My daughter (4 years old) is currently experiencing growing pains and I have also treated multiple children in my office for these pains. Most children will experience them in their legs, arms, and feet. There isn’t any true medical explanation for these types of pain and the extent and reason vary from child to child.
The first treatment I would recommend is a massage with lavender essential oil. You can use doTERRA’s oil neat (applied directly to the skin) or add it to coconut oil. This will help relax the muscles as well as the child. I would always add massaging on the feet. Personally, my daughter has responded the best to this treatment alone.
Another good oil combination would be equal drops of peppermint, rosemary, and lavender in a base of olive oil. When making a combination of oils like this take a small Tupperware container (like ones used for carrying salad dressing). Put in 1 tablespoon of olive oil with 5 drops of each of the oils listed. To make more just double this recipe and keep it for future use. It would be best to keep the oil mixes in a dark container so choose your container carefully.
If you aren’t comfortable mixing your own oils, or don’t have all of them on hand, check out doTERRA’s Deep Blue oil. Wintergreen, camphor, peppermint, blue tansy, blue chamomile, helichrysum and osmanthus work together to
ease achy joints and sore muscles. Its effects are deep and penetrating with sustained results. Once gently rubbed into the area of discomfort, Deep Blue’s cool therapeutic benefit will be felt almost immediately. It is for topical use only. This is a great tool for relaxing muscles and taking away pain. You can get this as an oil, a cream or a roll on, depending on what is easiest for you and your children to use. I use this in my office often for low back pain, muscle strains, arthritis, and general joint pain. I have not had one person who has not experienced at least 50% relief from their symptoms within two weeks of using this oil consistently!
Try giving your child an Epsom salt bath at night before bed to add magnesium to the muscles. You can also drop the above oils in the bath as well.
The homeopathic ‘arnica’ comes in dissolvable tablets as well as creams to help reduce swelling and pain.
Lastly, getting adjusted by a chiropractor can help decrease inflammation of the nerves and muscles to the whole body and decrease the pain associated with growing.
