Tag: Kathryn Merrow

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Jaw Pain – Causes & Natural Cures for TMJ

Having a forward head  posture puts a lot of strain on the muscles of your neck and jaw.  Having a “forward head” means that your head (and often one or both shoulders, too) are in front of your body.

Where should your head be instead?

Well, when you were a toddler, it was pretty much directly over your body and that’s still where it should be.  Due to habits, furniture, car seats, work and life, sometimes our head moves out in front of us.

That causes a lot of symptoms and temporo-mandibular joint (TMJ)  pain, or pain and difficulty moving your jaw, can be one of those symptoms.

If chewing has been painful for you…

or if it’s been hard to open or move your jaw…

or if it feels as Continue reading “Jaw Pain – Causes & Natural Cures for TMJ”

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Muscles in Your Jaw Cause TMJ or Jaw Pain

Do you have pain in your jaw?  Is it hard to open and close your mouth?  Do you clamp your teeth together without even thinking about it?

Did you know that there are muscles around the joint of your jaw that will cause these symptoms?  Let’s talk about those muscles and about that joint–the temporomandibular joint or TMJ.

If you have pain around your TMJ, you may have TMJD.  TMJD means dysfunction of the TMJ.  That means it doesn’t work as easily as it should.

There are muscles inside your mouth, outside your mouth and in your cheeks that can be tight.  They can Continue reading “Muscles in Your Jaw Cause TMJ or Jaw Pain”

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Massage Therapy for Muscle Pain

Does massage help relieve muscle pain?

Oh my goodness!  Don’t even get me started on the benefits of massage.

I am SO biased!  I LOVE massage!

Pain happens for lots of reasons but therapeutic massage can help with virtually ALL of them.  Why?  Because muscles are responsible for so much of your pain.

Massage ranges from so light it barely touches the skin to very deep, specific and corrective.  There are almost as many types of massage as there are  massage therapists!   🙂

The very light or subtle forms of touch can help comfort people who are dying or who have fibromyalgia or RSD.  I remember barely tracing Continue reading “Massage Therapy for Muscle Pain”

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Detoxing for Muscle Pain Relief

Certain drugs and processed foods can cause muscle pain.  A reader asked me what to do for muscle pain that has continued even after she ended her course of medication.  I’m not a detox expert or a doctor (and I can’t play the piano, either) but I will share what knowledge I have.

1.  Certain medications affect the endocrine system.  Endocrine systems get damaged and unhappy when we put certain things (including certain food ingredients and medications) into our bodies.  We need our thyroid and Continue reading “Detoxing for Muscle Pain Relief”

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How To Get The Natural Curves Back In Your Spine To Improve Posture And Reduce Neck and Back Pain

If you have neck pain or back pain there’s a really good chance that you have lost the natural curves in your spine.

When you were born you were curled into a rounded-back position.

In a little while you began to stretch your arms and legs and rolled over and arched your back in the opposite direction of that birth position.  You pushed up with your arms and lifted your head.  Why?

You were getting the muscles around your spine and torso ready to walk!  You were creating the natural curves in your back that you needed.

So now you have back or neck pain because you’re losing those natural curves but bodies heal all the time.

It’s important Continue reading “How To Get The Natural Curves Back In Your Spine To Improve Posture And Reduce Neck and Back Pain”

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Why Are Your Muscles Sore After Massage

Some people have soreness following therapeutic massage and others never do.

The possibility of having sore muscles following a massage  is more common with your very first massage. Soreness occurs because “new” things are happening to your muscles.  They get kneaded, moved, squeezed.

All of this can release metabolic (body) wastes and other materials that are stored in your muscles and other soft tissues (skin, fat, fascia.)  These waste products are being manually flushed from the soft tissues.

Massage stirs things up.  This is not a bad thing but sometimes, for some people, massage can cause muscle soreness.

A deeper “therapeutic” massage is more Continue reading “Why Are Your Muscles Sore After Massage”

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Stretching for Back Pain Relief

Back pain responds to stretching but not just any old stretching.  The muscles that need to be lengthened are not necessarily the same ones that are complaining!

You may not remember but when you were a baby you were stretching all the time.

If you watch a cat or dog, they stretch often.

And, you?  Do you still stretch up and out and back like you did when you were a baby?  If not, this is a good time to start.

So what will stretching do for you?  It will move your blood and lymph fluids.  It will help your body “wake up.”  It can get rid of the causes of your back pain and help get your muscles back “in balance.”

If you’d like even more information on ways to get rid of your back pain, go to http://BackPainNaturalRelief.com

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Simple Pain Relief Tip – Move Your Feet and Fix Your Neck

Neck pain can come all the way from your feet!

Moving your feet while you lay in bed can help you get rid of a stiff back, stiff neck or tight hip muscles.  Moving your feet actually causes movement in all of the muscles up to your head.  Why?  Because they are all attached!

Here are some simple pain relief movements you can do.

Lay on your back.  Uncover your feet if you are in bed.  Hold one foot toes up and swish your foot from side to side.  Pretend your foot is the windshield wiper on a car.  Do this movement until Continue reading “Simple Pain Relief Tip – Move Your Feet and Fix Your Neck”

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What Causes A Knot In Your Back?

There are muscles in your back between the shoulder blade and spine called rhomboids.  There is one on each side.  The rhomboid muscles are often blamed for pain and knots in their area. Actually, that area can be the “symptom” and not the cause at all!

People (including professional massage therapists) often massage the rhomboid area trying to release the knot or pain there.  If it doesn’t release (relax) the knot or pain, that means the cause is somewhere else.

Let’s pretend your back pain is a dragon.  Sometimes Continue reading “What Causes A Knot In Your Back?”

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Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome Natural Relief

Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome (TTS) means that you have symptoms that can make it uncomfortable or unbearable to walk.

The symptoms can be pain, burning, nervy sensations or tingling on the sole (bottom) of your foot. You may also feel it on the arch side of your ankle or in your heel.

Symptoms are usually worse as the day goes on and may be relieved by elevating (raising) your foot, rest or massage. We are not talking sweet gentle massage here–You want deep pressure into the muscles in the arch of your foot to really “get into” the muscle.  The massage will not be comfortable but it can help.

Injury to your foot or ankle can cause TTS, possibly because of scar tissue that develops. People with flat feet can also develop Continue reading “Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome Natural Relief”

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Simple Pain Relief Tip – Raw Foods Reduce Inflammation and Pain

Inflammation causes pain and by changing your eating habits you can start reducing your pain.  Julie Hoffenberg and Sarah Woodward are the authors of the Healing Patch Cookbook and I had the pleasure of interviewing them today on Pain Relief Radio.

Your body is trying to protect you with the inflammatory response.

Your diet, however, can cause more inflammation and that creates more pain.  Pain (which causes inflammation) plus diet (which causes inflammation) equals too much inflammation! And THAT causes more pain.

Sarah and Julie explained that Continue reading “Simple Pain Relief Tip – Raw Foods Reduce Inflammation and Pain”

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How to Prevent and Treat Colds and Flu Naturally by Dr. Mercola

You can prevent and treat colds and flu naturally.  Since I don’t want you to have any type of pain–not even the flu or a cold–I think it’s important to share this with you.  The healthier you are, the less pain you will have.

Here’s Dr. Mercola’s article:

Colds are a leading cause of doctor visits and missed days from work and school, and this season is no exception. Americans suffer from approximately 1 billion colds per year, or about two to four colds per year for the average adult.

But why do people start getting sick as the leaves start to fall?

Unfortunately in the US, thanks to the CDC, nearly anyone seeing their doctor for a cold will be told that they are infected with H1N1 and will be added to the already inflated CDC statistics.

However, according to the CBS News study, when you come down with chills, fever, Continue reading “How to Prevent and Treat Colds and Flu Naturally by Dr. Mercola”

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Do Legs Cause Migraine Headaches? What’s The Fix?

Migraines can be caused by having a short leg.

According to a study by the US Army, approximately one out of ten people have an actual leg length difference. Additionally, about one out of one hundred people have pelvic bones which are smaller on one side than the other side.

According to myofascial (muscle and soft tissue) pain experts and medical doctors, Travell and Simons, a leg length difference of 1/8 inch or more puts you at risk for pain and dysfunction.  Why?

Because your body does things automatically to try to correct or adapt or accommodate that difference such as tilt, twist or rotate.

There are two types of “short legs.”  Both can cause migraines.

One is an actual anatomical difference which could be caused by Continue reading “Do Legs Cause Migraine Headaches? What’s The Fix?”

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Neck Pain – What Causes Pain In Your Neck?

Neck pain can be caused by all of the muscles in your neck.  When they “push” or “pull”  on your spine the muscles can cause pressure on the nerves in your neck.  But wait!  There’s more!

Your neck is also attached to the rest of your body.

That means that muscles as far away as your feet (!) can cause neck pain.  Your whole body is one unit; all of the muscles act together.  Even when you are not aware of it, the muscles in your lower body affect your neck and your posture.

This means the more ways you use your body–all of the muscles instead of only the same ones over and over–the less pain and more “balanced” you will be.

This may sound strange but how about starting off by rotating your feet?  When Continue reading “Neck Pain – What Causes Pain In Your Neck?”

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Massage and Pain Relief – Does Massage Help Get Rid Of Pain?

Massage therapy can be an excellent way to get rid of physical aches and pains.  It’s likely that 90% of our pain and dysfunction is caused by muscles, according to at least one solid researcher, so it makes sense to help your muscles with massage.

If you have back pain or headaches or other pain, maybe you have already seen a massage therapist.  Perhaps it helped  a lot and perhaps it didn’t.

If your massage did not help much, you will Continue reading “Massage and Pain Relief – Does Massage Help Get Rid Of Pain?”

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