Q My child cries every night saying their legs hurt — why do growing pains happen?
A Pain occurs when the body's supply of energy and blood can't keep up with the rapid growth of bones and muscles.
Detailed Answer
Growing pains are a common type of pain in growing children, concentrated especially in the knees, calves, and thighs during the evening or at night. They tend to be worse on days with a lot of activity and typically disappear after a night's sleep, as if nothing had happened.
Korean Medicine Clinic Perspective
In Korean medicine, growing pains are understood as a deficiency of kidney energy (renal essence). The kidney governs the bones and marrow; the faster a child grows, the more pain can arise when kidney energy and the supply of energy and blood fail to reach the growth plates sufficiently. Replenishing kidney energy with Yukmijihwang-tang based formulas, combined with herbs that nourish bones and muscles such as Dipsacus (sokdan), Achyranthes (useul), and Eucommia (ducung), can fill the body from its root.
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