Does Your Child Have Growing
Pains??
This page is provided by Thomas J. A. Lehman MD
Delivering the
best care - with great care
Dr. Lehman is the
author of many textbook chapters and articles on the care of children and young
adults with arthritis and related conditions.
He practices in
BE SURE your child is getting the care they
need. Do you have questions about
medications, lab tests, dealing with schools, teachers, family and friends,
insurance companies, finding the best doctor?
There’s too much to put it all here on the web. Many more answers you need are in my book (see below or click
here).
Whenever a child
complains that an arm or leg hurts everyone’s first thought is an injury. Even if a child is old enough to deny an
injury, parents often assume that the child just doesn’t remember what
happened. When
the pain continues beyond a few days parents often dismiss the complaints as
growing pains. They only seek
medical attention if the child is in severe pain or having obvious
difficulties. Unfortunately
this is often wrong.
Growing pains
typically occur in young children.
They wake up from sleep complaining of
pain. Parents become aware of the
problem when they hear the child crying.
Most often growing pains occur in the first few hours after the child
has gone to sleep. Typically a child
will point to the front or back of the knee, or the muscles just above the
knee. The pain
will usually disappear with ten or fifteen minutes of gentle massage to the
area and be completely gone in the morning. The pain is always in a large joint like the
knee or ankle. Sometimes the pains will
wake the child up two or three nights in a row, but more often they occur
episodically over a period of weeks or months.
They may disappear for months or a year only to start up again.
The key finding for growing pains is that the child is absolutely
fine when they wake up in the morning. There is no pain, no limping, or any other
abnormality in the morning. Whenever
pain is still present when the child wakes up in the morning or occurs while
the child is awake, it must not be dismissed as ‘growing pains.’
For a child with typical growing pains a trip to the
doctor is not usually necessary.
However, if the pains are persistent or unusually severe a medical
examination is warranted. A child with
growing pains should have absolutely normal blood tests and X-rays. Bone scans, MRIs
and other special tests are not indicated for a child with growing pains. However, they may be necessary to exclude
other causes of pain in children who have atypical findings.
There are a
variety of explanations for growing pains. There is evidence that the body produces more
growth hormone at night, and some doctors believe the body is actually growing
faster at night leading to the pain.
Surprisingly growing pains tend to run in families. If one of your children is having a lot of
growing pains ask your parents and your spouse’s parents. It’s likely one of you also had a lot of
growing pains.
Growing pains can be disturbing to both
parents and children. The first step is
to be sure that, “It’s just growing pains.”
Most often gentle massage and reassurance are enough to help the child
get back to sleep. Children with more
severe pain usually will respond to a dose of acetaminophen or ibuprofen just
as you would treat them for a headache during the day. If they have been waking up with pain
several nights in a row, it may be helpful to give them a dose of medication at
bed time. This will decrease the
perception of pain and may prevent the child from awakening. After two or three nights without episodes
the medication should be stopped. If the pains persist despite medication or return as soon as
the medication is stopped, a full medical evaluation should be done.
Growing pains will go away. They may come back when the child goes through
another period of rapid growth, but they never stay. While inconvenient they are not of any long
term significance. They do not interfere
with proper growth or development. If you think your
child might have a more serious condition, consult your doctor. If you’re not getting the answers you need you may find more
help in my book -- see below.
BE SURE your child is getting the care they
need. Do you have questions about
medications, lab tests, dealing with schools, teachers, family and friends, insurance
companies, finding the best doctor?
There’s too much to put it all here on the web. Many more answers you need are in my book (see below or click
here).
My
book –click here to order at a discount from Amazon.com!!
30 %
off today at Amazon.com ($24.50)
Reviewer’s comments
“Dr.
Tom Lehman’s
experience and compassion are evident on every page of this book, and they help
guide the reader—child,
parent, and healthcare professional alike – through the world of childhood arthritis. This book is an absolute gem written with a
single goal in mind: improve the lives
of kids with arthritis.” -- Jack Klippel, M.D. President and
CEO of the Arthritis Foundation
“Dr. Lehman has given
parents and families of children with arthritis the first book that speaks to
the parent and child as equals. His book
explains the illnesses, the medications, the lab tests, and the disease course
in simple, understandable lay language and givens them valuable insight into
how a pediatric rheumatologist thinks.
Bravo!”-- Charles Spencer, M.D., Professor of
Clinical Pediatrics,
It’s not just
growing pains.
A guide to childhood muscle, bone, and joint pain,
rheumatic diseases and the latest treatments
Click here to see the table of
contents
It
has always been a frustration trying to answer the many questions I have
received from people over the web. I can’t
take the time and give them the detail I would like to. I have to take care of my patients. This book is a distillation of my experience
answering questions for parents and health professionals over 25 years of
practice. If you want to know about the
diseases, the tests, the medications, or how to be sure you are getting the
best care– If you are the family member of a child with joint pains, this book will give you the answers. If you are a general physician, a
pediatrician, or a nurse who cares for children with these diseases it will
answer many of the questions families ask you, and you can recommend it to
them. It will also answer many of your
questions about what shots to give, what precautions to take, and the other
questions families, pediatricians, and other health care providers have asked
me over the years.
Dr. Lehman is the author of many
textbook chapters and articles on the care of children and young adults with
rheumatic diseases including SLE, JRA, dermatomyositis, scleroderma,
Click here if you are interested in making an appointment to see
Dr. Lehman
Click for BOOKS dealing with
childhood rheumatic diseases
This site provided by Thomas J. A. Lehman MD
Chief, Division of Pediatric Rheumatology
The Hospital for Special
Surgery
535 E 70 St,
212-606-1151, fax 212-606-1938, e-mail goldscout@aol.com
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