Growing pains in toddler - any advice?

[Mumssupportingmums]

Hello,

So my 2.5 year old has been having what I think is growing pain / restless legs for around 3 months now.

It got to the point we were giving calpol 5/7 nights a week to help him, so we went to GP. He said nothing to concerning but is on the referral list to see a paediatrician anyway but it could take a while as not urgent.

He advised to try use calpol less as it’s probably a habit for him. Last night he woke with pain in his leg and I didn’t use it, gave massage instead and he was up every hour from 9pm-2am and I’d go in an massage his legs and sit with him.

anyone got any advice of ways to manage his pain? If I gave calpol last night he’d probably of slept so I feel mean, but also the doctor said try giving it less as it’s not great for them.

can’t think of any other ways to help him!

Make sure he is taking a vitamin D supplement. Everyone in the UK should be taking one and vitamin D deficiency causes bone pain.

Grow pain is thought to be caused by the bones growing faster than the muscles so lots of exercise, playing, swimming will help to stretch the tight muscles. I think the recommended amount of exercise for this age group is 3 hours a day but that includes things like playing in the park not organised activities. Warm baths before bed and massage.

Ask your GP to check vitamin D levels

Have the pains been waking him 5 nights a week for 3 months?

Three months seems a long stint for growing pains. My DD gets them but generally it'll wake her a handful of nights over around two weeks and then settles right down for a few months.

I wouldn't worry too much about one dose of Calpol in 24h if that means he can then sleep peacefully all night but I would want to be sure it's growing pains. Any idea how long the pediatrician referral will take?

Is the pain in his lower legs?

I make sure DD does lots of exercise to give the muscles a chance to stretch, like clambering in the playground etc.

If he rides a pedal bike make sure the saddle isn't too low as that contracts calf muscles if leg doesn't get to extend. Actually similar can probably be said for a balance bike.

Also it might be worth doing some gentle calf stretches in the early evening. Sitting on the sofa watching TV with his legs stretched out next to you and you can gently ease his toes towards him. Hold for a couple of minutes.

I would be pushing hard for and chasing the paediatrician appointment.

I don't want to alarm you but it's been going on long enough for there to be a need for some serious concern in my opinion.

This can be a sign of cancer in children.

@Justkeepswimmingswimming He takes a multivitamin everyday. Yes we always encourage activity! It’s usually worse after days of lots of activity.

@INeedNewShoes So it’s difficult to say exactly as it’s also been paired of 3/4 bouts of colds and flus and stomach bugs. But I’d say on average at least maybe 2/3 nights a week. We have sometimes given him calpol pre bedtime if he’s fidgety and done lots of exercise and the nights we didn’t he would wake in pain. He just saids my legs hurt mummy, last night it was his knee!
Will give the massage / stretching a go in the evening! He said the referral wouldn’t be urgent as after he checked him he felt physically he was fine, so it’s not as urgent as other things.

Is he just saying it hurts or are there clear signs of pain?

My DD's growing pains are really really painful, enough to make her distressed.

We had similar. DS now 11. He goes through phases when it’s worse and phases when it’s better, but he still wakes in the night multiple times a week. It’s worse when he has been on his feet lots that day. GP unconcerned. He is hypermobile which may be a factor. I think when I researched it the only helpful thing that had a bit of evidence behind it was daily stretches. We used to do them before bed but I didn’t really see much of an effect.

We tried warm baths and leg massages too. DS would, and still does, ask for leg massages whilst he waited for the calpol to take effect. We tried cutting down on calpol but the resulting lack of sleep for the whole house wasn’t worth it. GP said to keep using it as required. I made clear to DS when he was really young that too much calpol wasn’t good for him. For a time he had to be persuaded to take it. Now he sometimes asks for it and sometimes has to be encouraged to take it so I don’t feel that he is taking it unnecessarily. The higher than I’d like calpol intake is the lesser of two evils though as no sleep is also bad for him, and everyone else.

Please don’t think I was judging you. These are all things DD’s physio recommends for her growing pains.

@Justkeepswimmingswimming oh course I didn’t think you were judging, sorry if my reply came across like that! Thank you for tips xx

Heat packs, ice packs if you w at the no drugs route. Definitely take up a paed appointment. My DD has always had growing pains and her knees/ legs were agony every night. It wasn't until she was about 15 we discovered her hyper mobility is Ehler Danlos Syndrome. He may not have this of course but it's worth checking with a paediatrician