Joint and muscle pain is something everybody experiences in their lifetime. When people think of joint and muscle pain, they usually do not associate it with young children. But did you know that even children as young as 3 can experience these pains? Growing pains effect approximately 25%-40% of children and usually strike during two periods: in early childhood, between the ages of 3-5 years, and later between the ages of 8-12 years.
Growing pains are generally reported to effect the legs, most children say that the pain is located in front of their thighs, in their calves or behind their knees. Growing pains often happen during the late afternoon or early evening, usually before the child is going to bed. The intensity of the pain varies from child to child, however it has been shown to be painful enough to wake a sleeping child.
Fortunately, there is a solution to these pains. The recipe for a magnesium-based lotion has been circulating a lot around the homeopathic and alternative health community, and many people swear by it’s effectiveness at treating joint and muscle pain, and not only the ones caused by growing pains.
Before I show you the recipe for this lotion, first I’ll tell you about all of the amazing health benefits of it’s ingredients.
Magnesium
First, we’ll start off with the main ingredient, which is magnesium. Growing pains (and other joint/muscle pain) are usually caused by a mineral issues. Your bones are made up of a substance called collagen, which bonds with calcium to form the structure of the bone. If a child has a magnesium deficiency, then this calcium will not be stable within the bones which causes the cramps known as growing pains.
Many people use pure magnesium oil to treat these pains, however over time it can irritate the skin, which is why this lotion is filled with other beneficial ingredients to cushion the use of magnesium oil.
Arnica
Extract from the arnica plant works as a great addition to magnesium oil. It’s anti inflammatory properties can help provide pain relief from those suffering from joint and muscle pain, as the cause of these types of pain are usually due to inflammation. Arnica provides these anti inflammatory effects by blocking the action of histamine, which is the compound released by your body that causes swelling.
Ingredients
- 3 ounces of arnica and comfrey infused oil
- Half an ounce of beeswax
- Half an ounce of stearic acid
- 1.5 ounces of shea butter
- 1.5 ounces of magnesium oil
- 1.5 ounces of aloe vera gel
Instructions
To make the arnica and comfrey infused oil, put two tablespoons of dried arnica flowers and two tablespoons of dried comfrey leaves in a jar. Fill the jar with around 6 ounces of olive oil. Stir and place the jar in a pot containing about two inches of water. Keep the pan on a low heat for two to three hours. Make sure to keep an eye on it so the water does not evaporate and the herbs do not get fried.
Place the arnica and comfrey infused oil, beeswax and stearic acid into a heat proof bowl or measuring cup.
Place the bowl in a pan with a few inches of water in it and put it on a heating element and medium-low heat until the beeswax has melted.
Turn off the heat and stir in the shea butter until it is melted. Take the pan off of the heating element.
Remove the bowl or measuring cup from the pan and let it cool until a layer builds up at the top (like in the picture above).
While this mixture is cooling, separately combine the magnesium oil and the aloe vera gel in a different heat proof jar.
Place the jar in the pan full of water previously used to heat up the wax mixture to let it warm, do not place it back on the heating element.
Once both mixture are around body temperature it is time to combine the two.
Slowly pour the magnesium/aloe mixture into the wax mixture while beating with a mixer.
Continue to mix for another three to five minutes, until the mixture begins to thicken and cool down.
Once the lotion is finished mixing, it is time to place it into a container. Although you can put it into any type of container you want to, except for metal ones as it will cause rust, it is advisable to pour it into a squeezable container for easy application.
Article credits: FamilyLifeGoals
Sources:
This process and images came from https://thenerdyfarmwife.com/make-lotion-leg-cramps-growing-pains/
http://kidshealth.org/en/parents/growing-pains.html
http://parents.berkeley.edu/advice/health/growingpains.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15139092
Image Source:
http://www.modernalternativehealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/chocolate-mag-lotion1.jpg
http://www.healthcentral.com/sites/www.healthcentral.com/files/ThinkstockPhotos-453065673.jpg
https://thenerdyfarmwife.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Pour-lotion-into-bottles-or-jars.jpg