Dr. Allan Horowitz, published newspaper article, The Liberal, Copyright July 17, 1987
QUESTION: I have been a fan of yours since you started writing for The Liberal. I enjoy your columns and your sense of humour. My question is: is there such a thing as growing pains?
I have a nine year old son who was diagnosed as having growing pains. He had been complaining to me that he had annoying aches and pains in the muscles of his legs and thighs. I noticed he was more restless at night.
The pains occur at night and wake him from sleep. Finally I took him to our M.D. and what he came up with was ‘growing pains.’ He said nothing really could be done for it except to stretch his muscles and apply a heating pad. My son is still complaining and I was wondering if a chiropractor could help in a case like this.
ANSWER: There certainly is a ‘condition’ which since the 19th century has been termed ‘growing pains.’ What this really means is that doctors don’t really know exactly what is causing the pain, but because it usually happens to children between the ages of eight and 12 the name was as good as any. However, if it really was a rapid period of growth that caused these pains, then why is it that most of these children no longer have any pain after the age of 12, just when most children really begin their growth spurt?
These pains are usually felt in the legs but pain may be felt anywhere. The pain is usually described as a dull ache and is usually deep in the muscles, rather than around a joint. The pain is usually felt on both sides although one side is usually worse. (Leg pain felt on one side only usually indicates a more serious condition and should be fully investigated.) One study in Britain showed that five per cent of British school children had leg pain for at least three months which was sometimes severe enough for them to limit their activity.
In this study, all but three children were diagnosed as having ‘growing pains’ after three years of observation. An interesting note was that more than 50 per cent of these children with leg pain had relatives with some type of rheumatic pain, where as only 10 per cent of children without leg pain have relatives with rheumatic pain.
Different experts have different opinions as to what exactly causes the pain. Some say it is the bones growing faster than the muscles, others say the muscles are growing faster than the bones. Some feel it is muscular fatigue, muscular tension, a form of rheumatism, or arthritis.
Many children with these pains are under some form of stress, such as family, school or peer stress and although no one really knows why, we do know that this may play a significant role in the pain.
My personal opinion is that there is no one specific cause for all these cases and each must be looked at as an individual case. One child might have tight hamstring muscles. One might spend too much time skipping on pavement. One might be lacking enough calcium in his-her diet. One might have flat feet. Another child might have a curvature of the spine which is allowing uneven stresses to be placed on the legs. One child might have one leg a bit shorter than the other leg, therefore causing unbalanced walking and posture. Sometimes stiffness in the joints might lead to muscle pains even far away from the joints (through a loss of nerve stimulation by lack of joint motion).
If all of this confuses you, it does me too. The funny thing is that you will get a different opinion from each and every doctor you consult. A podiatrist will tell you your son’s feet are no good. A chiropractor will tell you his joints are not functioning efficiently, and he must stretch his muscles. A nutritionist will tell him to drink more milk. A psychologist will tell him to relax and not worry about the other kids at school who are all bigger, stronger, smarter, or whatever it is kids worry about these days. Which of these experts is right and which is wrong? They might all be right and they might all be wrong.
It is also possible that a few factors are combining to cause your son’s pain. Perhaps one leg is longer than the other (a temporary growth abnormality). Perhaps he doesn’t get enough calcium in his diet. Perhaps his leg muscles are very tight. Perhaps he worries too much.
A chiropractor will show him how to stretch his muscles and give him a lift to balance his leg length, a nutritionist will correct his dietary faults, a teacher or psychologist might lower his stress level, and his pains might go away. Who was right or wrong doesn’t really matter.
You should investigate anything you think might be the cause of your son’s pains and try to solve the problem. You should also reassure him that even if no one can help him, the pains will go away within a couple of years and they are nothing serious.
Perhaps a story about Wayne Gretzky or Jesse Barfield having growing pains when they were nine years old might help him understand that he, too, one day could grow up to be an overpaid professional athlete.
Allan Horowitz, D.C., is a chiropractor and writes this public service column. He will attempt to answer readers’ question on a variety of topics, including headaches, backpain, nutrition, sport injuries and preventive medicine.