C.J. asks from McKinney, TX on June 01, 2011
Are Growing Pains Real??? - McKinney,TX
My 2 1/2 year old son (who's already taller than all of the kiddos in his daycare class), has been abruptly stopping what he's doing and bursting out into tears complaining that his leg hurts. We ask him to touch where it hurts and it's varied from his calf to his knee. Cameron doesn't cry often when he's in pain. Even when he twisted his ankle at the park. So when the tears started streaming we knew something was wrong.
This is the second "wave" of these painful outbursts in as many months and when we asked his teacher if anything happened at school she casually said, "No, not that I know of....It could be growing pains". I looked it up in my "What to Expect" book and sure enough, it was there.
I've already put a call in to his pediatrician and am waiting for her call back. In the mean time, have any of you mommies and daddies experienced the same thing with your little ones? And is there anything we can do during these spells to ease the pain for him?
Bless my husband's heart -- he was alone with him when the first spell hit my son. He was terrified and wanted to take him to the Emergency Room. The only reason he didn’t was because after about 5 minutes of my son’s crying and squirming in pain, he’d start back laughing and jumping around, singing and dancing.
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R.J. answers from Seattle on June 01, 2011
Yep. Real.
Giving my son bananas every day (they have a lot of potassium in them which helps with muscle cramps) and massaging the affected area really REALLY helped a lot. Ditto ibuprofen to help with swelling.
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K.D. answers from Dallas on June 08, 2011
Yes they are very real. My oldest had them the worst. Motrin, helped at night while she slept. Other than that, not much you can do. It will pass.
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L.A. answers from Austin on June 01, 2011
Yes, Yes, Yes.. Our nephew and niece really suffered with growing pains. They would also cry so hard my sister took my nephew to the doctor.. They started tracking his growth.. His were mainly in his legs (he is now 6'2 and a sophomore in HS) he wants to be 6'3 so he can be taller than his dad.. , my niece had chest type pains when she was younger..
The doctor suggested more fluids, bananas and more night time sleeping..
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R.J. answers from Seattle on June 01, 2011
Yep. Real.
Giving my son bananas every day (they have a lot of potassium in them which helps with muscle cramps) and massaging the affected area really REALLY helped a lot. Ditto ibuprofen to help with swelling.
1 mom found this helpful
J.S. answers from San Francisco on June 01, 2011
yes they are real. and are very pain full. My daughter complains mostly at night, but sometimes during the day. I do a compression type of massage on her legs and feet (squeeze his leg between your hands). you can squeeze surprisingly hard, the counter pressure feels good to them. You can try having him lay on the floor with his knees bent and feet on the floor, press down on his knee at the same angle of his thigh bone, like you are pushing his hip and knee into the floor( my daughter loves this one). and some good old tylenol or Ibuprofen if needed.
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D.S. answers from Dallas on June 02, 2011
According to our pediatrican, they are real. My son had them starting about the age of your son, and has pretty much outgrown them by 7.5. We treated them with squishy cold packs and iburophen. I'd still check with your pediatrican, but that's likely what it is.
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H.M. answers from Dallas on June 02, 2011
N.M. answers from New York on June 01, 2011
Yes, it's real. I remember getting them. My dtrs got them,but not as much as my son. He usually gets them at night, it wakes him up. Massage helps the best but once in a while I give him tylenol when it's bad.
L.R. answers from Washington DC on June 01, 2011
Yes, they're real. But I haven't heard of kids as young as yours having them. Why not take him to the pediatrician and ask there?
I know they hit my godson hard in early grade school and my grade-school daughter also gets them occasionally.
If the pain is like a leg cramp, see if you can get him to take off his shoes and stand barefoot, feet totally flat, on a cold, hard floor -- not carpet, not outside, has to be hard and cool. Pressing down on the floor barefoot can help relieve calf cramps (I thought it was a myth until I myself tried it. It works for me but might not work on a wiggly kid his age). The pains do pass. Also try gentle massage though he might say that hurts worse.
L.L. answers from Topeka on June 01, 2011
I have no doubt they aren't real I went through them & now so are mine
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