Pains in a growing child - How to help your baby overcome it

Typical growing pains in childhood like sharp, throbbing pain in the legs occurring at night or late afternoon is real and in a majority of cases do not require any physical treatment and would automatically disappear by the morning. Affecting 25 to 40% of the children between 3 to 5 and those in the age group of 8 to 12years, these pains that hurt are a part of childhood and could benefit with reassurance, gentle touch and attention of parents like us.

It is to be understood these pains could be the result of excessive physical activity and would go off in the morning; however persistent aches with tenderness or swelling in the joints, fever or rash, limping and weakness is to be taken seriously.

Some French researchers opine that a newborn can be calmed with a spoonful of sugar and a sucking on a dummy, with the dummy having more calming effect than sugar water or sucrose solution. It is found that sweet solutions activated the painkillers occurring naturally in the body, with the dummy diverting the baby’s attention from the pain, with the combination of the two working better. However this research considered only newborn babies that were toothless and would not risk dental decay.

Treat your child’s typical growing pains by first massaging the area till the pain is gone; the application of a heating pad to the area also worked. Ultimately the pain would go away when you help the child to gently stretch or flex the affected area. Severe growing pain can also be treated with over-the-counter analgesics like ibuprofen or acetaminophen; avoid aspirin in children under the age of 12.

Pay close attention to the child’s reaction to these techniques; if the child is not reassured or calmed by your touch and there is excessive tenderness or sensitivity in the joint or a painful reaction to even gentle touches, promptly consult a pediatrician.

Growing pains are quite different from rapid growth occurring around puberty that occurs due to increased bone growth outpacing muscle and tendon flexibility. It causes new stresses on attachments to certain growth areas on the bone causing pain and swelling that could also interfere with activities and sports. Causing inflammation of growth plates, the pain fluctuates for 2 to 3 years and affects knee and heel. Relief could be got by flexibility exercises, local ice application, and altering activities during the painful days.

A persistent and chronic complaint of severe pain with swollen joints, pain associated with particular injuries, and accompanied by fever with redness and rash in the aching area that interferes with a child’s normal activities requires immediate consultation with a pediatrician. You would also find in some cases the child may limp, have difficulty in walking and weakness of the arms and legs.

Also consult your pediatrician in the following conditions:

Juvenile arthritis that presents itself with symptoms like persistent limping, swelling of ankles, wrists and other joints, lethargy, and pain in the joints. He will refer you to a rheumatologist.

Lyme disease, a tick-borne summer illness in your children that involves being attentive to tick bites or implanted ticks on your children.

In rare diseases and conditions like lupus, scleroderma, and fibromyalgia that requires prompt referral to a specialist.

Common growth disorders:

Common growth disorders could be a child growing too quickly or too slowly; early diagnosis could lead to easy treatment. 

Too rapid growth of arms, legs or jaw bones indicates a tumor on the pituitary gland that regulates growth hormones; it could be treated by hormones or surgery.

Too slow growth, a hormonal imbalance problem can be detected with blood tests and treated with hormones.

A child’s growth could also be affected by parental genetics; your physician would be the best to advice you.

A child’s growth and development could also be affected by drugs or alcohol abuse of the mother; your physician should be informed of any history of substance abuse during pregnancy.

You sure know the growing pains of your child and must have helped overcome them. 

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