720-777-0123
-
Conditions & Advice
Parenting Tips and Advice
From bringing home a new baby to building trust with your teen, our pediatric experts share guidance to help you navigate the ups and downs of parenthood.
- Your Visit
-
Research & Innovation
It starts with a Q:
For the latest cutting-edge research, innovative collaborations and remarkable discoveries in child health, read stories from across all our areas of study in Q: Advances and Answers in Pediatric Health.
Orthopedics
Growing Pains in Kids
We treat kids like they should be treated: like kids. That’s why we designed our hospital just for them.
What are growing pains?
Growing pain is a term used for harmless muscle pains in kids that have no obvious explanation, other than running or playing hard. They're commonly thought of as a rite of passage, and they occur in about 10 to 20% of healthy, school-age children.
Growing pains typically hurt in the muscles and not in the bones or joints. The pains are typically not localized, meaning that both legs hurt as opposed to just one leg or a specific site of pain.
Who gets growing pains?
Growing pains generally happen during two periods: in early childhood among 3- to 5-year-olds and later in 8- to 12-year-olds. Growing pains tend to be worse at night, sometimes waking children from sleep.
When should I worry about my kid’s growing pains?
If any of the following are present, it is unlikely that your child has growing pains and you and your doctor should look for other causes:
- Symptoms of general illness, such as fever or weight loss
- Pain specific to a single joint
- Pain worsening with time
- Pain interfering with usual daytime activities
- Limping
- Abnormal joint symptoms, such as restricted motion, redness, swelling, warmth or tenderness in the related area
What are the signs and symptoms of growing pains?
Growing pains:
- Usually occur in the calf or thigh muscles
- Always occur on both sides of the leg, not just one side
- Happen late in the day or at night, disappearing by morning
- Usually last 10 to 30 minutes
How are growing pains diagnosed?
When diagnosing growing pains, your child's doctor at Children's Hospital Colorado will pay special attention to how your child responds to touch while in pain.
Kids who have pain from a serious medical disease don't like to be touched or moved because it tends to increase the pain. However, kids with growing pains usually respond differently because they feel better when they're comforted with physical touch such as being held, massaged or cuddled.
How are growing pains in kids treated?
Typically, growing pains are treated with stretching, massage, warm bath/showers and occasionally anti-inflammatory medications like ibuprofen.
Why choose Children's Colorado for your child's growing pains?
At the Orthopedics Institute at Children's Colorado, we care for all types of musculoskeletal conditions, from minor growing pains to complex neuromuscular disease and trauma.
Next steps
-
Would you like to learn more about us?
Learn more about the Orthopedics department -
Do you need an appointment or have a question?
720-777-6600 -
Are you ready to schedule an appointment?
Schedule an appointment
Compassionate care, wherever you are
We’re here when you need us. Telehealth appointments are available across every specialty, so you can get the high-quality care we’ve always offered from the comfort, privacy and convenience of home.
See if telehealth is right for you
Get to know our pediatric experts.
Aaron Powell, MD
Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation - Pediatric, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
Brian Kohuth, PA-C
Physician Assistant
Jay Albright, MD
Orthopaedic Surgery, Sports Medicine