Many things get branded as “growing pains” but merely because there is pain in a growing child does not necessarily mean it is a real growing pain. It is easy to dismiss pain in a growing child as this. A genuine growing pain just occurs at night and not during the day. The pain is also in the upper calf muscle and behind the knee. If the pain occurs during the day and in another place than the rear of the leg and knee, then it's not really a true growing pain and it is most likely as a result of something different that needs to be investigated. Generally, it only occurs in younger kids and awakens the kid during the night. There will be no history of trauma or any type of damage to the location which the pain occurs in.
Growing pains usually are relatively harmless and self-limiting, in that they do come right after eventually. However, they are often stressful to the child and parents at the time and, more importantly, there are a few serious and uncommon conditions which may have signs similar to growing pains, therefore each case has to be given serious attention and investigated to rule out the other possible reasons. The implications of neglecting these rare causes of similar symptoms can be serious.
The standard management of growing pains is just reassurance of the child. They need to be comforted and helped to return to sleep. Gentle massage or rubbing of the leg will often be useful. In some instances medication can be used to help the pain and relieve the getting back to sleep. Stretching before going to bed and if the pain occurs may also be useful. Of most importance is education concerning the nature of growing pains and that it will pass as well as an assessment of those potential rare and serious causes of the discomfort.