Growing Pains in Children: How Physiotherapy Can Help
With a really active young population, it doesn’t come as a surprise that nearly 84% of Canadian kids between the ages of 3-17 are involved in some kind of sports activity or another. This was one of the many facts highlighted by the Canadian Youth Sports Report.
According to the study, more and more parents today are actively involved in taking their kids to organized sporting events. Due to the increase in the physical wear and tear kids go through these days, growing pains are becoming a common phenomenon among Canadian children. Though these pains are not considered to be extremely harmful, they can affect your child’s sleeping patterns and negatively impact their overall performance. A basic physiotherapy treatment can help your child sail through these pains much better.
Here’s a closer look at the ailment of growing pains and how child physiotherapy can help:
What are Growing Pains?
Growing pains are muscular pains which occur in children during phases of rapid growth. These pains occur when children’s bones grow faster than the length of their muscles. This leads to an increase in muscle tension and also induces a pull in the bone to which these tissues are attached. A proper child physiotherapy treatment helps in reducing this pain and speeds up the recovery process. Once a physiotherapist conducts an assessment of your child’s condition, she will prescribe a suitable home exercise program.
Why consider Physiotherapy?
As mentioned above, a proper physiotherapy treatment with a qualified professional can foster better recovery from growing pains. It can also prevent the development of other postural conditions and muscle weakness in your child and improve his muscular flexibility.
Child Physiotherapy Treatment for Growing Pains
Our physiotherapists at In Home Physical therapy and Massage come across numerous cases of growing pains. An experienced physiotherapist will first ask a series of questions to you and your child regarding the pain and its pattern, the amount of physical activity done by your child and a few other lifestyle related questions. She will then rule out any other underlying conditions that may be causing the pain and conduct a thorough physical assessment which comprises of testing a joint range of motion, flexibility, strength and a thorough examination of the surrounding bone structures. Once growing pains are diagnosed, then the physiotherapist prescribes a set of treatment strategies for your child which include:
- Home Exercise Program: Exercises to improve the strength and flexibility of these muscles. Application of heat to the focus points before stretching can also help in lengthening tight muscles.
- Massage therapy: This technique can ease muscle tension in areas of pain. It also helps in mobilizing stiff joints and lengthens tight muscles. This therapy can also be used to reduce muscle inflammation in painful regions.
There are other therapies too which help in easing muscle fatigue and emotional distress. In some rare cases, there can be an emotional component to growing pains. Your physiotherapist will calm your child and reassure them that everything is going to be fine.
Get in touch with our team of experts today to relieve growing pains in your child.
