According to new research published in the journal Headache, discomfort in the lower limbs, which is commonly referred to as "growing pains" by physicians and is sometimes associated with rapid growth, may suggest the presence or risk of migraines in children and teenagers.
The study included 100 children and adolescents born to mothers with migraines seen at a headache clinic, with half of the youth experiencing growing pains.
“In families of children with growing pains, there is an increased prevalence of other pain syndromes, especially migraine among parents,” the authors wrote. “On the other hand, children with migraine have a higher prevalence of growing pains, suggesting a common pathogenesis; therefore, we hypothesized that growing pains in children are a precursor or comorbidity with migraine.”
After 5 years of follow-up, 78 patients completed the study, of which 42 were from the group that experienced growing pains and 36 were from the control group.
Headaches occurred in 76 per cent of participants who had growing pains and in 22 per cent of controls. Growing pains persisted in 14 per cent of participants who had growing pains at the start of the study and appeared in 39 per cent of participants who were previously asymptomatic.
“Pain in the lower limbs of children and adolescents may reflect a precursor or comorbidity with migraine,” the authors concluded.
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