Growing Pains

Growing pains are cramping or aching pains in your child’s limbs. They usually affect your child’s legs. Growing pains are the most common cause of pain in your child’s musculoskeletal system. The pains generally affect both legs and happen at night. Growing pains usually occur in kids ages 3 to 12. These pains occur equally in boys and girls. By the time your child is a teenager, the growing pains should stop. Although these pains are called growing pains, there’s no evidence that growth causes the pain.

Are growing pains real?

Growing pains isn’t a good description for this condition because they’re not related to growing or a growth spurt. The name was given in the 1930s to 1940s when the pains were thought to be from faster growth of the bones than of the tendons. We know today that’s not true. The name has remained despite our new understanding of these pains.