Growing pains

Q: My son has been complaining of knee pain for the past month or so. He hasn't been injured, so I'm wondering if it's possible for someone his age to have arthritis? If so, is there anything we can do for him besides giving him painkillers?

JVW: When knee pain occurs in children between the ages of 10 and 15, it's not typically arthritis. Instead, it's usually a condition called Osgood Schlatter's disease, which is characterized by a tender swelling an inch or two below the kneecap, right over the front and top of the tibial bone.

Most pediatricians will tell you that there's nothing to do except take aspirin and wait for it to go away. But that can take a year or more, and in the meantime, the child has to sit on the sidelines and watch his classmates play at recess.

But there's a better solution: 250 micrograms of selenium and 400 IU of vitamin E as mixed tocopherols will usually get rid of the pain in just four to six weeks. I'm not sure why most pediatricians haven't heard of this simple technique, but I've been writing about it since 1979.

Of course, as always, it's best to confer with a physician skilled in nutritional and natural medicine before starting yourself or anyone in your family on a new supplement regimen.

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