Anyone who clearly remembers their childhood most likely remembers experiencing Growing Pains. The throbbing and aching that would hit at the most inconvenient times, mostly at night, and leave your parents bewildered. This condition is not an old-wives tale, it affects 20 to 45 percent of children and usually occurs at two periods in life; between 3 and 5 then again between 8 and 12, although it can be experienced at any age. 

Symptoms of Growing Pains include aches and pain in the thighs, calves, joints, and muscles. They generally ramp up in the evening time and occur at different levels of severity depending on the child. There is no overarching medical cause of Growing Pains and bone growth has not been determined as a definitive answer. At present it is thought that these pains are the natural side effects from active play such as jumping, running, and climbing. 

Since there is no conclusive medical cause for Growing Pains treatment and prevention can be difficult to achieve. Most parents find different forms of touch to be effective such as massage, stretching, heating pads, and administering ibuprofen. 

Chiropractic care can be a helpful alternative in treating childhood Growing Pains primarily due to growing pains being commonly rooted in muscle injury. Many physicians are of the opinion that when the rate of the bone growth outpaces the ability of the soft tissue muscles and tendons to keep up, muscle injury, spasm and even tearing can occur. 

Chiropractic care generally recognizes subluxations at the core of this condition. (subluxation defined as the loss of proper position or motion of a joint). Abnormal joint mechanics result and can cause localized pain and inflammation as well as abnormal soft tissue tension and pain. Misaligned joints don’t work the way they were intended and alter gait and other movement patterns.

Frequently children suffering with “growing pains” have subluxations affecting the function of the knees, hips, pelvis and sometimes the feet and ankles. The focus of treatment is chiropractic adjustments that restore the normal alignment and the mechanics of joint motion. Soft tissue work in the form of stretching and massage is also helpful, but doesn’t seem to achieve lasting effects when practiced in the absence of adjustments.

Chiropractors can administer gentle non-invasive forms of treatment through Chiropractic care. Through Chiropractic adjustments children can experience improved flexibility, decreased inflammation, joint pain relief, and improved range of motion. Each of these areas of improvement will result in a decrease in overall symptoms of Growing Pains as the child is more able to adjust and recover from active play. 

The International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA, September 26, 2016) published a research study that looked at the process of a young boy with growing pains under chiropractic care. In this case a 3 year old boy was being affected by complaints of leg pain and lower back pain. On top of that, he experienced pain in both feet, headaches and recent bed wetting. He had received no prior treatment aside from his parents massaging his legs.The case study notes how the term growing pain has been used for an estimated 150 years. The term was initially coined by Duchamp in 1832 in his treatise, “Maladies de la Croissance.” Reports say that what is referred to as “growing pains” occur in approximately 20% of kids and might be as high as 37% and is a little more prevalent in girls when compared with boys.

The study notes that growing pains can start in infancy with the greatest discomfort between the ages of 3-5 years and generally manage to disappear as the child matures. A number of conditions have been implicated (though not fully substantiated) as possible factors in growing pains such as rapid growth, overexertion, rheumatic conditions, infection, sacroiliac joint dysfunction, orthopedic defects, vague ill health, and psychological factors. The diagnosis of this condition is generally made by excluding other conditions and thus leaving merely the idea that the pains are “growing pains”. In the matter of this young boy, a chiropractic examination revealed the existence of subluxations and a course of care was initiated. The care consisted of 15 visits spanning a 13 week period. After the first adjustment, the patient didn’t complain of leg pain for 3 days. After 7 visits, the mother reported that her son was sleeping through the night without leg pains. By the 15th visit, the child had become and remained symptom-free for nearly 3 weeks. The author’s conclusion of this study was, “This case report provides supporting evidence of the effectiveness of chiropractic care in kids with growing pains. 

Another worthwhile approach is Craniosacral Therapy an effective alternative to traditional treatment approaches. Through specific contact with pressure points the practitioner can bring relief to the child’s areas of pain and prevent or reduce pain in the future. 

As with any alternative treatment modality, these should be performed by a professional licensed and trained to perform the treatment method. Growing does not have to include pain and each child should be advocated for against unnecessary pain and discomfort. 

Alex was born in March 1972. At the age of 7 he started to experience frequent headaches with all the conventional symptoms of a Migraine headache. His particular headache resulted in him experiencing auras, nausea and sensitivity to light with no particular trigger to the onset of the migraine.

After years of treatments, therapies and medications, his headaches were no better and Alex continued to experience them all throughout childhood and into young adulthood. Some years the headaches would come monthly, some years every two to three months and some years weekly. His headaches were incurable, there was nothing that could alleviate the symptoms and head pain. Until he experienced cranial manual therapy, which resulted in the complete eradication of his life-long Migraine Headaches.

At the age of 16 Alex noticed a mild deformity in the right side of his ribs, a slightly lower right shoulder and the experience of constant lower back pain. Although mild, a diagnosis of Idiopathic Adolescent Scoliosis had been labeled.

At the age of 18 he was involved in a serious car accident that exacerbated his lower back pain. Throughout the years Alex had tried a multitude of conventional treatments but continued to suffer on and off with lower back pain, even throughout Chiropractic school and beyond.

In 2015 and fifteen+ years out of Chiropractic school, Dr. Kaminsky participated in his first and life changing Craniosacral Therapy seminar and he was fascinated, intrigued and hooked. It all made sense, he was immediately astute to its methods and since that first seminar, and as a result of trading sessions of Craniosacral Therapy with his colleagues, his back pain subsided and till this day has never returned.

Dr. Kaminsky decided to enhance his skill-set to better serve his patients. He began reaching out to other craniosacral therapists, cranial osteopaths, and many types of leading practitioners from various fields for advise and consultations He also enrolled in Upledger continuing education seminars with a focus on mostly hands-on manual and alternative therapies.

And, as he gained knowledge with his own health issues, he has learned to help more and more patients achieve great health results.

Dr. Alex Kaminsky is headache free and low back pain free, and has committed himself to a life of learning, teaching and treating patients. His emphasis is on the patient’s stored patterns of the body and each individual healthcare needs.