Growing pains. We all get them, and they’re the worst when we grow four inches a year for two consecutive years. I’m sure you can all relate, right? No, I’m probably wrong, because no normal human being grows eight inches in two years. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, girls should grow around 2 inches per year during their middle childhood. Some of my shorter readers may be thinking, “wow, I wish I could grow that much”, but growing quickly isn’t all fun and games.

(Image via TallNCurly)

Biologically, our bodies are not made to sustain rapid growth over a short period of time. This ultimately means that when you grow faster than your joints and muscles can keep up with, you end up in a lot of pain and discomfort; put more simply, growing pains. For years, I couldn’t understand why my knees and feet were always achy and painful during the months of November and December. I ultimately concluded that I was allergic to the holiday season, and went on with my life. This was until I was about 13 and realized that my bodily aches were accompanied by rapid growth, which just happened to always be during the holiday season, and coincidentally, after my birthday.

Me smiling in a picture with my little brother even though my knees were killing me (Image via Stacey Burnard)

What are growing pains like? Imagine waking up one morning and getting out of your bed just to realize that in addition to it being extremely painful to stand and walk, your knees creak with every step. Imagine the bottom of your feet aching as if you jumped up and down continuously for 24 hours. Imagine your thighs being as sore as if you squatted 700 pounds when you haven’t done so much as a bodyweight squat. These are growing pains, and they are not fun.

(Image via HerHaleness)

Many online resources, such as this one, advise parents to take their kids to a pediatrician if growing pains become severe, as they could be evidence of a more chronic issue. Luckily for me, my family saved a trip to the pediatrician’s office because they’ve been expecting it since I was a few months old. At my first doctor’s checkup, they placed me on the growth chart to determine my expected height; well, they tried to. Unsurprisingly, I was off of the charts, even at three months old. I was born 7.4 pounds and 24 inches, which is pretty high above the newborn average. Based off of my position in the 101st percentile (not on the chart), I was estimated to be 6 feet and 4 inches.

To scale picture of me if I was 6’4 (Image via Hareem Baig)

Currently, I stand at 6’1, and I have no desire to grow any taller. So, you could imagine my agony when I began to have the same growing pains in my legs and feet – that I haven’t had in about 3 years – shortly after my 17th birthday a few weeks ago. I WAS DISTRAUGHT. As many of you know, my jeans are just BARELY long enough for me now, so neither my wallet or my body can really handle another growth spurt at this point. As of now, the growing pains have ceased and I was only achy for about a week or two, so I guess we’ll have to wait until next semester to see if I really do hit 6’4.

Thanks for reading!

Madison