• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Science / What are growing pains in children and what causes them?

What are growing pains in children and what causes them?

August 5, 2020 by Karen Hill

The description fits what doctors still call growing pains, or benign limb pains of childhood. The suffering is real, though the source is still not understood.

Most pediatricians do not believe growing pains are actually related to the child’s growth. For one thing, the location is ill defined, not specifically at the limbs’ growth plates, and for another, the pains occur mostly in the age group from 4 to 12, while the periods of most rapid growth are usually earlier or later.

About 20 percent of healthy children get growing pains, usually at night and usually in the legs. They are somewhat more common in girls than in boys. Once other possible causes, like injury or inflammatory disease, have been ruled out, such pains are diagnosed as growing pains.

Usually, the use of gentle massage, warm towels, and perhaps acetaminophen or ibuprofen is all that is needed to let the child go back to sleep.

The pains have no lasting consequences, and the next morning some children do not even remember being awakened by the pains.

Related Facts

  • What Causes Sore Muscles, Stiffness, Aches and Pains the Day After Prolonged Running or Exercise?
  • Which States Are Growing the Fastest In Population and Which Are the Slowest Growing States?
  • What Is the Slowest Growing Plant In the World and Where Does the Saguaro Cactus Come From?
  • How Do Lights For Growing Indoors Plants Work and Is the Ultraviolet Radiation Harmful To Plants?
  • How Long Can a Person Keep Growing and Is It Normal To Grow Several Inches After Graduating High School?
  • How Do Your Eyes Grow, When Do Your Eyes Stop Growing, and Why Do Eyes Change Their Shape?
  • Why Will the World's Population Eventually Stop Growing and What Does the Replacement Level Mean?
  • Which Parts of the World Are Growing the Fastest In Population and Why Are Growth Rates Higher In Asia?
  • Which Parts of the World Are Growing More Slowly In Population and Why Is Population Growth Shrinking?
  • How many Native Americans live in the United States and is the Native American population growing?
  • Why does Cooking Eggs Make them Hard but Cooking Potatoes Make them Soft?
  • When Will You Stop Growing?

Filed Under: Science

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « If children old enough to walk are pushed around in strollers can this stunt development?
Next Post: Why do so many teenagers have trouble waking up in the morning? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2021 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy