If your child complains of a leg pains late in the evening or at night, then there’s a good chance you’re dealing with a classic case of growing pains. This stabbing or stinging ache will usually have disappeared again by the morning — and yet that often isn’t enough consolation for the child.
If you want to offer some relief, you can try a light massage of the thighs and calves.
Alternatively a few stretching exercises, cooling the muscles or a hot bath can all help relieve the symptoms. paediatricians say. The phenomenon — which is still not entirely understood by scientists and hits around a third of children between three and 12 — often hits in the front of the thighs and lower legs, as well as the backs of the knees and calves.
Studies have shown that increased physical activity during the day can lead to more frequent growth pains at night, even if the child is free of symptoms during sports, which is why experts recommend breaks during strenuous training.
But be careful not to blame growing pains on other problems. If a child suffers from night sweats, swelling, fever, nausea, skin changes or weight loss in addition to this kind of leg pain, then there may well be other reasons behind it, as such symptoms are considered atypical for growth pains.
In order to rule out other diseases such as rheumatism or bacterial inflammation, parents should therefore go to the doctor with their child after a week or two at the latest. – dpa
