Category Archives: Natural Back Pain Relief

Ice Can Help Get Rid Of Back Pain Due To Arthritis Or Bursitis

October 4 Kathryn Merrow Leave a comment

Cold packs can reduce inflammation and help with back pain and discomfort.

“If it’s very painful, I sometimes tell patients to ice four or five times daily for about 10 to 15 minutes,” says Amy Humphrey, DPT, a physical therapist at Body Dynamics, Inc. in Arlington, Va.

A cold pack is easy to use at home. And if you don’t have one a package of frozen peas works just fine.

Here’s how to use an ice pack:

Wrap a thin towel around it so you don’t burn your skin and put it where you feel the pain. If you use the cold pack over your clothes you probably won’t need the towel.

If your cold pack doesn’t cover the whole area you can re-chill it and move it to a different part of your back.

When the area starts to feel numb you are done. Remove the cold pack from that area to prevent damage to your tissues.

Ice is a wonderful tool to help get rid of pain in your back naturally.

Causes of Back Pain, Natural Back Pain Relief

Do Nerves Cause Back Pain?

December 17 Kathryn Merrow Leave a comment

Do nerves cause back pain? It’s possible, but…

Doctors know a whole lot! And naturally, patients believe their doctor because our doctors are smart. That’s a good thing!

But sometimes they just don’t see the whole picture. Why?

It wasn’t part of their training in med school. There is just too much to know. And that’s also why some doctors or therapists specialize in getting down to the root causes of back pain.

So, if your doctor says your back pain is caused by a nerve, the next question is: “Why?” What is the structure that is pressing on the nerve?

And, the next question is: “How come?”

Let’s say Continue reading Do Nerves Cause Back Pain? →

Natural Back Pain Relief, Self Help, Upper Back Muscle Knots

Movement Helps Back Pain Go Away and Stay Away

February 6 Kathryn Merrow 4 Comments

What kind of movement will help your back pain go away and stay away?

Well, here’s the deal. We have several hundred muscles and most of us use only the same sixty or seventy all the time. That gets us out of muscular balance.

So, mix things up! Wake up the muscles that you haven’t been using. Stretch the muscles in front. Most of us have muscles in front that are way too tight and short. That causes back pain.

Strengthen the back muscles. Most of us have weak backs and we collapse forward. Make those back muscles strong again.

If you take on a program of movement that is too far different from your usual activity, you will be sore tomorrow.

Start gradually.
Move thoughtfully.
Pay attention to what feels tight.
Look in the mirror to check your posture. (You used to have great posture when you were little!)

Even simple, subtle movement will help your back muscles start to feel better.

A weak back can develop muscle “knots” and make your life miserable.

Did you know that even walking can help strengthen and normalize your back muscles? How? Because your legs are attached to your back!

If you feel the problem is a weak back, there is a program designed to help you get rid of those knots and muscle spasms in your upper back. I’ve included lots of movements in it to help you get rid of that achy upper back, for good!

Click here to learn more: Knots In Your Back.

Causes of Back Pain, Natural Back Pain Relief, Self Help

Does Your Car Seat Cause Your Back Pain?

October 11 Kathryn Merrow 4 Comments

Does your back hurt more when you drive? Do your neck, back or even hands start to hurt when driving? Does your car seat give you a pain in the neck?

It’s not a surprise to me because I’ve sat in lots and lots of car seats and I don’t like ’em.

Some designers seem to think that car seats are for lounging. C’mon now.

Drivers are supposed to be alert and able to see the road. I’d like to be supported rather than reclined. It’s not a movie theater.

1. Lumbar support. Sometimes car seats don’t have anything to support your lower back while you are reclin…I mean, driving. If you don’t have a lumbar support you can create one easily and cheaply. Fold a hand towel into quarters or eighths or whatever thickness fits between you and your car seat. It goes behind your waist.

If you have access to a small baby pillow or a batt of fiberfill that will work, too. You might even find a nicely shaped lumbar support at the dollar store. When I found a bin of them at a dollar store I bought several. Those are some of the best dollars I have ever spent!

2. Sometimes car seats recline so much that your head is forced to jut forward. That strains upper back and neck muscles. If you can put your seat into a more upright position that will help.

If you cannot adjust the seat to be more upright, pad the back of the seat. You can pull a t-shirt over the seat and place padding behind it. The t-shirt will help the padding stay in place.

3. Lots of headrests stick out too far. All I can figure is that the designers are trying to support the heads of people who are really dysfunctional and are ignoring the folks with nice, neutral, straight posture.

It’s really annoying for someone with nice posture to sit in those cars; they cause head and neck pain and knots in your upper back in short order. What can you do if your headrest sticks out too far? Well, you could throw it out the window like one older gentleman told me. Or you could just pad up the seat back so your whole body will move forward.

And in some cars adding a lumbar pillow or support like we talked about above can move you forward just enough so the headrest won’t bug you as much.

So your back pain might not be your fault. If you hurt when you drive it could well be your seat. If your car seat isn’t comfortable for you, give yourself some props, cushions or supports. Create your own custom seat so you can drive without back pain.

Here’s another idea: Sometimes use the lumbar support and sometimes don’t. Or use differently sized back supports. Switch it up so you keep flexing your muscles and spine in different ways. That will keep things flexible.

We like flexible, relaxed backs. They don’t have pain.

Natural Back Pain Relief

Brilliant Book Review: End Back Pain Forever

September 25 Kathryn Merrow Leave a comment

Can you get rid of your back pain forever? Yes, says Norman J. Marcus, MD, in his 2012 book End Back Pain Forever –A Groundbreaking Approach to Eliminate Your Suffering.

Dr. Marcus has Pain Centers and medical experts from all over the world praising his work.

But I have a problem with it…something ‘funny’…

Here’s one review:

“The Treatment of back pain in American has suffered from weaknesses of diagnosis and a poverty of effective treatments. This volume…brings intelligence and clarity to an area that profoundly needs such an activity.” – Robert Cancro, MD, Lucius N. Littanuer Professor of Psychiatry and chairman emeritus

Here’s another:

“Your back pain can be cured. Read this book. Dr. Norman Marcus eliminates low back pain by focusing on the major problem–muscle pain. His treatment and prescribed exercises work–I know because he treated and cured me.” – Thomas J.J. Blanck, MD, PhD; Dorothy Reaves Spatz, MD Professor of Anesthesiology, Physiology, and Neuroscience chairman, Department of Anesthesiology, NYU Langone Medical Center

Wow! This book is regarded as breakthrough treatment for back pain by highly regarded authorities and pain clinic experts.

There’s just one funny thing…

Here are some things from the book:

1. Dr. Marcus says muscles are the primary source of 75 percent or more of all back pain, not the spine. (But you knew that if you read here much. I would have estimated 90 percent.)

2. He says medical tests make you more likely to have surgery because they show such things as herniated disks but they may–or more likely may not–be the cause of your back pain. (And this is true, too. Most of us have abnormalities in our spines and disks but no pain. Just because something is seen on a test does NOT mean it is the cause of your back pain.)

3. He treats Continue reading Brilliant Book Review: End Back Pain Forever →

Natural Back Pain Relief

What Causes Pain Along Your Spine?

September 18 Kathryn Merrow Leave a comment

Do you have pain or discomfort on one side of your spine? It’s probably muscles that are tight.

There are several layers of muscle next to each side of your spine. The largest, longest muscles are closest to the outside of your body. The smaller, shorter ones are closest to your spine bones.

And any of them can go into spasm or contraction.

Your muscles all belong to the same union. When one of them becomes unhappy they invite their brothers to join them in complaining. What does this mean? You might not have only one muscle causing your pain.

When one muscle is ‘tight’ it pulls on bones and other muscles. One muscle in contraction can cause other muscles to also go into contraction.

Sometimes it’s a more serious problem but most often back pain is muscle-related. (And remember: I’m not a doctor and I’m not giving you a diagnosis.) (But if I were and I did, I’d probably say, “It’s just muscles!”)

What helps get rid of muscle pain next to your spine?

1. Professional Continue reading What Causes Pain Along Your Spine? →

Causes of Back Pain, Natural Back Pain Relief, Self Help

How Stress Causes Back Pain and How to Get Rid of Stress-Induced Pain

September 11 Kathryn Merrow Leave a comment

Do you really mean it when you say that someone gives you ‘a pain in the back’? If they cause a lot of stress for you, that could be exactly what’s happening.

We tend to use words that describe how we feel. Getting a pain in the back, the neck, the rear–those are all real feelings that can turn into real honest-to-goodness pain.

Stressful emotions can cause back pain. Here’s how:

Think of a stressful situation or person for a moment.

What happens to your body when you feel stressed? Some part gets tight. Muscles get tense.

Is it your jaw? Your upper shoulders? Or, do the muscles in your lower back tighten up?

How can you get rid of the pain in your back naturally?

Meditation can help. When you learn to meditate you become an observer. Things are not so stressful because you just let them happen without emotional involvement.
Breathing can help. Deep, even breathing settles down bodies.
Exercise helps. We were born to move! When we stop moving, stress builds up. You need active movement! Choose something you enjoy and JUST DO IT!

This may seem very simplistic. In fact, way too simple especially if you have a lot of pain. But here’s the deal:

Bodies heal all the time.

The more help you, yourself, can give your body the quicker Continue reading How Stress Causes Back Pain and How to Get Rid of Stress-Induced Pain →

Causes of Back Pain, Natural Back Pain Relief, Self Help, Upper Back Muscle Knots

What Is The Most Common Cause Of Back Pain?

August 30 Kathryn Merrow Leave a comment

What is the most common cause of back pain that you wouldn’t normally think of?

We expect to have back pain when we work our muscles too hard but what else could make your back hurt?

Here are three causes you might not have thought about:

The most common cause of back pain is under-use of muscles!

This happens when you spend too much time sitting. We were built to move–to walk, swing from trees and all the things we don’t do much anymore. We are supposed to use ALL of our muscles but we mostly use just SOME of them.

That makes muscles unhappy so they get knots and they complain. Weak muscles are easily overstretched and that is a common reason for muscle pain in your back.

Poor nutrition causes muscle pain in your back. Muscles need minerals to function well and a lot of the things we eat don’t supply all of the nutrients that used to be in (real) food. (<–click to article.) Worse yet, some of the things we eat actually deplete our bodies of necessary vitamins. Yikes!

Poor posture causes back pain, too. Poor posture is often caused by poor habits–slouching, leaning to one side, sitting with your head way forward, ‘forgetting’ to stretch. If you have the feeling that you are curling forward it’s time to stretch. Get your arms up and back, (<– click to article.) squeeze your shoulder blades to your spine, lift your chin.

You may have noticed that all of the most common causes of back pain are things that can easily be fixed. But you have to take action!

Take control of your posture and nutrition, get moving and USE your body and you can get rid of the most common causes of pain in your back. 🙂

I created a program to help people get rid of the nasty muscle knots in their upper back but it actually has solutions to all of these causes of “plain old back pain,” too.

Just click the link –> to learn more about Knots In Your Back Gone!

Natural Back Pain Relief, Upper Back Pain

How To Get Rid Of Muscle Knots In Your Back Naturally

August 18 Kathryn Merrow 4 Comments

Do you know…

Why your back muscles are complaining?
What causes muscle knots in your back?
How to relieve them naturally with steps you can take NOW?
What trigger points are and how they cause knots?

Chris emailed me after he got a free report from me and said:

I have gotten rid of my knots. It’s first time I haven’t had back pain in awhile. I couldn’t have done it without your expertise! Thank you so much. ~ Chris

Imagine! He got enough information in that report to get rid of his knots. But I have to tell you: It’s because he took action.

He got the report, read the report and took action. That’s the best way to get better.

Sometimes you just need a little bit of help to get rid of knotted up muscles in your upper back.

You might not find that free report around here now but there are lots of articles right here that will help get you on the road to understanding WHY you have muscle knots and the steps you can take to get rid of them just like Chris did.

If you don’t feel like sifting through all of the articles, I’ve created an easy to use, simple system to get rid of your upper back muscles “knots” and pain. Just click this link for more info –> Knots In Your Back Gone!

Natural Back Pain Relief, Self Help

Ten Secrets For Natural Back Pain Relief

August 3 Kathryn Merrow 2 Comments

Here are Ten Simple Natural Pain Relief “Secrets” for Pain In Your Back:

1. Be responsible for your own wellness. No one cares about your pain as much as you do. You might have to do your own research and make decisions to take action or change behaviors.

2. Take good care of your body: Feed it wholesome foods and avoid fake foods and additives. Highly processed food has all of the nutrition stripped away. Sure, sometimes some stuff is added back in but don’t be fooled–most of the good stuff is gone. Also, chemicals are added which bodies do NOT like. Muscles need minerals to function well so consider taking a multi-vitamin/mineral supplement.

3. Reduce your stress. Yoga, meditation, deep breathing, walking, stretching or other exercise can all help.

4. Improve your posture. In a nutshell, strengthen the muscles in the back of your body from your knees up and lengthen the muscles in the front of your body and calves.

5. Stretch in the correct directions. Usually the muscles that need stretching are in the front of your body and the ones that complain are in the back.

6. Breathe deeply. Breathing deeply moves your ribs and muscles are attached to your ribs so it helps them relax.

7. Get enough sleep. And sleep in a position that doesn’t aggravate your back.

8. Drink sufficient water. When your muscles are well-hydrated they will function better.

9. Become knowledgeable about your body and the causes of your pain and know this: Back pain symptoms lie all the time. Just because it hurts ‘there‘ doesn’t mean the problem is ‘there.’

10.Do what you need to do to become pain-free, naturally. Educate yourself and take action.

There you have it: Ten “secrets” for getting rid of your back pain naturally. 🙂

And here’s another tip:

Because you’re here, I’m betting there’s a good chance that you just might have miserable knots in your upper back muscles. If you do, and you want them gone, just click this link.

SIMPLE BACK PAIN RELIEF