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Home
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Growing Pains
by A.Ross
People vary remarkably in their ability to tolerate pain; one
person may find the pain of a small cut or bruise
intolerable, while another can bear a major wound with little
complaint. Ability to withstand pain also varies according to
mood, circumstance, personality and age. In a moment of
excitement, a person may not even be aware of the severe
bruise he received, but he will certainly feel it later.
Older people complain less of pain, either because sensations
have been dulled with age, or because they are more
stoical.
I remember having severe pain in my legs as a child and my
mother told me soothingly that they were growing pains, and
would soon go away. They always did. When one or other of my
children woke at night with severe pain in their legs, I
would comfort them and tell them it was growing pains. It is
a fact, though, that these pains have no connection to
growth. For generations, children have complained of
idiopathic pain, either mild or severe, and for lack of a
better term, the pains were called growing pains.
The term 'idiopathic pain', (i.e. the cause is unknown), is
used if doctors find no physical or psychological cause. Some
mothers shrug off the phenomenon, feeling their children like
to exaggerate pain. Others worry unduly and visit the doctor
repeatedly. The child is subjected to numerous tests and the
mother is told it is growing pains.
Recent extensive research in Australia has shown that more
than a third of all children between the ages of three and
eight suffer from these inexplicable pains at some time or
other. Some children wake up at night writhing in pain;
perhaps they have a low pain threshold, but they are
certainly in pain. They derive little comfort from the fact
that they are told that they will grow out of it. Sufferers
are usually perfectly healthy children. The pain is not
always in the same place and not always in both legs at the
same time. The researchers ruled out psychosomatic pain
because it occurs in very small children as well. Little
children cannot imagine pain. Actually, they can and do, stop
using a limb if they feel pain. They can begin to limp or
stop walking altogether if something hurts them. Therefore,
although mothers worry terribly if their child limps, it is
not always a cause for worry.
Muscle fatigue was also eliminated by researchers because
parents reported that the pain frequently occurred after
children had spent a quiet day without much exercise. Thus,
at the moment, there is still no conclusive evidence as to
the cause of these 'growing pains.'
How do we know that the pain is not something serious? Are we
not negligent if we ignore it? The pain usually goes away
spontaneously, but one has to check if it is something grave
by a process of elimination. If there has been an injury, or
the child has fever, or there is some swelling, a parent
should definitely consult a doctor to rule out other causes.
Pain can be a pointer to more serious things, and a doctor
will probably want a blood test.
However, as these pains are so common, and as they seem to
run in families, we do not have to subject the child to
numerous invasive tests if we can rule out the likelihood of
a severe illness. We need to calm the child (and ourselves),
as tension increases pain. Furthermore, if a child feels a
mother is worried, the pain will automatically become more
severe. A mild dose of brufen or paracetamol will not do any
harm if the pain persists. Rubbing the affected area might
help, and so will a cuddle.
The One Who creates cures, will no doubt aid researchers to
arrive at the true cause for these mysterious growing pains,
which are so widespread, in good time.
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