Growing pains are recurring pain symptoms that are relatively common in children aged 3 to 16. The pains normally appear at night and can affect the calf or thigh muscles of one or both legs. The pain usually stops on its own before morning.
Growing pains are one of the most common causes of recurring pain in children. Although these pains reliably stop when the child has completely finished growing, it likely has nothing to do with growth.
Signs and symptoms
Growing pains usually affect both legs, especially the calf muscle in the lower leg or the muscles in the front of the thighs. Pain may also occur in the ankle muscles and tops of the feet. Less commonly, the arms are affected. The pain is frequently, but not always, felt on both sides, simultaneously. Typically, the pains are felt in the muscles, rather than in the joints. The amount of pain can vary from mild to quite severe.
The pains most often begin in the evening or at night.
When a child has growing pains, there are no objective clinical signs of inflammation, such as swollen joints. Children with growing pains do not have signs of any systemic diseases (such as fever or skin rashes), any abnormal pain sensations, tender spots, or joint disorders. A century later, mainstream medicine thought that the pains were caused by a mild case of rheumatic fever.