Growing Pains

Growing pains are aching symptoms that are commonly felt by children. The pains are usually felt in the muscles and are experienced at night or late afternoon. The severity of the pains can range from acute to chronic. The conditions can be recurrent and can be absent from several days to months. These may not be associated with serious illnesses but the symptoms can be disturbing and it can affect the life of children so parents are advised to seek medical help from pediatricians. To learn more about growing pains, let us have a closer glance at the symptoms and common causes of the conditions. It is also best to look at the different effective methods used by pediatricians to identify the causes.

Growing Pains Symptoms

Some of the symptoms of growing pains include persistent and stabbing pain in the joints, severe muscle pains that can affect the normal activities of children as well as shooting ache in the legs that may happen at night. Aside from these, other conditions can be associated with the pains such as mild swelling of the joints, tingling joint pains, muscle tenderness, fever, weight loss, fatigue and weakness. To ensure that the children are not suffering from any serious illness, parents should take them to pediatricians to diagnose the possible causes of the pains felt by their children.

Causes of Growing Pains

The causes of growing pains are not life threatening but to ease the pain, patients should consult with their physicians. The usual causes include excessive jumping, climbing and running, which commonly result to muscle strains. Children aged two to 12 are at risk to these conditions. Additionally, girls are more prone to having these pains than boys.

Growing Pains Diagnosis

When it comes to diagnosing the causes, pediatricians usually conduct thorough physical examination. In addition to this, they can also interview the patients and ask questions about the activities that they usually do to determine the possible causes. Other tests that can be performed by health professionals are x-rays and blood tests.

Growing Pains Relief

Some of the first aid treatments that physicians usually recommend are heat and ice application, regular exercise and stretching as well as oral administration of pain relievers like ibuprofen and acetaminophen. Parents are also encouraged to rub and massage the joints, muscles and legs of their children to lessen or ease the pains felt by their children. Above all, children should get sufficient rest and avoid doing strenuous activities that can cause the pains.