Growing pains

[Lou1993]

My 11 year old son has been getting knee pain over the past month, we went to the doctors and he said its growing pain, he's worse in the morning and it gets better throughout the day but he's not wanting to walk far or do much due to his knee. Has anyone else experienced this and have any tips to help? We've tried ice, ibuprofen gel and calpol.

My DS11 has has these - he went through a growth spurt during the winter and he also had these when he was 8. I don’t think there’s much more you can do other than what you have been doing already. Has your son be referred for a scan? My DS was diagnosed with Osgood-Schlatter’s disease, have you heard of it? It’s really common. Have a read online 😊

That is what my son was diagnosed with, he's had no scan the doctor did a thorough check though. It's just in one knee and its a lot worse in the morning and after resting. I'm just unsure how long I leave it until I go back to the doctors again. He hasn't played any sport since it first starting hurting as he's worried it will become worse, I'm trying to encourage him to as his knee seems to be stiff

My son had something similar and it can be really worrying when they start avoiding activities they usually enjoy. Hopefully it settles soon. Gentle stretching, warm baths and making sure he doesn't overdo things on painful days might help. If it continues or gets worse, I'd go back to the GP just to get it checked again.

He says his knee is getting better but it's still bothering him, I'm hoping now he's off school and he's not got as much on (very busy end of term!) He will be able to focus more on it healing.

Knee pain can sometimes be referred pain from the hip. Things like a SUFE or hip issues often present in the knees. Is your son normally very sporty?

pain without obvious reason (unusual amount of exercise or accident) an one sided pain should always be investigated.

a child that age should be running around like mad, not avoiding exercise due to pain.

can you get him seen by a physio for assessment if it's posture/hip related?

did he have a cold/flu recently?

have a look as osgood-schlatter symptoms.
also crmo/osteomyelitis
also Coxitis (hip inflammation)

He plays football a couple of times a week and is active usually. The doctor checked his hips and said all is fine.

No cold or flu. He's had a growth spurt that's why the doctor thinks growth related. I thinks it's more in his head not wanting to exercise as he's worried it will make it worse.

you can give him paracetamol or ibuprofen and see if it helps.

He's been having ibuprofen gel and paracetamol. I'm just trying to encourage him to be more active as his knee seems more stiff. I may try swimming as it will be gentle on his knee.

yep my son had the same thing, was also diagnosed with Osgood- Schlatters disease, it’s more common is sporty children, we were advised to shop all his sports clubs for six months, was awful

Did you find that he struggled more in the morning due to knees being stiff? My son's hobbling out of bed and he gets upset, he seems to feel better once he's walking around but he's putting off doing anything active as he doesn't want his knees to hurt.

Yes , he needed help in the morning to get out of bed , my son was really sporty , and was playing his sport at quite a high level , I could of cried for him when we were told no more sport,