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?Mommy, I can’t feel my legs,” my three-year-old son said to me one night.
?What"!? I asked, trying to stay calm.
?I can?t feel my legs, and I think there are spiders in them. It hurts.? Brock was lying on the floor, clutching his shins, while his eight-year-old brother, Connor, stood there laughing at him. I reminded Connor that he said something very similar when he was younger, too.
Discomfort in both legs?usually in the front of the thighs or shins, or sometimes behind the knees?is often chalked up to growing pains. (That?s what my mom always told me, anyway. I had them, too.)
Contrary to popular belief, however, this kind of pain isn?t necessarily related to growth spurts, says Peter Nieman, a community paediatrician in Calgary. Growing pains are most common at night, in very active children between the ages of three and five, and then again from eight to 12. ?We can?t 100 percent define what causes growing pains, but it?s most likely fatigue of the muscles after excess physical activity,? says Nieman.
This would explain the pains I felt as a little girl?I was a competitive Irish dancer from the age of three. My boys are also extremely busy with sports: Connor competes in motocross and plays rep hockey; Brock loves soccer and basketball. My husband, who was also an athletic kid, recalls growing pains, too.
Some doctors believe that there?s a genetic link: If you had achy legs, your children are at a higher risk. Other studies have fo...