What Causes Growing Pains?

Growing Pains are real, but no one seems to know why exactly kids get them. Learn what we do know here on SciShow Quick Question!

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[mrsloza]

Who else is watching this with growing pains lol I am

[daisymae]

how tf did I feel this the other night at 19 years old, I do nothing all day

[PierreVB-]

I've lived through those growth pains and i can tell for sure that the pain wasn't located in my muscles. It was located in my bones; shins, femur and hip bone. One thing i remember as vividly about that phase was that i had some stretch marks on my skin near those areas. Also, I wasn't perticularly active in my early teen years; going to school,  watching TV, not much else. I just wanted to clarify those points since this episode left too many loose ends in its conclusion. Thanks for keeping an open mind.

[candyland]

I had growing pains as a kid and I would most definitely cry. Surprised only 30% have them. Interesting learn :)

[kaegeum]

I've had knee pains since 2011 (currently am 16) and it is cry-worthy. I was told they were growing pains but it was hard for me to believe that it could last 5 years and be this intense. thanks for this video!

[KuroKazukiDubs]

I'm 26 and it still happens. When I was a kid I used to rub my legs really quickly to try and soothe the pain, it kinda helped but a heating pad worked the best.

[Cotonetefilmmaker]

I don't really buy this explanation (not that is scishow's fault) but I remember those pains and they were NOTHING like the muscular pain that you have after an activity filled day. They seemed to hurt in the bone itself. I remember that my knees killed me every night.

[LaraSchilling]

Now that Childhood Arthritis is mentioned, I started experiencing pain (my official diagnosis is Systemic Lupus) when I was a tween, with painful episodes before hitting puberty, when the pain got worse and more widespread. I read something (I need a citation), that some people who develop symptoms of autoimmune related musculoskeletal disorders in adolesence or early adulthood (most prominent age group), often experience pain in their childhood without cause for disease. Worse still, for years and years and years, I didn't realize I was hypermobile, and what I thought was my leg straightened to 180 degrees, was more like a reflex angle of 185-190 degrees. This has caused problems with my knees, continual arthritic pain, muscle weakness in my quads and ligament strain, along with swelling and protruding knee caps.

My parents blamed growth spurts, but I hope that parents of primary/elementary school aged kids listen to them when they say they hurt.

[peachyken]

I'm 14 and I still get those. I cry and scream because it hurts so much but it only lasts about a minute. and I guess I never knew that's what is was but it sucks.

[ikqrmagaming]

I get growing paints but i never grow XD

[chronicallyfabulous]

If you're in your teens and still have on-going pain in your joints, bones or muscles that isn't caused by exercising too much (eg. not just sore legs at night after a long run that feel better after a couple of days), then you need to see a rheumatologist. "Growing pains" stop before your teens, so what you're experiencing is not "growing pains". It's NOT normal to be in pain all the time and even if your GP is dismissive, it's crucial that you get a referral to a rheumatologist to get a proper diagnosis and management for your pain. You shouldn't have to just put up with it and many conditions that cause that kind of chronic pain cause other problems, as well, so getting the right diagnosis is extremely important.

I learned that the hard way, after having my severe joint/bone/muscle pain dismissed as "growing pains" by dozens of GPs throughout my childhood and teens (despite my parents insisting that pain bad enough to make me wail in my sleep was not normal), only to then be diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome at age 17 when I was lucky enough to be referred to a rheumatologist who actually knew enough about EDS to diagnose it.

There are hundreds of conditions that cause on-going musculoskeletal pain in kids, teens and on into your twenties. Many of them cause other problems, too.

Please get properly assessed by a rheumatologist. There is a very high chance that with the right diagnosis, your pain can be reduced through proper management of the cause xox

[Roarar]

I wasn't as active as most kids at 6-10, as I was homeschooled and traveled a lot. When you're a child with no friends, there's little reason to be running around. But, one day I had these MASSIVE pains in my legs. It was so bad that following my mother in the grocery store was more of a chore than it had to be.

[KindofDerp]

I'm 20 and still get leg pains that feel quite like growing pains (which I had often as a child) so that's fun and probably something I should get checked out xD

[yaseenmoosa]

I saw a study that stated that the cause of these pains are probably the heavy books we start carrying around when kids are in school. As kids we were used to walking to school or keeping these heavy backpacks on our backs significantly longer, taking books between classes and keeping it on our back while we are socializing.

[MattisProbably]

Overusing their leg muscles? But I was a lazy bastard and had pain anyway! Explain *that*, science!

[litojonny]

interesting, is this related to WHY THERE ISH AIRRR AROUND MY

[mysteryman]

I had them in my heart. It felt like somebody was stabbing me. I have grown out of them, but I still remember what it felt like.

[gale]

I haven't watched scishow in a while and suddenly I come back and see this dude in gauges with a quiff and I have never loved science more

[thederpZOMBIES]

Brother had a lot of growing pains, mom thought it was just him fooling around and he ended up having a bone cyst in his femur that snapped running around the track in physical education

[agentcallisto]

I'm 27 and I still get them every so often.