8 year old's legs are hurting and keeping him awake - advice please

[mummyofcutetwo]

My 8yo's lower legs are hurting and are keeping him from sleeping. He keeps on crying, they're aching so much. From a quick google search I think it's "growing pains".

I've given him calpol and rubbed his legs and I don't know what to do next.

If anyone's up and has any advice on how to make him more comfortable I'd be very grateful!

Thank you

[WatcherOfTheNight]

My Ds gets this quite frequently,sometimes a hot water bottle or heat pack eases it enough for him to go back to sleep.

[hellsbells99]

Is he limping? If so, always get checked by a GP. It could be irritable hip which can cause referred pain in the knee.

[OlennasWimple]

DS had this at exactly the same age. We did the same: Calpol and rubbing, and eventually dropping off to sleep. It doesn't last forever, but is sore while it does

[CrabbyJo]

My DS suffered with this for years as did I through constantly being woken by him because of it
It lasted for him from the age of 8 until 12 unfortunately and there's very little you can do to ease it. Lots of comfort and reassurance from you is all I can suggest. I used to gentle massage his legs which would settle and calm him down eventually, very distressing. Feel for you both. It's a bit like newborns waking in the night, I'd forgotten those difficult years until your post reminded me as he's nearly 15 now.

[AcrossthePond55]

I had growing pains, as did my DS1. Pain relief, moist warmth and rubbing is about all you can do.

One other word though, if your DS has recently had (or is in the middle of) a growth spurt you may want to have his paediatrician screen him for Osgood-Schlatter's Disease. Rather scary words to describe a syndrome in which the ligaments don't keep up with bone growth, particularly around the knees. My DH had it as a child and there is usually more specific treatment for it. It's not disabling and doesn't leave lasting problems.

[mummyofcutetwo]

Thank you all so much for your help. Poor love is tall for his age already (in 12yo clothes) and I think heading for a growth spurt.

I'll take all your advice x

[gingerboy1912]

Both my boys had this at night and it was painful. I gave them paracetamol, a hot water bottle and spend time rubbing their legs it would pass after about 30 mins or the paracetamol kicked in. I remember getting growing pains as a child it bloody hurt. It's some to do with lactic acid apparently

[Butterflies27]

My ds suffered with crampy legs which we put it down to growing pains. After lots of googling I read that bananas can help can't remember why but we gave him a banana before bed every night and it def helped.

[Liara]

When ds1 had this we made him do gentle stretching every day and it seemed to help (or maybe it just went by itself, but we felt better for trying to do something about it...)

[bluebump]

Bananas helped here too! My DS suffered from this for a while, I took him to the GP to check it wasn't anything serious but it did come and go.