I have to say I agree with much of what ftg is saying about “growing pains” as a medically sound diagnosis. How does it go?..just because the doctor has a name for what is bothering you doesn’t mean he knows what it is!". Let’s just say I am dubious and I am going to do more research.
Chotii the rice pack does sound like a good idea, I didn’t want you to get the impression I was dismissing it or something similar in favor of medication. I agree that as parents we should be very selective about giving our children any sort of drug. I just have a feeling that my son isn’t going to let us put some strange object on his leg when it is hurting like that…he barely lets us touch his leg at these times and he is very strong willed!
ftg, if I start addressing your posts point-by-point I think this thread is going to turn hostile, which really isn’t helpful to anyone. I will admit to having made the unwarranted assumption that you had been misdiagnosed, because you seem to be complaining that doctors are quick to misdiagnose leg pain. If the first contact you had with a doctor regarding this issue resulted in the correct diagnosis, I’m not sure where you get this impression.
I’m the last person to say that doctors always diagnose correctly, but I don’t understand your conviction that what are commonly considered growing pains usually represent an ignored pathology. It doesn’t surprise me that occurance, frequency, and severity of pain would vary between children - people are awfully different. Maybe growing pains are affected by the evenness of bone growth, or the degree of calcification of the bone, or whether a nerve happens to be near the growth plate… or any other natural human variance. Furthermore, growing pains generally go away of their own accord - while untreated medical conditions normally do not.
I certainly would encourage anyone, inlcuding Lagomorph, who feels that their child’s diagnosis is a “throw away” diagnosis to get a second opinion. If you don’t think your doctor considered all the real possibilities, then s/he’s not doing his/her job. And I would certainly discuss appropriate pain management with the doctor, there is no reason to ignore severe and ongoing pain.
So my question for ftg is: given that numerous people in this thread recieved apparently correct diagnoses of “growing pains”, and that your own initial diagnosis was also correct (i.e. tight tendons), do you have any evidence to support your assertion that most diagnoses of “growing pains” are throw-away diagnoses by lazy doctors ignoring underlying medical conditions? Other than your apparent disbelief is the possibility of growing pains, is there anything to suggest that the commonly-experienced transient leg pain in children is really something (or somethings) else?
mischievous
I used to get the same horrible leg pains when I was a kid. No fun!
Yes, I am reviving an old thread. But 1) I started it originally and 2) I have factual information to add.
My son, the Little Lagomorph described in the OP on Friday saw an orthopedist at Children’s Hospital in Boston for this sporadic leg pain. He diagnosed “Anteversion-Met Adductus” and prescribed orthotics and physical therapy. So it looks like after 2 years we finally have both an answer to the mystery and I hope a solution to the problem.
My son is fine otherwise, growing well and quite active and healthy otherwise. I was reviewing this thread and realized it had a lot of participation by people who were still active here so I wanted to let people know, if they cared, how things turned out. Thanks all.