Tag: Kathryn Merrow

Posted on

TMJ Pain – Causes of Pain in Your Jaw

TMJ is shorthand for Temporomandibular Joint.  That refers to your temple area and your jaw bone (mandible.)  The joint is supposed to move smoothly but when it doesn’t you may end up with a diagnosis of TMJ Dysfunction or TMJD.

What can cause your TMJ to stop moving smoothly?

  • An injury or trauma that causes the joint to dislocate.
  • Overuse of the powerful jaw muscles in certain positions.
  • Sleeping always on the same side which may cause your jaw to “drop” to one side.
  • Having a “forward head” posture which puts a lot of strain on your neck and jaw muscles.
  • Dental work which Continue reading “TMJ Pain – Causes of Pain in Your Jaw”
Share
Posted on

How To Find A Massage Therapist Who Can Relieve Your Pain

When you have muscular pain and want relief, how can you find a massage therapist who will give you the most benefit for your money?

A nice “feel good” massage has many benefits but not when what you want is pain relief.

There are many types of massage and a few different professional organizations and lots of massage schools.  There are all types of different philosophies, personalities, beliefs and training.   Some massage therapists have a ton of Continue reading “How To Find A Massage Therapist Who Can Relieve Your Pain”

Share
Posted on

Sciatica – Causes and Natural Cures of that Nervy Pain in Your Hip and Leg

Sciatica is caused by pressure on the sciatic nerve.  The pressure can be from bones or from muscle.  Most often it seems to be muscle.  The good news is the pressure can often be removed from the sciatic nerve without surgery.

Sciatic nerves are really large.

They are about the thickness of your index finger and run from the lower part of your spine through the bony hip area. The nerves pass through thick muscles in your buttocks, one on each side.

The gluteal muscles are the powerful muscles in the back of your hip (your buttocks). One of those muscles–a deeper one–is the piriformis. The piriformis muscle can be a cause of the nervy pain in your hip and/or leg. When it is, it is often called “pseudo-sciatica.” (Pseudo means false.)

If the nerve is being compressed by the spinal bones, it is Continue reading “Sciatica – Causes and Natural Cures of that Nervy Pain in Your Hip and Leg”

Share
Posted on

Neck Pain Relief – Causes and Simple Pain Relief Tips

Neck pain, even if it’s nervy pain, is usually caused by your muscles.  Muscles move bones and that can cause pressure on nerves in your neck.  You can relax muscles that are tight with ice or heat.

The rule of thumb is:  Ice for nervy pain and heat for muscular pain.

If you use heat and feel slightly worse afterward, that means heat is not the correct treatment.  Use ice instead.  You can find more information in the “Heat & Ice” Category right here at SimplePainRelief.com.

Tiny movements are more beneficial to Continue reading “Neck Pain Relief – Causes and Simple Pain Relief Tips”

Share
Posted on

Got Back Pain? Muscles Cause Pain In Your Back – Here’s How

Upper back pain, mid-back pain or lower back pain all have the same most common cause:  Your muscles.

Muscles are the most frequent cause of back pain.  And that’s good news!  Why?  Because muscles can be “released” or treated and get back to their normal healthy state.

Here’s more about muscles:

  • Muscles move bones.
  • Muscles can get “trigger points.”

Your muscles don’t usually act all by themselves; they pull all the other parts of your body into the act.  Why?  Because all of your parts are attached.  That means ALL of your body should be assessed to figure out WHY you are having pain in your back.

If you’ve had your Continue reading “Got Back Pain? Muscles Cause Pain In Your Back – Here’s How”

Share
Posted on

Pain in Arch of Foot – Is It Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome?

Is my foot pain Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome?  This question was asked by a reader.  Here’s her question.

I was wondering if I have tarsal tunnel syndrome or if it’s something else. Normally my feet don’t hurt, but when I excercise (especially jumping excercises) I get severe pain at the bottom of my foot (in the arch area). The pain is often really bad and this is preventing me from doing a lot of the exercises that I like. I also know that the pain is not caused by bad shoes, because it happens with all shoes, even running shoes. Does this sound like tarsal tunnel syndrome?

Here’s my response:

A “syndrome” is a bunch Continue reading “Pain in Arch of Foot – Is It Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome?”

Share
Posted on

Roll Your Shoulders to Relax Your Back and Arms

Muscles get “stuck” in the positions that we use the most. Doesn’t matter whether the position makes you feel good or not-so-good. Muscles become “comfortable” in the positions they’re used to. Doesn’t matter to them whether YOU are happy or not!

Rolling your shoulders is one way to get your shoulder muscles back into balance. It help them get “un-stuck.” What do I mean by “rolling”? Just watch the little video below.

I demonstrate how easily you can start making circles with your arms–2 different moves–that will help the muscles all around your shoulder. This gets the circulation going. It gets your muscles cooperating again. It will help relax your back and “massage” your arms.

Pay attention to the feelings in your shoulders, upper body and arms as you do these movements. Don’t worry if you hear a little “clunking.” That just means there is some imbalance. You may notice that it becomes less over time as your muscles get used to working together again.

If it’s very difficult to do these movements, then only do them to the best of your ability and comfort level until your shoulder muscles and joints become used to moving again. And remember: It’s your body and you always have to make the decision about what’s best for you.

Here’s the video.

Share
Posted on

How to Get Better Posture for Back Pain Relief

Back pain is often caused by posture.  When your posture collapses–you “fall forward” with your head leading the rest of the group–the muscles in your chest get short and tight.  That makes it hard to breathe, hard to hold your head up, hard to have good posture.

At the same time, the muscles in your back get overstretched and strained and so they complain.  (They hate being stretched too far!)  They give you pain to call your attention to the fact that something is wrong.

Collapsed posture also causes lower back pain, headaches and migraines, constipation and lots and lots of other problems.

It’s a primary cause of “old age.”

You had wonderful posture when you were very young and with a bit of help from you, you can have it again.

In a very small nutshell, strengthen the muscles of your backside from knees to head.  Lengthen (stretch) the muscles of your calves and the whole front side of your body from knees to head.

If you happen to see a baby, a cat or a dog stretching, imitate them. 🙂  They are stretching the correct muscles to be functional and pain-free!

 

 

Share
Posted on

Walking Can Relieve Your Back, Hip and Pelvic Pain

Does walking cause back pain?  You bet it can!  It also causes pain in your hips and pelvis IF you don’t move the way your body was designed to move.

Every week I do another episode of Pain Relief Radio.  Today we talked about how to walk to prevent or get rid of back pain.  We talked about how our walking patterns become faulty and how that causes pain.

We talked about walking with stiff knees and hips.  This kind of stiff walk contributes directly to arthritis in your hips and knees and fragile bones in your pelvis.  But bones stay strong and healthy when we use all of our muscles as they were designed to be used.

Meir Schneider wrote a great book, “The Handbook of Self-Healing, Your Personal Program for Better Health and Increased Vitality,” and I quoted lots from Meir and threw in plenty of my own thoughts, too.

Meir is a brilliant bodyworker in San Francisco.  I’m so fortunate to have taken classes from him.  There are people who understand how bodies work and what we must do if we are to be pain-free.  Meir Continue reading “Walking Can Relieve Your Back, Hip and Pelvic Pain”

Share
Posted on

Yoga and Head Pain: 6 Ways Yoga Helps You Get Rid of Your Headache

How can yoga help relieve your headaches?  Oh, let me count the ways:

  1. It relaxes the muscles around your chest, ribs, shoulders and neck.  These are the same muscles that get tight and cause headache symptoms.
  2. Yoga helps reduce your stress.  When you’re feeling all stressed, your muscles “clamp down” on nerves that go to your head.
  3. It helps strengthen the muscles of your backside, and makes you long and strong; it creates muscular balance.  A strong back and a long, strong body helps you have good posture.  Good posture, with your head over your body instead of out in front, reduces headaches.
  4. Yoga gets your circulation moving and that helps move the metabolic (body) wastes out of your body.  It reduces Continue reading “Yoga and Head Pain: 6 Ways Yoga Helps You Get Rid of Your Headache”
Share
Posted on

Muscle Pain, Vitamins & Minerals: What’s the Connection?

Do vitamins and minerals cause muscle pain?  They do if you don’t have enough!

You have a smart body and it wants to be well.  In order for that to happen, you must provide everything it needs.  Some of its needs are small–like vitamins and minerals are–but so, so necessary for your muscles (and brain) to function well.

Many vitamins and minerals interact–they work together.  If you are lacking enough magnesium, for instance, that will prevent you from absorbing enough calcium.  A magnesium deficiency will cause a calcium deficiency.

According to Travell & Simons MD’s, you need iron, calcium, potassium and magnesium for normal muscle function.  The B-complex Continue reading “Muscle Pain, Vitamins & Minerals: What’s the Connection?”

Share
Posted on

Get Rid of Your Muscle Pain by “Break” Dancing!

Muscle pain starts when we stop moving.  When you were a little child you were always moving.  You used all of your muscles all of the time…unless you were asleep.   Maybe even then.

As you grew you stopped using all of your muscles and that was the start of aches, pain and dysfunction.

Here’s a guest post from my friend Gini Maddocks.  She’ll explain why “break” dancing will help you get rid of your muscle aches and pains:

Do you take breaks during your busy day?

You should.

Research shows that the human brain is more efficient when allowed to rest in intervals.

Try this:
Turn on upbeat, familiar music–the kind you like to dance to.

Now let yourself Continue reading “Get Rid of Your Muscle Pain by “Break” Dancing!”

Share
Posted on

Why do Musicians and Band Members Get Back & Neck Pain?

Playing musical instruments can be a pain in the neck.

I was at a high school symphony band concert and was struck by the extremely poor posture and “forward head posture” of many of the musicians.

Even though a lot of young people have “forward heads,” it was much more so with the musicians than with the general student population.

Why would this be?

Most of us hold our arms and heads in front of us most of the day, but musicians–musical athletes–hold their instruments for extended periods without the opportunity to stretch or relax the muscles that support their instruments.

What could help?  Stretching, strengthening and massage.

The muscles in the front of the body support the instrument.  The are the ones that are Continue reading “Why do Musicians and Band Members Get Back & Neck Pain?”

Share
Posted on

Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome Can Be Tricky To Diagnose

I received an email recently and the writer told me she had “been kicked around from doctor to doctor for 2 years” before they came to the diagnosis of Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome (TTS).  She has numbness and severe pain in one foot which may have come from an old injury.  She wondered whether she will be able to get well again.

Of course, the earlier any pain is stopped in its tracks, the better the chances of a complete recovery.

Still, I believe in my heart that bodies are very smart and logical and capable of healing when they are given what they need.  I love bodies!  They want to be well.  Sometimes they just need some help.

Here is part of my response to my reader.

“By now you have hopefully received my response by email. I’m glad you finally got a diagnosis. I suggested in the email several things you can do to start the process of healing.”

“It’s really too bad that Continue reading “Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome Can Be Tricky To Diagnose”

Share
Posted on

Flexibility Helps Relieve & Prevent Painful Stiff Backs

Is your back a little stiff?  Do you wish your posture was better?  Are you as flexible as you’d like to be?

Are you feeling “stuck”?

I will always believe that massage is the best thing to help muscles relax but stretching is the next best.  So, here’s something that’ll help you get “unstuck” and relieve your stiff back.

Are you familiar with the stretches called “cat” and “dog?”  I’ve also heard them called “camel” and other variations.

Sometimes they are done on all fours, on the floor, but I’m going to share a seated version with you.  If you are so stiff that it’s hard to get on the floor, you will appreciate this version.

These are good movements because they get your spine moving from front to back and your ribs moving.  These movements warm the muscles of your back and whole torso, or trunk.  They get your circulation going and can help to strengthen your back.

Here is the seated version:

Share