pain relief coach | SIMPLE PAIN RELIEF with Kathryn Merrow, the Pain Relief Coach

How Your Body Heals Naturally from Muscle Injury or Joint Pain

You have muscle or joint pain and, of course, you want to get rid of it. You prefer to get rid of your pain naturally without the use of drugs or surgery.

Is this possible? Yes. Why?

Your body heals all the time. It is constantly changing and making corrections (when it can.)

Let’s use me as an example:

I used to have such severe asthma (difficulty breathing) that I ended up in the hospital twice and I took steroid medications for almost 20 years. Now? No problem. No drugs. No wheezing.

In case you are thinking that I finally outgrew it, nope. I outsmarted it. Made corrections to my diet and started taking vitamin and mineral supplements seriously. Lots of illnesses are caused by nutritional deficiencies.

Now let’s use you as an example:

Have you ever had a broken bone? It healed? And how about all of those scrapes, cuts and other injuries you Continue reading “How Your Body Heals Naturally from Muscle Injury or Joint Pain”

July 9November 5

Hypermobility and Massage Therapy

Is massage therapy good for people who have hypermobile joints? Here’s a question I received and my response.

Question:

I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Hypermobility Type.

Have you worked with this disorder before? If so, is there any type of massage that I should avoid?

I know I don’t like the deep tissue massage, and any type of rolfing. I have had a reaction to too much of the heated sonar prior to massage which makes me feel like I had a sunburn.

My Response:

Prime Olympic athletes receive a type of sports massage which neither loosens nor tones their muscles. It just allows them to remain in their peak condition while still having the benefits of massage.

I wonder Continue reading “Hypermobility and Massage Therapy”

June 19November 5

Not Getting Enough Sleep Causes Pain–Here’s How To Get More Sleep

Did you know that pain can be caused by not getting enough sleep? Researchers have been able to create muscle pain in healthy, young college students simply by depriving them of sleep!

The kind of pain they developed was the type that people with Fibromyalgia Syndrome have: all-over joint and muscle aches.

If you have trouble falling asleep and Continue reading “Not Getting Enough Sleep Causes Pain–Here’s How To Get More Sleep”

June 12November 5

Gratitude is Natural Pain Relief Technique

What’s the relationship between gratitude and pain?

It turns out that when you realize all that you have to be grateful for, your levels of stress and pain go down. That’s a very good thing!

Gratitude helps you feel better on ALL levels. Being thankful for what’s good in your life can help you feel warm fuzzies and that increases your immune response.

Increase Gratitude, Decrease Pain and Suffering. And start feeling better!

May 30November 5

What Causes Back Pain

We humans get back pain when our muscles get out of balance. How does this happen?

Well, we are supposed to move, run, jump, climb, roll and continue doing all of the cool, fun things we did as young children.

But most of us do not. 🙁

So, we get back pain.

Why? Because we are no longer using our muscles in a balanced way. We use the same 60 or 70 or so each day and the rest of the 600 muscles are ignored. When those muscles get unhappy, you Continue reading “What Causes Back Pain”

April 22November 5

Tooth Ache–Is It Really Pain In Your Tooth

Have you ever heard of someone having a tooth pulled because they had pain in the tooth? But afterward they still had the pain? I have. Here’s how:

There are muscles in your head that can actually cause you to feel pain in your teeth. The pain is not IN your tooth but that is where you feel it. Removing the tooth doesn’t get rid of the pain because that wasn’t the cause of the pain to start with.

The muscles in your head can get “tight” and ornery just like any other muscles. They can develop trigger points. Trigger points are areas in muscles that “fire” or cause pain at some distance.

The muscles at the sides of your head–your temples–can Continue reading “Tooth Ache–Is It Really Pain In Your Tooth”

April 6November 5

Pain In The Arch Of Your Foot And Stiff Ankles?

If you have stiffness in your ankles or pain in the arch of your foot, this article is for you!

My client Pat had told me about the pain that ran from her hip to her foot. We had worked on the muscles of her lower back and hip in previous sessions because those muscles can “refer” pain into the foot.

Those muscles can also press on the nerves that run to your foot. Releasing or relaxing the low back and hip muscles can get Continue reading “Pain In The Arch Of Your Foot And Stiff Ankles?”

April 2November 5

5 Natural Steps for Happy Muscles and Less Pain

Muscle pain happens for reasons. The good news is that you can get rid of those reasons by taking simple, natural actions. I’ll tell you about five of them shortly.

As a Neuromuscular Massage Therapist, I learned a lot from my clients, my instructors and my own body and pain. That’s how I know that bodies want to be well. Sometimes they need a little help, but they are able to get better.

Bodies change all the time. Bodies can heal. Bodies do heal.

That means your body, too.

Bodies are brilliant. Give them what they need, and they WILL get better.

So what do bodies need?

1. Your body needs Continue reading “5 Natural Steps for Happy Muscles and Less Pain”

April 1November 5

Therapeutic Massage–Which Type Of Massage Is Best For You?

Which type of massage is best? Here’s an article from my friend and colleague Janet. She’s been providing therapeutic massage to residents of southeast Michigan since 1992.

Janet says:

Some people have a preference for a certain type of massage. This may be because they have had it in the past and enjoyed the experience. But the fact of the matter is…

There are many types of massage treatments and a skilled therapist who knows many different techniques will quite likely incorporate several into each session. Why would this be? Different techniques “talk” to the body in different ways. Some are more superficial or surface-touch. Others work deeply into the skeletal and Continue reading “Therapeutic Massage–Which Type Of Massage Is Best For You?”

March 11November 5

Benefits of Massage Therapy for Senior Citizens

Massage therapy is very beneficial for all ages.

I have had many senior citizen clients who have had heart surgeries (even an artificial heart!) and with asthma or other breathing problems. We have been privileged to serve clients in their 90’s.

Every massage therapist is different. Ask friends and relatives for their recommendations. If someone you know has been happy with their therapist, there is a good chance you will be, too.

What does massage do?

Massage boosts your immune system. That means that regular massage will Continue reading “Benefits of Massage Therapy for Senior Citizens”

March 4November 5

Muscle Pain Is Caused By Being Crooked

Muscle pain always has a cause. Sometimes the cause is a crooked body.

This can happen from an injury, poor standing or sitting habits or bones that are not equal in length.

Bodies are really logical. And smart, too! But sometimes they need a little help. From you, of course.

If you have muscle pain in your lower back or neck, you might be crooked. You may have a tilt. You might be able to figure it out or you may need someone else to ‘eyeball’ you.

Here’s how your logical body works:

When one shoulder is high, that means the other side is Continue reading “Muscle Pain Is Caused By Being Crooked”

March 1November 5

Use Ice and Heat Together for Muscle Pain Relief

Muscles respond very well to heat and ice therapy. Why is this?

Applications of heat fill the tissues with blood and increase circulation. Short applications of ice also increase circulation. This is all good!

Longer applications of cold by itself reduce the flow of blood to the area so keep application of cold in an area to less than one minute. (Water Therapy, Leon Chaitow MD)

What is contrast therapy?

Alternating heat/hot and cold/ice applications helps increase circulation, increases oxygen supply to the soft tissues and Continue reading “Use Ice and Heat Together for Muscle Pain Relief”

February 25February 9

Hip Pain Relief Naturally

I had a great time interviewing and talking with muscle expert Gini Maddocks at PainReliefRadio.com Gini always has a lot of excellent input to help listeners get rid of their pain and today was no exception.

We talked about your hip, how it moves and why you have hip pain. Gini told us about her super-dooper pain-relieving tool that you probably already have in your own kitchen. And then I came up with another use for it. I’ll bet you might, too. 🙂

We had a fun talk. I always enjoy interviewing someone who knows her stuff.

I know you will have a better understanding of your hip pain after you listen. That’s important because it IS your body.

I also know you will gets lots of natural self-help relief techniques for the pain in your hip(s).

Here’s the link to the interview: http://budurl.com/hiphip (<– click here)

After you listen, leave a comment here and let me know what other pain relief topics you’d like to hear.

The interview is only 30 minutes. Don’t you owe that to yourself to get hip pain relief? I’m thinking YES!

February 23November 6

More About Those Painful Knots In Your Back And Shoulders

Readers ask a lot of questions about knots in their backs. I’m going to give you several links to articles that I wrote which will give you a lot of insight into the causes of pain in the shoulder and upper back.

Usually people have shoulder and shoulder blade pain on the side of their dominant hand–the hand you use all the time. This is because that arm and hand are in front of you for long periods. But sometimes it’s on the opposite side of the body.

Sometimes you have to be your own diagnostician and try to figure out what exactly is causing your pain. (There is always a cause—it is not just “old age.”)

Sometimes it’s something as simple as carrying a heavy purse or bag over your shoulder and hiking your shoulder to “hold” the bag in place without even thinking about it.

Sometimes it’s a sitting position or sleeping position that aggravates your muscles and causes muscle knots. Do you squash your shoulders when you sleep on your side? Are you a stomach sleeper? That can Continue reading “More About Those Painful Knots In Your Back And Shoulders”

February 2November 6

Natural Relief for Knee Pain

Knee pain can be caused by strains and tears to ligaments, injuries to the structure of the knee, or by soft tissues. Soft tissues means everything that is not bone. That includes muscles.

You may have to see a doctor if you have an injury which requires repair. But for knee pain which has come on over a period of time, the following steps may be all you need to get rid of your knee pain.

1. Re-balance and strengthen the muscles in your upper leg. The front and back of your thigh were balanced when you were a child and used to always be on the move. You used ALL of your muscles then. But, now?

Well, now you have knee pain, right? 🙁

Start using all Continue reading “Natural Relief for Knee Pain”