Therapy

Growing pains are unclear, frequently occurring non-malignant pains, which occur particularly in the area of muscles, joints and bones. Many infants often complain of pain at night and especially in babies, these complaints can be accompanied by nightly restlessness and tearfulness. For babies who find it difficult to sleep, are particularly restless and do not stop crying, one should always think of growth pains.

Growth pains in babies and toddlers preferably occur in phases when the skeleton is not actively growing. This can be caused by the growth and stretching of tendons and ligaments. As a rule, episodes of complete freedom from symptoms occur from time to time.

The babies primarily suffer from pain in the muscles and bones of the legs. Partner is first the paediatrician, who can exclude more serious illnesses, like for example a tumor suffering, rheumatism tables illnesses or illnesses of the bone apparatus. The complaints of the babies can be often lindern by application of warmth in the form of cherry stone cushions. The warmth relaxes the musculature and leads apart from a relaxation to the clear Linderung of the complaints. A massage of the aching area can also bring about relief.

Leg pain in children

Growth pain usually affects the long tubular bones, i.e. arms and legs, as these are more exposed to growth than other bones. Why these leg pains occur is still largely unexplained. What is certain is that growth hormones are released at night to accelerate growth, which probably causes tension pain in the periosteum.

This also explains why the pain usually occurs at night. Leg pain in children usually occurs in the area of the lower leg. Rarely do children report a pain in the thigh. The growth pains are rather diffuse and cannot usually be localized exactly by the children. It also often happens that the pain occurs at some point on the other leg.

Growth pains in puberty

Usually the growth pains occur at primary school age. However, in some cases they can also extend into puberty. This is because the growth pains occur more frequently in the two major growth phases: between the fourth to sixth and the tenth to sixteenth year of life. Boys in particular often experience a rapid and strong growth spurt during puberty, which can cause growth pain. During puberty, growth pains can also be caused by too slow ossification, as a sign of mechanical overstrain of a growth region.