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By Mayo Clinic staffYour child's doctor will do a physical exam and ask questions about your child's signs and symptoms. Other specific conditions — such as restless legs syndrome, which is characterized by unpleasant sensations in the legs and an uncontrollable urge to move them for relief — must be ruled out before your child's leg pain can be attributed to growing pains. Rarely, the doctor may use blood tests, X-rays or other diagnostic tests to help determine the cause of your child's leg pain.
- Lehman TJA, et al. Growing pains. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Aug. 15, 2008.
- Restless legs syndrome fact sheet. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/restless_legs/detail_restless_legs.htm?css=print. Accessed Aug. 15, 2008.
- Stewart ST. Orthopedic injuries and growing pains. In: Berkowtiz CD. Berkowitz's Pediatrics: A Primary Care Approach. 3rd ed. Washington, D.C.: American Academy of Pediatrics; 2008:547-553.