Are growing pains a thing?

[GrowingPains3]

DS is 5 and over the last couple of months has started complaining that his legs hurt, probably about once a day. I'm wondering if it's something I should be taking seriously or is it just one of those things?

He's well, eats well, sleeps well, and is more active than ever, constantly wanting to run and play football so definitely not holding him back in any way.

Are growing pains a thing in your experience?

I’ve always wondered this too as my child often says the same

They are for sure. My DC have all had them

My DD much more so, which follows an unusual family pattern along the maternal / female side: pains in our legs up to c mid-twenties (so not just 'growing' pains), exacerbated by tiredness & cold.

This is going to sound really weird but one of my kids had this and it went on for years. It turned out to be dairy allergy. As soon as he stopped drinking milk the pains stopped. I've never heard of that as a symptom of dairy allergy before but we've challenged it and, as soon as he has milk to drink the pains come back.

My DS's both had them. Back,arms & legs. DS1 shot up to 6'4 over 4 years and he still has stretch marks on his back where he grew so fast.

Two of mine had this and now my grand daughter gets them.
They can be really distressing. With mine it was mostly their legs which were really sore. My eldest ended up having an x ray as at one point his legs were so sore he couldn't stand.
I used to rub their legs at night to try and ease the pain along with Calpol.

Yes one of mine had them terribly. They are aren’t necessarily actually growing pains but are linked to overuse of muscles during the day - especially running, jumping etc

I was dubious when the Dr told me this but when I looked for it I did notice they often occurred on days of high physical activity, and I got better at managing it. Magnesium tabs and oil to massage with, warm bath or shower, pamol and really encouraged stretching.

I remember having them in my shins - mostly at night.

Yes I definitely remember them and my ds often complains about his legs hurting, particularly at night. My dh grew very rapidly as a teen, going from being the shortest to the tallest, and said all his bones ached during that period. Always worth getting it checked though to be sure.