Curious About Growing Pains

PODCAST 207: CURIOUS ABOUT GROWING PAINS

RELEASE DATE: SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 18TH, 2022

D:  HELLO, AND WELCOME BACK TO THE CURIOUS KID PODCAST.  MANY OF OUR LISTENERS ARE CURIOUS KIDS, JUST LIKE OLIVIA.  OLIVIA HAS GROWN A LOT IN THE FOUR YEARS THAT WE’VE BEEN RECORDING THE PODCAST.  SHE LOOKS A LOT DIFFERENT THAN SHE DID WHEN SHE WAS 4 YEARS OLD.  SHE HAS GROWN SO MUCH OVER THE YEARS, AND GROWING UP IS LOTS OF FUN, BUT SOMETIMES IT CAN BE A BIT OF A PAIN, AND WE’RE GOING TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THAT THIS WEEK.  

O:  MAILBAG!

D:  MAILBAG!

“HELLO, OUR THREE KIDS, MIKEY AGE 7, MATTHEW AGE 5, AND EMILY AGE 3 LISTEN TO YOU EVERY NIGHT BEFORE BED.  WE LIVE RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE LIGHT BULB AT THE FIRE STATION IN CALIFORNIA THAT HAS BEEN BURNING SINCE 1901, THAT YOU MENTIONED ON ONE OF YOUR EPISODES!  WE HAVE ALSO LIVED IN OHIO AND PENNSYLVANIA.  WE WOULD LIKE YOU TO GET CURIOUS ABOUT GROWING PAINS.  WHY DO OUR FEET HURT SO MUCH WHEN WE ARE GROWING?  THANKS!”

O:  THANKS FOR THE SUPER DUPER EMAIL!  WE GOT CURIOUS ABOUT LIGHT BULBS WAY BACK IN EPISODE 37, AND IN THAT EPISODE WE DISCUSSED THE INCREDIBLE LIGHT BULB THAT HAS BEEN LIT SINCE 1901, SO CHECK THAT EPISODE OUT IF YOU HAVEN’T HEARD IT ALREADY.  THIS WEEK, WE ARE GETTING CURIOUS ABOUT GROWING PAINS FOR MIKEY, MATTHEW, AND EMILY.

D:  GROWING PAINS ARE VERY INTERESTING, AND I LEARNED A LOT WHILE DOING RESEARCH FOR THIS EPISODE.  MOST OF ALL, I LEARNED THAT GROWING PAINS ARE REALLY MISUNDERSTOOD.  I’LL EXPLAIN IN JUST A MOMENT, BUT FIRST, WHAT’S THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK?

O:  AS CHILDREN GROW, BOYS ARE USUALLY A LITTLE TALLER AND WEIGH A LITTLE MORE THAN GIRLS OF THE SAME AGE.  THERE IS ONE EXCEPTION THOUGH.  ACCORDING TO THE CDC, THERE IS AN AGE DURING CHILDHOOD WHERE GIRLS ARE USUALLY A BIT BIGGER THAN BOYS OF THE SAME AGE.  CAN YOU GUESS WHAT AGE THAT IS?

D:  HMMMM… THAT’S AN INTERESTING QUESTION.  WHILE YOU’RE THINKING ABOUT THE ANSWER, LET’S DISCUSS WHAT GROWING PAINS ARE.

O:  KIDS WILL SOMETIMES EXPERIENCE PAIN IN THEIR LEGS DURING TIMES OF RAPID GROWTH.  THE PAIN USUALLY TAKES PLACE IN THE CALVES, SHINS, THIGHS OR BEHIND THE KNEES.

D:  THE ACHES AND CRAMPING ASSOCIATED WITH GROWING PAINS OFTEN HAPPEN AT NIGHT.  THEY ALSO USUALLY IMPACT BOTH LEGS AND NOT JUST ONE LEG.  

O:  GROWING PAINS ARE MOST COMMON IN KIDS BETWEEN THE AGES OF 3 TO 12 YEARS OLD.  THANKFULLY, GROWING PAINS SHOULD STOP BEFORE A CHILD ENTERS HIS OR HER TEENAGE YEARS.  

D:  HERE’S THE CRAZY THING ABOUT GROWING PAINS.  THEY DON’T REALLY HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH GROWING.  THE NAME GROWING PAINS HAS BEEN USED SINCE THE 1930’S.  BACK THEN, GROWING PAINS WERE THOUGHT TO OCCUR BECAUSE KIDS BONES GREW FASTER THAN THEIR TENDONS.  A TENDON IS CONNECTIVE TISSUE INSIDE THE BODY THAT CONNECTS BONE TO MUSCLE.  IT WAS ONCE BELIEVED THAT, BECAUSE KIDS BONES WERE GROWING FASTER THAN THEIR TENDONS, THAT THE PAIN THEY EXPERIENCED AT NIGHT MUST HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE RAPID BONE GROWTH.

O:  SINCE THEN, WE’VE LEARNED THAT THE THEORY THAT BONE VS. TENDON GROWTH HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH GROWING PAINS ISN’T TRUE.          

D:  SO, WE’RE NOT SUGGESTING THAT GROWING PAINS DON’T EXIST, BECAUSE THEY TOTALLY DO.  OLIVIA HAS EVEN EXPERIENCED THEM HERSELF.

O:  YEARS AGO, I USED TO GET PAIN IN MY CALVES AT NIGHT.  THE PAIN WOULD FEEL BETTER AFTER MY MOMMY OR DADDY MASSAGED MY CALVES FOR A FEW MINUTES.

D:  SO, OLIVIA KNOWS FIRSTHAND THAT GROWING PAINS ARE A REAL THING.  I’M SURE WE HAVE LOTS OF LISTENERS THAT HAVE ALSO EXPERIENCED THEM, LIKE OUR AWESOME LISTENERS THAT SUGGESTED THIS EPISODE TOPIC.  WHAT I’M TRYING TO SAY IS THAT THE NAME “GROWING PAINS” STINKS, BECAUSE IT GIVES THE IDEA THAT THE PAIN COMES FROM THE GROWING, WHICH WE NOW KNOW IT DOESN’T.

O:  MAYBE THEY SHOULD JUST BE CALLED “PAINS THAT HAPPEN WHILE YOU’RE GROWING, BUT HAVE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH GROWING”.

D:  WELL, THAT’S A BIT MUCH.  ONE OF THE REASONS WHY A NEW NAME HASN’T REPLACED GROWING PAINS IS THAT WE STILL AREN’T SURE EXACTLY WHY GROWING PAINS HAPPEN.

O:  RESEARCHERS NOW BELIEVE THAT IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE FACT THAT KIDS ARE SO PHYSICALLY ACTIVE DURING THEIR GROWING YEARS.  ALL OF THAT RUNNING AROUND MUST BE THE REASON WHY OUR MUSCLES ACHE WHEN WE FINALLY SIT BACK AND RELAX AT THE END OF THE DAY.  

D:  OTHER STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT KIDS THAT EXPERIENCE GROWING PAINS HAVE A LOWER PAIN THRESHOLD THAN KIDS THAT DON’T EXPERIENCE GROWING PAINS.  SOME KIDS, AND ADULTS TOO, ARE ABLE TO TOLERATE PAIN BETTER THAN OTHERS.  THE REASON WHY THIS THEORY EXISTS IS BECAUSE STUDIES SHOWED THAT KIDS THAT SAY THEY EXPERIENCE GROWING PAINS ARE ALSO MORE LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE OTHER KINDS OF PAIN, LIKE HEADACHES AND TUMMY PAIN.  

O:  ANOTHER THEORY IS THAT HAVING FLAT FEET MIGHT MAKE IT MORE LIKELY TO HAVE GROWING PAINS.  

D:  FOR MOST PEOPLE, THERE IS AN ARCH AT THE BOTTOM OF THEIR FEET WHEN THEY STAND.  IT’S PRETTY SUBTLE AND MAY BE HARD TO NOTICE.  FOR SOME PEOPLE, THEIR FEET ARE FLAT AT THE BOTTOM WITH NO ARCH WHEN STANDING.  FLAT FEET ARE PRETTY COMMON, AFFECTING ABOUT 20% OF THE POPULATION.  FOR PEOPLE WITH FLAT FEET, MUSCULAR ACHES AND PAINS IN THE LEGS ARE MORE LIKELY.  

O:  ANOTHER POTENTIAL CAUSE OF GROWING PAINS MIGHT BE A LACK OF VITAMIN D.  

D:  VITAMIN D HELPS MAINTAIN HEALTHY BONE GROWTH IN OUR BODIES.  VITAMIN D CAN BE FOUND IN LOTS OF THINGS WE EAT AND DRINK, LIKE EGGS AND MILK.  EXPOSURE TO THE SUN ALSO HELPS BOOST OUR VITAMIN D LEVELS.  

O:  THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT GROWING PAINS ARE REAL, THEY ARE NOT CAUSED BY GROWING, AND WE AREN’T REALLY SURE WHAT LEADS TO GROWING PAINS.

D:  FOR SOME KIDS, THE GROWING PAINS COULD BE VERY MILD, BUT FOR OTHERS, THE PAIN CAN BE INTENSE.  FOR SOME, IT LASTS JUST A FEW MINUTES, AND FOR OTHERS, IT COULD LAST MUCH LONGER.  SOME KIDS HAVE GROWING PAINS EVERY NIGHT, WHILE OTHERS HAVE AN EPISODE EVERY FEW DAYS, WEEKS, OR MONTHS.    

O:  THERE AREN’T ANY TESTS THAT CAN BE DONE TO SEE IF A CHILD HAS GROWING PAINS.  DOCTORS WILL USUALLY ASK A BUNCH OF QUESTIONS TO SEE IF GROWING PAINS ARE LIKELY.

D:  FOR EXAMPLE, IF THE PAINS CONTINUE INTO THE DAYTIME, GROWING PAINS ARE LESS LIKELY.  IF THE PAIN IS IN JUST ONE LEG OR THE OTHER, GROWING PAINS ARE UNLIKELY.  IF THE DOCTOR IS ABLE TO RULE OUT GROWING PAINS, THEY MIGHT DO SOME ADDITIONAL TESTS TO SEE WHAT IS CAUSING THE PAIN.  

O:  THERE ARE LOTS OF DIFFERENT THINGS THAT CAN BE DONE TO RELIEVE GROWING PAINS.  A CALF MASSAGE USUALLY HELPED ME A LOT WHEN I WAS HAVING GROWING PAINS.

D:  HEATING PADS ARE ALSO PRETTY EFFECTIVE.  A NICE WARM BATH BEFORE BEDTIME COULD HELP.  STRETCHING EXERCISES MIGHT ALSO DO THE TRICK.  THERE ARE SOME MEDICINES THAT CAN ALSO BE USED TO RELIEVE THE PAIN.  PLEASE SPEAK TO A DOCTOR OR PHARMACIST FIRST BEFORE TAKING MEDICINE FOR GROWING PAINS.  IF FLAT FEET MIGHT BE CONTRIBUTING TO GROWING PAINS, INSERTS MIGHT HELP A LOT.  INSERTS ARE JUST THINGS THAT CAN BE INSERTED INTO SHOES SO THAT THE FLEET AREN’T FLAT WHEN THE SHOES ARE BEING WORN, BECAUSE THE INSERT HELPS CREATE AN ARCH UNDER THE FOOT.  

O:  THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT GROWING PAINS AREN’T PERMANENT AND THEY AREN’T DANGEROUS.  THEY CAN JUST BE PAINFUL WHILE THEY ARE OCCURRING.  

D:  EVEN THOUGH WE’VE ALREADY DETERMINED THAT GROWING PAINS HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH GROWING, LET’S ANSWER THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK THAT HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH GROWING.  ALTHOUGH THE AVERAGE BOY IS USUALLY BIGGER, IN HEIGHT AND WEIGHT, THAN THE AVERAGE GIRL, THERE IS ONE AGE AT WHICH THE OPPOSITE IS TRUE.  CAN YOU GUESS WHAT AGE DURING CHILDHOOD GIRLS ARE USUALLY BIGGER THAN BOYS?

O:  THE AVERAGE 12 YEAR OLD GIRL IS SLIGHTLY TALLER, AND WEIGHS SLIGHTLY MORE, THAN THE AVERAGE 12 YEAR OLD BOY.  THAT’S BECAUSE GIRLS HAVE THEIR ADOLESCENT GROWTH SPURT EARLIER THAN BOYS.  

D:  KIDS WILL USUALLY HAVE A FEW DIFFERENT GROWTH SPURTS AS THEY GROW UP.  BABIES WILL GROW ABOUT 10 INCHES AND WILL TRIPLE THEIR WEIGHT IN THE FIRST YEAR.  

O:  AT 2 YEARS OF AGE, THE GROWTH WILL START TO BE SLOWER, BUT STEADY.  

D:  THEN, GIRLS WILL USUALLY HAVE A BIG GROWTH SPURT BETWEEN THE AGES OF 9 AND 15, WHEREAS BOYS WILL HAVE THEIR GROWTH SPURT A BIT LATER, BETWEEN THE AGES OF 12 AND 17.  FOR THAT REASON, IT’S PRETTY COMMON FOR GIRLS ENTERING THEIR TEENAGE YEARS TO BE BIGGER THAN BOYS OF THEIR AGE.  WELL, THAT’S A WRAP FOR THIS WEEK’S EPISODE.

207 - GROWING PAINS.

D:  GREAT JOB OLIVIA, AND GREAT JOB MIKEY, MATTHEW, AND EMILY FOR THE EPISODE TOPIC SUGGESTION THAT IS REALLY STARTING TO GROW ON ME.  WE HAVE SOME AWESOME PEOPLE TO THANK BEFORE WE GO.

O:  THANKS TO OUR NEWEST PATREON SUPPORTERS, LEO M. AND DEBORAH P.

D:  A BIG THANKS TO LEO AND DEBORAH FOR THE SUPPORT.  WE DO THIS BECAUSE OF THE LOVE AND SUPPORT OF OUR AMAZING LISTENERS LIKE YOU.  JOIN US NEXT WEEK FOR OUR SEASON 8 FINALE.  AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LISTENING AND GETTING CURIOUS WITH US.