Children & Infants
Growing Pains
Growing pains cause aching in the legs and limbs of growing children, especially at night. They are largely preventable with adequate calcium, magnesium, and other key nutrients.
Also known as: Limb pain in children, Recurrent limb pain
📝 At a glance
Likely root causes: Nutritional deficiencies (calcium, magnesium, selenium); Muscle fatigue from heavy physical activity; Possible circulatory factors.
First thing to try: Provide a daily nutritional program rich in calcium (2,000 mg), magnesium (1,000 mg), and selenium (500 mcg).
See a doctor if: Pain associated with limping, swelling, redness, or fever
🔎 Start with the cause
Lasting relief rarely comes from covering a symptom. First find what is feeding the problem, change what you can, and then help the body do what it was designed to do — heal.
Likely root causes
- Nutritional deficiencies (calcium, magnesium, selenium)
- Muscle fatigue from heavy physical activity
- Possible circulatory factors
- Inadequate diet
Change what you can
- Provide a daily nutritional program rich in calcium (2,000 mg), magnesium (1,000 mg), and selenium (500 mcg).
- Ensure adequate vitamin A (from carotene — orange and yellow fruits, vegetables, and carrot juice), B-complex, vitamin C (1,000 mg), and vitamin E (400 IU).
- Feed the child a well-balanced, nourishing diet.
- Completely eliminate junk food.
- Ensure adequate arginine intake (coconut, oats, soybeans, walnuts, wheat, wheat germ, carob) — arginine triggers growth hormone release from the pituitary.
- If pain is present at night, gentle massage and warm compressA cloth soaked in warm or cold liquid, held on the skin. How to make a compress → to the affected area provides relief.
- Ensure adequate sleep and physical activity balance.
- Consult a physician if there is swelling, limping, redness, or fever — these suggest a different cause.
🌿 Then assist nature: remedies & protocols
With the cause being addressed, these are the actual things people do for this — ranked by the community. Vote ▲ on what helped you and ▼ on what didn't, and open How to do it for the steps. Each shows two quick signals: Evidence (how much science backs it) and Gentleness (how safe and in keeping with whole, natural health).
★ Start here — our first-line pick, pinned for safety
The quickest relief when a child wakes with aching legs.
How to do it ▾
Why it works: Warmth relaxes tight, tired muscles and improves blood flow, while gentle massage eases the cramping ache and reassures the child back to sleep.
- Lay a warm, moist cloth or covered warm bottle over the aching muscle for several minutes.
- With warm hands, gently knead and stroke the calf or thigh toward the heart.
- Keep pressure light and comforting, not deep or painful.
- Settle the child back to bed once the ache eases.
- Repeat on the other leg if needed.
10-15 minutes · At night when pains strike
Caution: Pain in one spot, swelling, limping, redness, or fever is NOT growing pains - see a doctor. Use warm, never hot, applications on a child.
When to get help: Persistent pain in one joint, swelling, limping, fever, or weight loss needs medical evaluation for another cause.
Source: Natural Remedies Encyclopedia 7th ed
Comments & experiences ▾
Also helps — ranked by the community (vote to reorder)
Steady minerals prevent the night-time aches in the first place.
How to do it ▾
Why it works: Growing muscles and bones draw heavily on calcium and magnesium; when these run short the muscles cramp and ache. Keeping them well supplied heads off the pains.
- Serve calcium-rich foods daily - dark greens, sesame, almonds, fortified plant milks.
- Include magnesium sources: nuts, seeds, whole grains, and legumes.
- Add colorful vitamin-A foods, vitamin-C foods, and a little vitamin-E source (whole grains, nuts).
- Offer a balanced, nourishing diet and keep the child well hydrated.
- Continue steadily through growth spurts.
Ongoing · Daily
Caution: Prefer food sources; high-dose mineral supplements in children should be cleared with a clinician. Persistent or one-sided pain needs evaluation.
Source: Natural Remedies Encyclopedia 7th ed
Comments & experiences ▾
A clean, whole-food diet supports comfortable growth.
How to do it ▾
Why it works: Sugary, refined snacks crowd out the minerals and vitamins growing bodies need and can worsen the aches. Whole foods supply what fast growth demands.
- Eliminate candy, soda, and refined snack foods.
- Center meals on whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, and nuts.
- Include foods that nourish growth (oats, soybeans, walnuts, wheat germ).
- Keep regular mealtimes and good hydration.
- Balance active play with adequate rest and sleep.
Ongoing · Daily
Caution: Make changes gradually and positively, without mealtime conflict.
Source: Natural Remedies Encyclopedia 7th ed
Comments & experiences ▾
How the numbers work: a weighted voting system — trusted published sources cast endorsement votes for each protocol, and your ▲/▼ adds to them. Not medical advice.
🩺 When to see a doctor
- Pain associated with limping, swelling, redness, or fever
- Pain only on one side
- Pain in a joint rather than a limb
- Very severe pain
🌿 The seven pathways to health
Seven pathways for your growing pains — tap the circle to check one off (saved on your device), or ask Remy for help.
“Disease is an effort of nature to free the system from conditions that result from a violation of the laws of health... In case of sickness 1cause should be ascertained, 2go to work intelligently to remove the disease. 3Unhealthful conditions should be changed, 4wrong habits corrected. 5Then nature is to be assisted in her effort 6to expel impurities and 7to re-establish right conditions in the system.”
🌿 Overview
Growing pains are a common complaint in children, typically affecting the legs (especially the calves, thighs, or behind the knees) in the evenings or at night. They are not caused by growth itself but likely by nutritional insufficiencies, muscle fatigue, or circulatory factors. With good nutrition and supplementation, they are largely preventable.
Despite the name, growing pains are not directly caused by growth. They are most common between ages 3–5 and 8–12. The cause may be nutritional — particularly calcium and magnesium deficiency — or related to muscle overuse. Children who are more active during the day tend to have more pain at night. Adequate nutrition, especially calcium, magnesium, and selenium, prevents most cases.
Common signs
- Aching or throbbing pain in the legs (calves, thighs, behind knees)
- Usually occurring in the evening or nighttime
- Pain-free during the day
- No swelling, redness, or limping
🍃 Supporting foods & habits
The gentle, everyday foods and supports that help in the background — secondary to the active remedies above. Vote on what helped you.
How the numbers work: this is a weighted voting system — every published book or article recommending a remedy counts as an endorsement vote, and your ▲/▼ counts too. Not medical advice. *Ties are broken by our editor score (sources, safety, simplicity, cost, lifestyle fit, eight-laws alignment).
🍽️ Eating to help
Food is one of the gentlest medicines — small, steady changes help most.
Favor these
- Calcium-rich plant foods (kale, broccoli, almonds, sesame)
- Carrot and vegetable juices
- Orange and yellow fruits and vegetables (beta-carotene)
- Arginine-rich foods (oats, soybeans, walnuts)
- Whole grains
Go easy on
- Junk food
- Sugar
- Soft drinks (leach calcium)
Calcium (2,000 mg) and magnesium (1,000 mg) are the most important supplements for preventing growing pains.
⚖️ Good to know
- Pain with swelling, redness, limping, or fever is NOT growing pains — it requires medical evaluation (rule out infection, fracture, or juvenile arthritis).
- Unilateral (one-sided only) leg pain warrants evaluation.
- Growing pains should always be on both sides and never in joints.
⚕️ What a doctor may offerConventional treatments for this condition — for your information.Show ▾
RemedyRank's heart is natural healing — and honest information. Here is what conventional medical care commonly involves for this condition, listed to inform, never to promote. Decisions about treatment belong with you and your own physician.
Growing pains are benign childhood leg aches managed with comfort measures.
Commonly offered
- Reassurance, gentle massage, and warmth–
- OTC pain relief (acetaminophen/ibuprofen) at bedtime if needed–
- Stretching–
- Watching that it stays benign (no swelling, limp, or daytime pain)–
Worth knowing
- Pain with swelling, redness, fever, limping, or in one spot is NOT growing pains — see a doctor.
- Persistent daytime pain needs evaluation.
- Reassuring, but verify it fits the benign pattern.
👍/👎 shares whether a treatment helped you — community experience, not medical advice. For full professional details, see the sources under “Learn more” below.
📜 A note from history
Growing pains have been noted in medical literature since at least the 19th century. The connection to nutritional factors — particularly calcium and magnesium — was identified by orthomolecular physicians in the latter half of the 20th century.
📚 Learn more
Sources for further reading. These open in a new tab.
💚 Was this page helpful?
A quick tap helps us improve these guides. Saved on your device in this preview.