SIMPLE PAIN RELIEF with Kathryn Merrow, the Pain Relief Coach

Fibromyalgia is a syndrome:  it’s a collection of symptoms.  Symptoms are things like trouble sleeping, headaches and other uncomfortable things.

There can be many causes for “fibro.”  If you can start getting rid of one cause at a time, it can become way less bothersome.

Cold therapy is usually the treatment of choice for muscles that are uncomfortable but some people with fibro cannot tolerate the cold.  They prefer heat.  But if you feel a little worse with heat, that means it’s not the right treatment for you, either.

I had a client diagnosed Continue Reading »

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Arthritis is probably the most common word that doctors use. Just because something is stiff or hurts that doesn’t mean it’s arthritis. It could be out of balance or tight muscles pulling over that joint.

Muscles are the most common cause of aches and pains.  Out of balance muscles actually cause arthritis!

There’s a really good chance that your posture is to blame.  Muscles and joints get strained and achey when posture is poor. Try these tips for better posture:

1. If your couch or chair makes Continue Reading »

Tags: Kathryn Merrow, natural pain relief upper back poor posture, pain relief coach, upper back arthritis natural relief

Does massage get rid of muscle pain?  You bet it can!

But this has been an amazing week because I have received so many emails and questions about pain following massage.

That’s not good!

But massage IS good.

So here’s the deal.

1.  There are all types of massage practitioners.  Some have a little training and some have a ton.  Depending on the location some have no training!  Some understand bodies and some really don’t.  It all depends on who taught them and the filters the information passed through on the way to the practitioners’ brain.  It depends on personalities and all kinds of things.

2.  The most common thing that massage practitioners do wrong is Continue Reading »

Tags: Kathryn Merrow, massage for muscle pain relief, massage for pain relief, massage gets rid of pain, massage natural pain relief

Why do you have tailbone pain?  Most often it’s from sitting on your tailbone rather than on your ‘sit bones’.

The purpose of those bones in the bottom of your pelvis really is for you to sit on!   But lots of us forget to sit up straight on those bones.

We slouch.  We slump.  We sit on our spines instead of on the sit bones.

That makes your tailbone very unhappy.  It complains by causing pain.

It takes a couple of steps to start getting rid of tailbone pain.

First, start Continue Reading »

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What can you do to get rid of shoulder pain naturally?  Well, there are many causes of shoulder pain but most of them involve muscles.  And muscle imbalance can be treated with massage or stretching and strengthening.

Here’s a quote from Lori.  This is just part of the email she sent about her shoulder pain relief success:

“When I read your article that explained how the muscles of the shoulder can become imbalanced – I knew I was on to something – you described many of my issues and the subsequent pain perfectly. I immediately put some of your tips into practice – the shoulder rolls, the arm circles and using the bed as a resistance training tool..and even though the movements were painful at first, I kept at it because it was a good pain, if that makes any sense.”

• Lori took action.
• It was uncomfortable but she continued.
• Lori feels better.

The shoulder rolls are lifting your shoulders and rolling them back, up and back, up and back.

The arm circles video is at http://budurl.com/CircleArms

The resistance training using your bed as a tool can be found in articles at http://SimpleStrengthening.com

And the ‘good pain’?  That is how it feels when your body says, “Whew!  That is exactly what I was waiting for!”

If you or a therapist presses into an area and it just hurts or feels ‘wrong’ that is not the place to press.  But when you or someone presses into an area that says to you, “Wow, that hurts!  Don’t stop!”  that is the place to treat.

So educate yourself.  Take advantage of the free information that is provided to you here and at my other natural pain relief websites.  You can find them at http://ThePainReliefCoach.com

And take action!  That is how you can get rid of your shoulder pain naturally.

Tags: exercises to get rid of shoulder pain, get rid of shoulder pain naturally, Kathryn Merrow, natural shoulder pain relief

Your buttock muscles (also called gluteal muscles) are large, powerful muscles.  When they become ‘too tight’ they can cause pressure on the sciatic nerve as it passes through your hip area.

The sciatic nerve is as large as your finger and is usually found behind some of the large gluteal muscles.

Nerves hate to be pressed on and so the sciatic nerve will complain by causing symptoms of pain or nervy sensations in your hip, leg or even in your foot!

Here’s the link to an article with directions on how to help those gluteal muscles relax.  If they are the cause of your sciatica it will make a big difference.

http://www.simplebackpainrelief.com/sciatica/how-to-massage-gluteal-muscles-for-back-pain-relief/

Tension headaches should more accurately be called Muscle Tension Headaches.  Muscles are the most common cause of head pain.  Almost always, in fact!

When your jaw gets tight or your head moves forward the muscles around your upper back, neck and face get strained and tight.  Tight muscles clamp down on nerves and blood vessels.  The result is a muscle tension headache.

What natural steps should you take to get rid of tension headaches?

1.  Watch your posture.  Try to keep it neutral and straight.  A strong back will help with this.

2.  Use a pillow or rolled towel behind your waist to help you sit upright.

3.  Ice the back of your neck.  Try to wrap your cold pack all the way down to the notch between your collar bones.  Some people find heat to be more beneficial.

That’s it in a nutshell:  Muscles cause painful tension headaches.

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If you sit a lot during the day and your legs swell but the swelling goes down overnight try these suggestions.

When you are stuck at the desk do the same thing that is recommended during air travel:

I call them ‘butt-ups.’  Squeeze your buttocks; make the buttock muscles tight so that you get pushed up.

If you did this several times, you would look like you are bouncing.  Do it several times in a row.  The muscle contractions get the blood and lymph fluid moving.  You can do this with large or small squeezes.  You can also alternate sides–left, right.

Also, to help reduce the swelling in your legs, at other times, lift one Continue Reading »

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There are two sets of large muscles that can cause pain in your jaw and the area around your jaw joint:  the massater muscles and the temporalis muscles.  Check out the Category for Jaw Pain on the right hand side of this website for more articles on the massater and other muscles that can be involved.

You can feel the muscle that crosses your jaw joint if you place your fingers over the joint and pretend you are chewing.  That’s the massater.  You have two–one on each side.

You can also feel the temple muscles by placing your fingers on the sides of your head in line with your eyebrows and pretending to chew.   Again, this muscle is on each side of your head.  It the temporalis muscle.

There is a depression in your skull on each side and the temporalis muscle is packed in there.  It’s actually a pretty good sized muscle.

The red area in the picture is Continue Reading »

Tags: cause of tmj, Kathryn Merrow, natural jaw pain relief, natural remedy jaw pain, what causes jaw pain

Your computer mouse can cause pain around your shoulder blade and below your armpit.  Here are a few things to do that will help you prevent that.

1.  Stretch your arm up and slightly backward.

2.  Squeeze your shoulder blades toward your spine.  Or try to touch your elbows together behind your back.  You probably can’t really do that but it gets your muscles moving in the right direction.

3.  Place your mouse in Continue Reading »

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