Are 'growing pains' for kids really a thing? Researchers are still unsure

BOSTON -- Many kids develop what are called "growing pains." But is there really such a thing?  

It turns out researchers are having a hard time determining exactly what they are.

It's estimated that up to a third of children have so-called "growing pains," but that isn't technically a medical diagnosis.  It's often what parents or pediatricians tell a child or teen who has random aches and pains in their arms or legs without a clear cause. So a group of researchers in Australia looked at 145 previous studies to find answers.  And they actually found no consensus on what growing pains are, how they're diagnosed, who's at risk, or what they mean. 

However, they did find that half of the studies described pain in the legs versus the arms or other parts of the body, half said they occur at the night, a third reported pain on both sides of the body, and a third said it occurred in kids with normal physical exams. 

But most of the studies said nothing about the age of onset or growth being related to the pain at all. 

The researchers say while growing pains are often a diagnosis of exclusion, meaning all other causes of the pain have been ruled out, medical providers and researchers should acknowledge that we know little about the phenomenon.