Has your child been complaining about pain in his legs? Specifically hips, knees or heels? Does the pain get worse with activity, and better with rest?
A lot of the time, these can get passed off as “growing pains”, but more likely, they may have an inflammation of their growth plate, also known as an apophysitis. The most common of these are:
- Sever’s Disease (back or underside of the heel)
- Osgood Schlatter’s Disease (bony area under the patella/knee cap)
- Iliac crest apophysitis (bony part of the upper hip area near the waist)
- Sinding-Larson-Johansson syndrome (bottom part of the patella/knee cap)
- Little League Elbow (bony part of the inner part of the elbow)
As children grow, their bones and muscles do not always grow at an equal rate. This can cause unusual stress on the point where the muscles attach to the bone. Add in repetitive activity such as running, jumping, throwing or kicking and this can lead to irritation, inflammation, and micro-fractures at the growth plate.
While we may not be able to control your child’s growth rate, we can help to reduce the impact of these growth spurts on the muscles and growth plates to help reduce pain and improve function. If you think this sounds familiar do not hesitate to contact us. Then sooner you can get on top of it, the better. We can do a full assessment of where your child’s pain is coming from, and help set you up with a plan to manage it.
