". She said bones can grow overnight, literally a measurable growth, and the muscles just have to catch up.
Click to expand...


That's bunkem.
There is no evidence linking growing pains to any sort of growth spurt.
 
Rumplestiltskin said:
That's bunkem.
There is no evidence linking growing pains to any sort of growth spurt.
Click to expand...

Let's agree to disagree. I put great faith in my chiro. She knows more than most doctors I've been to.

I've just googled, and it seems there is no definitive answer to what causes growing pains.

What I do know is that Magnesia (Ethical Nutrients mega-magnesia) can stop cramps in muscles within 15 minutes. I'd be giving that a try.

Seems bones CAN grow faster than muscles...

Osgood-Schlatter disease is an overuse condition or injury of the knee that causes pain and swelling below the knee area over the shin bone.

It is characterized by inflammation of the patellar tendon and surrounding soft tissues. It is caused by the constant pulling of the patellar tendon on the area below the knee where the tendon attaches.

Osgood-Schlatter disease is seen in the growing child and adolescent, particularly those who participate in athletics. This is an age where the bones are typically growing faster than the muscles and tendons. As a result, the muscles and tendons have a tendency to become tight. It is most common in young athletes who play games or sports that involve running and jumping.

Osgood-Schlatter disease is most often seen in preteen and teenage boys from 10 to 15 years old. It is common in young athletes who play games or sports that involve running, jumping, or going up and down stairs. Adolescent athletes who are affected are most often involved in football, soccer, basketball, gymnastics, or ballet.

Factors which increase the likelihood of Osgood-Schlatter disease may include the following:

tight quadriceps (front thigh) muscles
tight hamstrings (back thigh) muscles
 
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