SIMPLE PAIN RELIEF with Kathryn Merrow, the Pain Relief Coach

Six Reasons for Painful Muscles between Your Spine and Shoulder Blade

Miserable Upper Back Pain — Without even seeing his face, you can tell this man has pain! Does it look familiar?

Arrrgh! Do you hate having that upper back pain? Those muscle spasms between your spine and shoulder? Those miserable knots in your back?

I hated having them, too. But that was a very long time ago.

I got rid of the knots in my back naturally and you can, too. 🙂

So many people just don’t understand how bodies work and why we get into pain! It’s something they don’t teach us in school.

But there are perfectly logical reasons you have that pain in the rhomboid area. (Poor rhomboids–they get blamed all the time and it’s just not their fault!)

If you’ve got “knots in your back,” or if you know someone who does, I wrote this post for you! Or them!

So here we go:

Sometimes muscles complain. When you get “knots” or muscle spasms in your upper back, that’s one of the ways your body says, “Hey, pay attention! I’m not happy!”

Knots in your back muscles are symptoms that there’s an issue somewhere—a cause. The knot aren’t the problem.

They are the result of ‘something.’

There are common causes of one-sided pain between your shoulder blade and spine and we’re going to talk about them right here. When you discover those causes, you’ll be on the road to get rid of your painful knots.

So, what causes one or more muscle knots in your back?

1. Thyroid. Thyroid or other immune system dysfunctions can cause a tendency to have muscle spasms (knots.) I’m not a doctor and you may need to work with your doctor if you have this diagnosis but natural therapies can still help you, too.

2. Posture. If you have a “forward head” posture or rounded shoulders the muscles in your upper back get stretched and strained and complain. They get into spasms or “knots.” Slouching or even straining to see the computer screen can be a cause.

3. Weak back muscles. If your back muscles are weak, the stronger, shorter muscles in the front of your body will pull you forward. This can be a cause or a result of poor posture. It strains your back muscles and causes muscle knots in your back muscles.

4. Holding an area of your back in contraction (shortened) for a long time. Perhaps you work with your elbow behind the midline of the side of your body? Muscle contractions that continue for a long period of time make your muscles think they are supposed to be in that position all the time. You get lopsided. Perhaps you lean on the armrest of your chair, couch or in your car? Or, always cross the same leg over the other leg?

5. Tilting or rotating. This can happen due to habit if you always stand or sit in the same off-balance position. It can be caused by such things as stretching to keep your hand on a mouse or leaning to one side a lot. Scoliosis (curvature of the spine) can also cause tilts and rotations. Scoliosis can sometimes be corrected naturally, by the way.

6. Mineral deficiencies. Muscles really need to have certain minerals in order to function their best. Magnesium, potassium and calcium are big players in muscle health.

Minerals help prevent miserable muscle spasms.

Now you know the most likely possible causes of those nasty knots in your upper back naturally. If you get rid of the causes, you’ll be rid of the muscle knots.

If you’d like, I can help you do that. 🙂

If it’s okay with you, I’d like to invite you to discover an online course I designed just for you! https://www.KnotsInYourBack.com

Knots In Your Back has all of the information you need to get rid of the gnawing pain between your shoulder blades and spine from a trusted, reliable source (me!) in just one place. You won’t have to search the Internet trying to figure out what’s actually helpful and true and what’s not.

I’ve done all the research for you and have over thirty years of experience helping people get out of physical pain.

Upper back muscle spasms? I’ve helped lots of clients get rid of them and I’ve gotten rid of my own miserable knots in my upper back, too!

Check it out and see if it sounds interesting to you.

And thank you for reading! https://www.KnotsInYourBack.com

July 4February 9

How to Get a Strong, Flat Belly for Back Pain Relief and Head Pain Relief

Would you like to have a stronger, flatter belly?

I’ll show you how. You can strengthen your “stomach muscles” most easily if you lie on your back.

You have 4 layers of muscles on your abdomen and they go in 4 different directions–crosswise, vertical and at angles to your midline. You may find, over time, that you can isolate the different layers. Some are more toward the side, some more toward the midline.

What are the benefits of strong stomach muscles?

You have probably heard of core training? That means making the muscles of your torso strong so you can stay upright and not collapse forward or sideways. When you have strong abdominal muscles, your posture will be better.

You will feel better and look better and better posture means less back pain, neck pain and head pain.

Your muscles will be holding you in the posture you were designed to be in! 🙂

Here’s how:

The idea is to squeeze or draw your belly button inward toward your spine. Make your belly move toward the bed or floor as you lay on your back. Squeeze, squeeze.

If you do this with your arms overhead, the abdominal muscles are lengthened as they become stronger. That’s what we want: long and strong!

Here is the link to a YouTube video that will give you a good visual demonstration of your abdominal muscles.

Some of the movements this expert does may seem very strange to you, but I assure you that you have the same muscles he does. It’s just that his are well-trained from years of practice.

Watch as he pulls his stomach muscles in toward his spine. He does this several times in the first few minutes of the video. This is the movement you want to do–even a tiny bit–and over time your muscles will get stronger

And you will have stronger abdominal muscles, too!

March 16January 17

#1 in Pain Management — Natural Headache and Migraine Relief

March 16, 2013

Just wanted to share that Head Pain Natural Relief is #1 in the Kindle Store at Amazon.com today in the Pain Management category! 🙂 That makes me very happy because that means I’m helping a lot of people feel better.

And it’s #4 today in the Kindle Store category for Alternative Medicine. 🙂

I wrote this book as a serious help for people who suffer from headaches or migraines. As a natural pain relief specialist and also a former migraine sufferer, I’ve got a lot to share!

But, it’s not too wordy. Who wants to read a ton of words when your head hurts? It’s to the point and gives you the possible causes and fixes.

Those numbers can change but that’s where my book is ranked today and I am grateful!

In the Kindle Store, the book costs less than $5.00. Print copies are also available at amazon.com.

I recommend the print version because you can dog-ear the corners and highlight parts that are most useful for you and use it as your ‘head pain bible.’

Here’s the link for the book: Head-Pain-Natural-Relief-ebook/

You know, I started writing online in the first place so that I could “get my hands on” more people at a time. And that’s worked very well. I have had readers from all over the world write to me to say that they are now feeling better because of something that I wrote. 🙂

Right now, my focus has turned from creating new articles on my websites to creating natural pain relief books and programs. Each book will be specific to a certain type of pain–Head Pain, Hip Pain, etc.–so all of the information will be in just one place.

Thank you for giving me a couple of minutes to share my pleasure in attaining these ratings at Amazon.com.

If you click on the link in this article you will be able to see the reviews this book has been getting. I’m very grateful for the people who gave such great reviews to Head Pain Natural Relief.

Thank you!

March 15November 2

Natural Relief from Head Pain

Head Pain Natural Relief can help you get rid of your headaches and migraines! How do I know? I wrote it. 🙂 It comes in soft cover for you to mark up and make notes or in a Kindle version.

If you don’t have a Kindle, don’t worry. You can get a free Kindle Reader App at Amazon.com which will let you read Kindle books on your computer, smart phone or other devices.

Take action now and you can start getting rid of your headaches and migraines today. Really!

Here’s a testimonial from a reader:

This book is loaded with practical tips from the author’s professional and personal experience with headaches. If you’re suffering from a migraine headache right now, I recommend that you skip directly to the chapter called “What helps a migraine RIGHT NOW?” for some easy and effective ways to start relieving the pain right away.

You may also want to take a look at the sections that start with “Trigger points which cause head pain” and use the helpful diagrams and massage tips the author includes to track down and treat the source of your headache. (An example of her massage tips: certain muscles respond better to being “lifted,” “pushed up,” or “unrolled front to back” rather than simply being pressed in on.)

Once you’re past an immediate headache crisis, go back and read the entire book to get a comprehensive look at the possible causes for your headaches and some all-natural ways to reduce or even permanently eliminate them.

I picked up a number of quick and easy tips from this book that I can start using today to immediately reduce my headache frequency and intensity. Plus the author’s tips on posture, exercise, diet, sleeping positions, and more are arming me with a plan for making myself less vulnerable to headaches in the future.

Thanks for the pain relief, Kathryn!

I look forward to hearing that you have gotten rid of your headaches or migraines. 🙂

October 10November 2

Benefits of Meditation

Why is meditation so good?

1. It helps you relax as you forget about the cares of the day. As you relax, your blood pressure goes down. The tension in your shoulders starts to seep away.

2. It distracts you from day-to-day worries.

3. It creates a sense of calmness.

4. People who meditate become less emotionally involved and more able to care for people. A recent study showed that when non-meditators were shown photos of people in distress or injured, they turned away or were repulsed. But meditators felt more compassion rather than revulsion and were able to be more caring.

5. Meditation allows you to focus more easily on the task at hand.

Is meditation the only way to have all of these benefits?

Nope.

Tai chi, yoga, stretching and even knitting or gardening can help you relax, feel better and get rid of stress. But meditation is one more natural tool that you can add to your self-help toolbox of things that are good for you.

October 3November 2

What’s Causing Your Headache?

Headaches have causes. What’s causing yours? Here’s a list of several possible reasons that your head hurts:

1. Poor posture. Head pain can happen because of poor posture. But what causes poor posture? A weak back or bad habits when sitting and standing.

2. Certain foods can cause reactions in blood vessels that lead to headaches.

3. Poking your chin out too far. That strains your neck muscles and the muscles at the base of your skull.

4. Being constipated. A diet that has too much processed foods and not enough fiber can cause constipation. So can too little water and poor posture. When your posture collapses it squashes your intestines so stuff cannot move as it should.

5. Aspirin deficiency. No, not really. 🙂 There is no such thing as aspirin deficiency.

6. Losing the natural curves in your lower back and neck. You are supposed to have a little space behind your waist and behind your neck. If you don’t, it’s often referred to as ‘military neck’–too straight.

7. Having too much of a curve in your lower back or neck. There is a fine line between too much and too little curve in your spine. What causes too much or too little curve? Muscles. Habits. Car seats.

Since bodies work in logical ways almost everything that causes pain has a cause. Pain doesn’t happen without a reason.

I wrote this book to help you understand WHY your head hurts and the steps you can take to make it stop hurting.

If you can get rid of the causes of your headaches or migraines there’s a really, really good chance you can get rid of your headaches naturally. 🙂 That’s what this book will help you do–get rid of the causes.

September 23November 2

Can’t Walk Right Now? You Can Still Keep Moving!

How To Help Your Diabetic Feet And Legs Or Recover From A Leg Injury

You might have pins and needles, pain or numbness in your feet. Maybe you fell and bruised or broke you leg. And so maybe you can’t walk so well right now.

But, here’s the thing: Don’t stop moving.

You might not be able to walk or stand right now but can you still move your feet and legs?

If yes, that’s great! Here are some ideas to keep the blood flowing and the muscles moving. (Even a little movement is better than none at all.)

1. You can shake your feet from side to side, or roll your legs from side to side when you are in bed. Pretend your feet are windshield wipers on a car. Swipe one at a time from side to side. When you move your feet like that it also moves all the muscles in your whole leg and even in your hip!

They sell machines that help people move but hey! If Continue reading “Can’t Walk Right Now? You Can Still Keep Moving!”

September 18November 2

What Causes Muscle Tension Headaches In The Back Of Your Head

What causes muscle tension headaches in the back of your head?

Here are the most likely causes of discomfort that feels like pressure or squeezing at the base of your skull.

1. You slept with your neck ‘too straight.’ This happens when your pillow doesn’t support your neck. It’s more as though your neck is in a ‘hammock’ position. This strains the muscles at the base of your skull.

2. You stick your chin out when you are trying to see the monitor or something else. This happens especially to people who wear bifocals because they are trying to read through the bottom of the lens and the screen is too high. This shortens the muscles at the base of your skull.

How can you get rid of muscle tension headaches?

1. Massage works. Either find a professional massage therapist or do it yourself. The back of your skull is called the occiput. Make sure the therapist knows how to massage there before you spend your money. You can learn how to do it yourself by getting or borrowing a copy of the do-it-yourself, easy to use trigger point book by Claire Davies.

Basically, to do it yourself, press Continue reading “What Causes Muscle Tension Headaches In The Back Of Your Head”

September 10November 2

Simple Water Exercises To Do In A Swimming Pool

Can’t swim? No problem! Water is a great resistance tool for exercising and almost anyone can enjoy it.

When you are in water, movement becomes easier because the water supports you. Gravity cannot pull so much on your joints. The spaces between your spine bones can actually get more open.

Water resists your movements. That’s what strengthens your muscles. The water acts as a resistance tool.

And it just plain feels good! Here’s the video:

If you cannot go into the deeper end of the pool, don’t worry. You can do most of these movements in the shallower end, too.

And something else you can do in the shallow end is resistance walking. Just walk pressing your legs (and maybe your arms, too) against the water with forward movements. Use your whole foot to walk and push off with your toes.

Here are some of the reasons I love doing water exercises.

It’s easier to move your joints in the water.
You don’t sweat while you are working out.
It’s refreshing.
You get a good workout.
If you are outside, you are getting your Vitamin D and that’s really important!

I really did learn to swim by watching turtles and I’m not really a mermaid. But it’s fun to pretend and you can, too!

September 4November 2

Ten Ways To Improve Your Health And Reduce Your Pain Naturally!

Here are 10 ways you can improve your health and get rid of pain naturally:

1. Be responsible for your own wellness. No one cares as much about your body as you have to.

2. Feed your body wholesome foods and avoid fake foods and additives. Just because it is sold in a grocery store does NOT mean the thing on the shelf is food! There is no fooling your body. When you eat junk your body knows!

3. Take a good multi-vitamin/mineral supplement. I do. I’m not a doctor but plenty of doctors take these to stay healthy, too.

3. Reduce your stress. Take some time out for a stress-buster like meditation or yoga.

4. Improve your posture. Poor posture is responsible for TONS of muscle pain!

5. Stretch in the correct directions. The correct direction is the one that you never or hardly ever use!

6. Breathe deeply. Move your ribs. Get the oxygen in.

7. Get enough sleep. People in research Continue reading “Ten Ways To Improve Your Health And Reduce Your Pain Naturally!”

August 29November 2

Does Massage Help Cancer Patients Feel Better?

Is it okay to have massage when you have cancer? YES!

Dr. Bernie Siegel MD said the benefits of massage far outweigh any possible danger. And no ‘danger’ has ever been documented from massage therapy for cancer patients.

In fact, many hospitals now have specially trained oncology (cancer) massage therapists. As long as you feel like being touched, a massage is appropriate for you.

Here is a guest-written article with more information about the benefits of oncology massage.

Experience the Difference Massage Therapy Can Make for Cancer Patients

If you have gone through endless cancer treatments, there is a good possibility your body feels ravaged and aching. Massage therapy can help cancer patients to experience relief from sore muscles and aching joints. In addition to physical relief, massages also offer cancer patients a way to relax and to rejuvenate.

Relaxing and taking time away from busy schedules and on-going treatments for mesothelioma and other forms of cancer is vital to a person’s well being. Just an hour a week to indulge in a soothing massage can make all the difference in the world for cancer patients of all ages.

Regular Continue reading “Does Massage Help Cancer Patients Feel Better?”

August 23February 9

What’s The Best Way To Correct Your Posture When You Are Seated?

Do you start having back pain when you are sitting for a while? Here are a few quick tips that can help.

Here are some arm movements to do when you are home or work. They will help relax the muscles around your chest, shoulders, arms and upper back.

Pretend an arm is a windmill. If you can, rotate your arm in a full (or pretty full) circle. Go forward and then backward. Always do a new movement thoughtfully and gently and see how it feels to you.

Noodle is a type of stretching movement to do at home unless you have a private office at work. It will help you open and stretch your chest muscles.

Also, imagine there are long, strong cords attached to your breastbone and to the crown of your head and they are pulling you up to heaven.

Do you feel that correction to your posture as you imagine those cords pulling straight up? Your chest lifts and your natural curve returns to your lower back behind your waist. 🙂 Your head moves back over your body where it belongs.

A rolled towel placed behind your waist when you are seated will also help you sit up straighter.

Now you have some nice and easy ways to correct your posture when you are sitting.

August 19November 2

A Good Stretch For Neck And Upper Back Pain

Would you like a good stretch for your neck and upper back pain? Would it surprise you if I told you the real problem could be the muscles in your chest?

Muscles In Chest Cause Upper Back & Neck Pain — Chest Muscles Cause Pain In Neck & Upper Back

Chest muscles tend to get short and tight and this can cause neck and upper back pain. So part of the solution to get rid of the pain in your upper back and neck is to stretch the muscles in the front of your chest and the fronts of your arms.

When these chest muscles are tight and short they cause you to have rounded, forward shoulders and that stresses your upper back.

This picture shows the chest muscles that you will target with these stretches. It’s the pectoralis minor muscle. There may also be other soft tissues in the chest and arm that will stretch at the same time.

Here are two ways to stretch your chest and arms so you can start getting rid of your neck and upper back pain.

1. Lie on the edge of bed with your shoulder at the edge of the mattress so your arm if free. Only your shoulder should be off the bed; your body should be securely on the bed.

Let your arm gently drop off edge of bed. (One arm at a time.) Pretend your arm is a butterfly wing moving from your leg to your head.

Do this with your palm up if you can. At least do it with your thumb pointing to the ceiling.

You will feel stretching in various places in your upper, front arm and your chest muscles. It’s okay to wait a bit when you feel something stretching to let it stretch. Gravity helps you stretch when you do it this way.

Always Continue reading “A Good Stretch For Neck And Upper Back Pain”

August 15November 2

What’s the Best Way to Improve Your Posture?

Why do you want to have better posture anyway?

You will feel better. You will have less pain.
You will function better. Your joints will be in neutral instead of overloaded by poor posture.
Your organs will work better. You will be able to breathe and digest better and your heart won’t be squashed.
You will look younger.

What’s the best way to improve your posture? Here are seven ways:

1. Remember the old ‘walk with a book on your head’? This is a variation on that. Present a string is attached to the crown of your head and is lifting the crown of your head to the sky.

2. Pretend a string is attached to your breastbone and is pulling you to the sky.

3. Have you lost the small curve behind your waist? Stick your butt out a bit to get it back. (You are supposed to have a small curve behind your waist.)

4. Get arch supports for your shoes if you have flat or fallen arches. The arches of your feet are the support structure of your body. If your arches have collapsed, your posture collapses, too. You Continue reading “What’s the Best Way to Improve Your Posture?”

August 12November 3

Natural Way To Get Rid Of Muscle Pain In Your Breast

Pain in your breast and armpit. — Trigger Point Causes Breast Pain

Do you have pain in your breast that’s in about the same pattern as the deep red in the picture?

All the little red dots indicate a typical area of discomfort but the more solid red indicates an area of more pain.

You have muscles behind your breast tissue in your chest. You might not have thought of muscles causing your breast pain. Most people don’t. Not even most doctors.

Regardless, muscles are responsible for most pain, one way or another.

Do you see the “X“? That is the location of a trigger point. A trigger point is an area of extremely irritated soft tissue that causes or “triggers” pain at a distance away from itself.

The X is where you want to focus. The muscle that harbors the trigger point is on your chest, on the ribs, toward your armpit.

How can you treat the X–the trigger point-to get rid of the muscle pain behind your breast?

You may be able to apply pressure from the outside of your chest. Just press into the tissue. It’ll be tender. Tender means the muscle is “too tight.”

But if you are the one doing the pressing you can easily control the amount of pressure. You definitely want it to be uncomfortable.

If you don’t feel any discomfort it won’t help. If it’s too much discomfort, it won’t help as much as if you keep it around a “7” out of “10.”

That’s the goal whether you do this yourself or have a professional massage therapist or someone else help you.

Alternatively, you can reach behind your chest muscle from the armpit side. Curl your fingers toward your heart to catch the muscle. Pull the muscle toward your breastbone. See if you can get your fingers into a tender place.

This is not a job for people with long fingernails! Ouch! 🙂

You can help the muscle with the trigger point relax by massaging, pressing or pushing into it where the X is. Hold the pressure for about 12 seconds. You can always go back and do it again.

When the muscles on your chest relax, the pain from the trigger point will start to go away.

That’s how you can get rid of the muscle pain behind your breast naturally.