Are Growing Pains real or an old wive's tale?

[Alambil]

DS has been moaning about aching joints for a while now; regularly about the same time as growth spurts (well, just before really)

Am I going mad or is he getting real life growing pains? Is there such a thing?

It's in his legs at the moment - just around and under his knees... it's driving me nuts! (bad mummy)

I too had growing pains as a child as does my dd(8) since she was about 5. I usually give her nurofen to help with the pain and she normally sleeps better.

They are real. Ds has had them since he was about 6, he is now 12, and has just finished 19 sessions of physio to help with them, as his bones are growing faster than his tendons/muscles. I give him a warm bath and calpol to help, and sometimes a hot water bottle as well.

Real. I used to have them and boy did they hurt.

My ds2 has them ( or thats what the doctors say they are) he is nearly 6 now and started with them at 2.5 years. Sometimes he is crawling around the floor in pain and can't stand up. He is so tiny though, for the amount of growing pains he has he should be tall.

Oh, I would say they were real - I remember them well.

Mine were more muscular type pains but horrendous all the same.

My mam took me to differing GP's - one said growing pains did exist and the other didn't and diagnosed me with rheumatism. Needless to say however, no more pains once I reached about 16.

Oh meant to say, I was prescribed Movelat and Co-Codamol but have you thought about trying Omega 3, 6 and 9? Maybe this may help somewhat.

I don't remember having them, but DS1 had them between 5-6yrs old quite a lot, I'm convinced they're really - he would wake in the night sobbing, and it always coincided with a growth spurt (he had an enormous one that year)

Pelvic are you really 6ft 2?! . I now have a whole new impression of you

I suffer from pains in my knees, which were always dismissed as growing pains. I had various tests when I was a child but nothing was really diagnosed. I still get them now (occasionally) although, at 48, clearly I'm not growing! The only time I didn't suffer from them was during pregnancy, when your ligaments are more relaxed.

DS2, 13, has also always suffered from this.

I take soluble aspirin and give him Nurofen.

My son does has a genetic bone problem that causes him pain, sometimes mostly in his hips.

It was much worse for a time last year and the consultant seemed to think that him growing was part of it (taking up karate wasn't helping either).

Anyway my point was that even though it is the bones causing the problems it is the muscles and ligaments that are in pain, and the doctor has always said not to bother with calpol, as it doesn't make much difference for that kind of pain, but to use neurofen.

I took DS2 (3.7) to the Paediatrician last week for this very reason.

He complains of pain behind his knees and in his thighs (at the back iykwim).

The Paediatrician was adament that growing pains do exist, despite many GP's saying it's an old wives tale. He says the theory in medical circles is that there is some micro muscular damage which happens during growth spurts and often coincides with very active days.

He recommended massage with a homeopathic muscle rub if DS is woken in the night with them.