Is there really such a thing as "growing pains"?

Question

My 13 year old daughter says her legs hurt, both of them. I remember when my niece was that age her mom took her to the doctor and said they were just growing pains. Could this be what my daughter is experiencing now? We do have a doctor appt. next week, but just curious for now.

Answer 1

Growing pains aren't a disease. You probably won't have to go to the doctor for them. But they can hurt. Usually they happen when kids are between the ages of 3 and 5 or 8 and 12. Doctors don't believe that growing actually causes pain, but growing pains stop when kids stop growing. By the teen years, most kids don't get growing pains anymore.

Kids get growing pains in their legs. Most of the time they hurt in the front of the thighs (the upper part of your legs), in the calves (the part of your legs below your knees), or behind the knees. Usually, both legs hurt.

Growing pains often start to ache right before bedtime. Sometimes you go to bed without any pain, but you might wake up in the middle of the night with your legs hurting. The best news about growing pains is that they go away by morning.

Growing pains don't hurt around the bones or joints (the flexible parts that connect bones and let them move) - only in the muscles. For this reason, some doctors believe that kids might get growing pains because they've tired out their muscles. When you run, climb, or jump a lot during the day, you might have aches and pains in your legs at night.

You can help your daughter's growing pains feel better by giving her an over-the-counter pain medicine like acetaminophen or ibuprofen. Kids should not take aspirin because it can cause a rare but serious illness called Reye syndrome.

Here are three other things that might help her feel better:

placing a heating pad on the spot where your legs hurt
stretching your legs like you do in gym class
having your parent massage your legs


hope that helps =)

Answer 2

Yes or else her legs are just tired.