What can you do about Growing Pains? Homepathics, minerals & more.
I don’t know about you, but evening time and bedtime routines were not my favorite part of raising little ones. I am not a night owl in any sense of the term and my oldest child never wanted to sleep so the often drawn-out process was quite wearing on me. Thankfully, like most kids, once around 2 years old and no more regular teething, evenings and sleeping became easier all around.
And then…growing pains would randomly show up and once again disrupt our wind down and slumber.
What are growing pains?
Growing pains typically show up in preschool to young school-age children. They are often marked by leg pain in the evening or night and are on both sides of the body. If your child complains of pain during the day or on only one side, it is not growing pains and it should be investigated by your doctor.
Growing pains seem to show up out of nowhere, sometimes consistent for a short period of time and for others just here or there with no pattern to them. Western medicine says we don’t know what causes it but that the act of growing itself is not painful. Massage is thought to be helpful but I found that although comforting in the moment, it did not actually alleviate the symptom.
Homeopathy for Growing Pains
As a holistic healthcare provider, I always look beyond conventional thought and seek other resources for knowledge and help. Homeopathy was a go-to for treating those occasional discomforts in my children that chiropractic alone did not alleviate. I found it quite effective for infants and young children for various ailments, including growing pains.
Calcarea Phosphorica is a homeopathic remedy that I have used for my own children and recommended to many others over the last 15 years. Safe for young children, I found it very effective at alleviating the discomforts of growing pains at the onset of symptoms and it became my first recommendation to families in my practice who have reported the same success.
As homeopathic remedies are becoming increasingly difficult to get in stores or even online, we are now carrying this in the office.
Over a couple of years, I began to notice a trend with my children complaining about growing pains during the spring only and realized, after the fact, that this was always when my kids had their largest growth spurts. Since Calcarea Phosphorica is a homeopathic medicine made from minerals, I decided this was a sign my children needed more minerals prior to this time of the year.
I began giving a mineral supplement daily, beginning towards the end of winter, (I used Animal Parade Tooth Fairy) and continued until late Spring. To my delight, my children never complained about growing pains again!
Not all children grow the most during Spring, but if you pay attention to your own child’s growth pattern, you will discover they have some typical growing times as well. Increasing mineral supplementation starting a couple of months prior can ensure they have ample minerals for those growing bones, leaving extra for supporting normal muscle activity and therefore preventing growing pains.
I hope this helps bring more calm and ease to your family’s bedtime routine!
