When Growing Hurts

It’s the middle of the night. Your child is crying, grabbing their leg, unable to sleep. You wonder: is this serious? Should I see a doctor? Or is this really “just” growing pains? Growing pains are real and they’re often underestimated. Not because they’re dangerous, but because they exhaust the child, disrupt sleep, and put strain on the whole family. I’ll explain what’s behind them and what can actually help.

What are growing pains?

Growing pains, medically also called “idiopathic limb pain in childhood”, typically occur between the ages of three and twelve, particularly during phases of rapid growth. They usually show up in the legs: in the muscles, around the bones, sometimes deep in the tissue.

What’s characteristic: they come episodically, often in the evening or at night and during the day the child is perfectly fine again, as if nothing happened.

What I think is important to say: growing pains are, in most cases, not dangerous. But they’re also not a reason to simply wait and see. A child who regularly sleeps poorly and is overstimulated carries that burden with them and it leaves its mark.

What’s behind it?

The body grows but not always evenly. Bones, muscles, fascia, and the nervous system all grow at different rates. This creates tension in the tissue, particularly where blockages or imbalances already exist.

I sometimes put it this way: a child who grows slowly gives their body time to adapt. Everything keeps pace. But a child who shoots up seven centimetres in a short space of time. Their bones are simply running ahead of the rest of the body. The muscles, fascia, and nervous system can barely keep up. And exactly where the tissue has no more room to give, pain arises.

What I see in my practice: children with growing pains often already have a baseline tension in the body, in the spine, the pelvis, the fascia of the legs. Growth then pulls on structures that have no more slack.

This also explains why some children barely know growing pains while others wake up regularly at night. It’s not a question of character — it’s a question of tissue.

How I can help

In my practice, I work with growing pains using craniosacral therapy, osteopathic manual techniques, and reflexology. Always gently, always adapted to the child.

I start by looking: where is the body under tension? Where is the tissue blocking the free flow of movement? Where is the spine, the pelvis, the hip compensating?

Craniosacral techniques work with the body’s own rhythm, so gently that many children fall asleep during the session. They release tension in the meninges, the sacral area, and the fascia that have come under pressure through growth. At the same time, they support the nervous system in stepping out of alarm mode. Because a child who regularly wakes up in pain at night often carries a heightened baseline tension in their nervous system.

Osteopathic techniques complement this: they restore freedom of movement to the body as a whole. Because growing pains in the leg often have their root elsewhere, in the pelvis, the hip, sometimes even the neck. I always look at the whole person, not just the spot that hurts.

Reflexology offers an additional, very gentle pathway, particularly valuable for children who don’t like being touched or find it hard to relax. Through targeted points on the foot, hand, or ear, organs, muscles, and the nervous system can be addressed without me needing to work directly on the painful area. For growing pains in the legs, this is often a powerful first step.

This combination of different methods is what defines my work. Not one technique that fits everyone but an individually tailored approach that meets the child’s body exactly where it is right now.

When is it worth making an appointment?

If your child regularly complains of leg pain, particularly in the evenings or at night and the pediatrician hasn’t found anything of concern, it’s worth taking a closer look at the body. Or if you simply have the feeling that something isn’t quite right: one shoulder higher, one foot turned differently, the posture not quite symmetrical. Parents often notice these things first and that instinct is worth taking seriously.