Editing Growing pains (section)

== Signs and symptoms ==
Growing pains usually affect both legs, especially the calf muscle in the lower leg or the muscles in the front of the thighs. Pain may also occur in the ankle muscles and tops of the feet.<ref name="Lehman 2017">{{Cite journal|last1=Lehman|first1=Patrick J.|last2=Carl|first2=Rebecca L.|date=March–April 2017|title=Growing Pains|journal=Sports Health|volume=9|issue=2|pages=132–138|doi=10.1177/1941738117692533|issn=1941-0921|pmc=5349398|pmid=28177851}}</ref><ref name="Mohanta 2014">{{Cite journal|last=Mohanta|first=M. P.|date=May 2014|title=Growing pains: practitioners' dilemma|journal=Indian Pediatrics|volume=51|issue=5|pages=379–383|doi=10.1007/s13312-014-0421-0|issn=0974-7559|pmid=24953579|s2cid=2871876}}</ref>  Less commonly, the arms are affected. The pain is frequently, but not always, felt on both sides, simultaneously. Typically, the pains are [[Muscle pain|felt in the muscles]], rather than in the joints. The amount of pain can vary from mild to quite severe.

The pains most often begin in the evening or at night.<ref name="Lehman 2017" /> When the pains appear while the child is sleeping, they often wake the child up at night.<ref name="Mohanta 2014" />  The pains can last from 30 minutes to 2 hours or more, and are usually, but not always, gone by morning.<ref name="Mohanta 2014" />  Typically, the pains appear once or twice each week, but can occur more or less frequently.<ref name="Mohanta 2014" />

The pains are not in the same place as an injury, including [[overuse injuries]] such as [[shin splints]], and the child does not [[limp]] while walking.<ref name="Lehman 2017" />