Your son starts screaming in the night that his legs hurt. A detailed observation of his legs shows no damage or discoloration. You give him massages, acetaminophen, and 30 minutes later he falls asleep and so do you. The next morning, no sign of leg pain and he resumes his activities as planned. The second night the pattern returns. Ditto the 3rd and 5th nights. There is a good chance they are growing pains. But where does this pain come from? And what can you do to help your child? Can chiropractic be useful in a case like this?
Musculoskeletal pain is a common reason for medical visits, growing pains included. Growing pains are present in 3-7% of children. Over more than 40 years ago, Oster found that 15% of children suffered from this pain occasionally [1] and recently Evans and Scutter mention a study in Australia showing a prevalence of 37% for 4-6 year-olds. [2] These growing pains are not typically located in joint areas but in the calves or thighs, rather than the knees or hips, and are usually bilateral. These pains typically appear late in the day or at night. The intensity varies from mild to severe and they can last from minutes to hours. In the morning, the child usually has no more symptoms.
Where does this pain come from?
The cause of growing pains is still unknown. Growing pains are not associated with serious organic diseases. A study has shown that growing pains were not associated with a problem of vascular origin either. [3] Accelerated growth does not seem to be a risk factor for growing pains either. [4] In a small study, it was assumed that the correction of plantar arches diminish the risk of growing pains. [5] Growing pains also seem often associated with increased physical activity during the day. It is believed that growing pains would rather be of biomechanical origin. Chiropractic care aims at restoring mechanical disorders involving the peripheral joints, spine, muscles and ligaments. These mechanical corrections can be allies in the treatment of growing pains.
[1] Oster J, Nielson A. Growing pain: a clinical investigation of a school population.Acta Paediatr Scand. 1972;61:329–334.
[2] Evans AM, Scutter SD. Prevalence of « growing pains » in young children. J,Pediatr, 2004; 145:255–258. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2004.04.045.
[3] Hashkes PJ, Gorenberg M, Oren V, Friedland O, Uziel Y. “Growing pains” in children are not associated with changes in vascular perfusion patterns in painful regions. Clin Rheumatol. 2005;24:342–345
[4] Uziel Y, Hashkes PJ. Growing pains in children. Pediatr Rheumatol Online J. 2007;5:5
[5] Evans AM. Relationship between growing pains and foot posture in children: single case experimental designs in clinical practice. J Am Podiatr Med Assoc.2003;93:111–117.
