I'm Not Pulling Your Leg!

Muscle Cramps

There are several reasons for muscle cramps. Dehydration is one of the most common reasons, so step 1 is always to drink some water. Activity that your muscles aren’t used to can also cause them to cramp, they can resent being stretched. (Much like a kid being told to shut of screens and go play outside!) A proper warm-up before activity, followed by a cool-down and stretch can help prevent muscle cramps.

Good footwear (I know, it’s my favorite thing to nag about!) is important. If you try to walk long distances or over uneven ground in flip flops, you toes are always clenching to keep your shoes on. Save them for the deck or poolside!

Calf muscles are the most common to cramp. This usually happens in bed because as our ankles relax, the Achilles tendon shortens. When we move and try to stretch it out, the muscles cramps (sudden contracting). Anyone who has experienced this knows, it’s excruciating. Generally the best thing to do is stand up, this forces it to stretch out and stop contracting.  It is common to suffer from calf cramps while pregnant or if you are low on minerals.

Minerals:

Epsom salts contain magnesium, an important mineral for healthy muscles. Lacking minerals can cause muscle cramps, so have a warm bath with Epsom salts.

Calcium – if you aren’t a milk drinker, make sure to get calcium some other way. Talk to your pharmacist – they are a wealth of information!

Potassium, also known as vitamin K, come from a variety of fruits and vegetable. Bananas, sweet potatoes, spinach, broccoli, mushrooms, potatoes and melons are all excellent sources. Usually dietary sources are sufficient because too much vitamin K can be a problem too.

What Can I Do?

Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate

Heat—wheat bags, hot water bottle, heating pad, warm bath

Don’t be a stomach sleeper—if forces your foot into a pointed toe position

Massage the affected muscle, not aggressively.

Eat a well balanced diet. Talk to your doctor, nurse practitioner, or pharmacist if you think you need supplements.

Limit caffeine and alcohol

Start new activities slowly, increase duration  or intensity over time

Growing Pains

Some of you may remember having growing pains when you were younger and remember how horrid they were. Some of you may have been lucky, but now you have a child with growing pains and don’t know how to help. There is no way to know who will get them and who won’t. My own kids were the exact opposite of what you would expect – the one who had massive leaps in growth never suffered, the one who grew slow and steady had terrible growing pains.

Growing pains are a general term and are diagnosed as pain with no clear cause. In other words, if there is no injury or condition that shows up in a medical test, it's classified as growing pains. What the scientific community calls it doesn't much matter when you have a child waking up, crying in pain in the middle of the night. My personal theory is that growing pains happen when the bones grow fast and the places where the muscles attach pull, because they haven’t caught up yet. 

Poor quality footwear (ballet flats, flip flops) increases tight muscles and tendon strain. Kids jump a lot, from heights. Without adequate "shock absorption", there is reverberating impact all the way up the skeletal system. Feet tend to grow first, so even if you just bought those shoes a couple months ago, they may be too small. I had a child grow 4 shoe sizes in one summer! So, just like you make sure your kids have a hat and sunscreen, make sure they have decent shoes on their feet when they go out on their adventures!

Easing Growing Pains

Massage – you don’t need to be a massage therapist to massage your kid’s legs. Find a lotion that they like and use long, steady strokes from ankle to hip.

Warm bath with Epsom salts. Epsom salts contain magnesium, an important mineral for healthy muscles. Lacking minerals can cause muscle cramps.

Calcium – if your child isn’t a milk drinker, make sure they get calcium some other way. They may be suffering from muscle cramps, not growing pains. Talk to your pharmacist – they are a wealth of information!

Stretch – there are tons of videos available that are geared towards kids to make it fun.

Heat – using a hot water bottle or wheat bag is very soothing to the muscle.

H2O – dehydration increases muscle cramping.

Don’t sleep on your stomach – it points your toes, and shortens your calf muscles which makes them cramp.

Have a wonderful weekend, everybody! Find a way to move, keep your neck warm and your feet protected! Be intentional in your day, seek peace and sleep like a dog with her teddy!