Category Archives: Natural Back Pain Relief

Causes of Back Pain, Lower Back Pain, Natural Back Pain Relief

What Causes A Wide Band of Pain In Your Back

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Do you have pain in the middle of your back?  Does it feel kind of like a wide band of pain below your shoulder blades?

Or do you have a wide band of pain across your lower back?

Wide Band Of Pain In Your Back

You know how I’m always telling you that muscles are the largest cause of pain?  Well, this may come as a surprise.  It’s still muscles but if your pain pattern looks like the red areas in this picture, the muscle to blame is in the front of your body!

The abdominal muscles right next to the midline of your body (rectus abdominis) can cause referred pain into your back.  This happens when the muscle develops trigger points.  Trigger points cause referred pain.

Sometimes only one side of the rectus abdominis has a trigger point but it still causes pain on both sides of the back.

How can you get rid of the trigger points that cause your back pain?

You could have someone rub on your back until the cows come home but it won’t help if your back pain is caused by muscles in front of your body.  You have to relax the trigger points in that abdominal muscle to relieve your back pain.

See the X‘s on the abdominal muscle?  Those indicate the locations of trigger points.  Those are the areas to treat.

The easiest way to treat those Continue reading What Causes A Wide Band of Pain In Your Back →

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Natural Back Pain Relief, Self Help

How To Get The Natural Curve In Your Spine In A Swimming Pool

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You can easily start to rehabilitate your back and get rid of back pain in a swimming pool or any body of water where you can move your arms and legs.

If you have pain in your lower back it may be because you have lost the natural curve behind your waist.

Do you slouch and slump?  Does the area behind your waist feel flat rather than slightly curved inward?

Water movement can help.

If your pain is in your upper back that can be for the same reason; you have lost the natural curve in your low back.  That makes your head move forward and causes strain on your upper back muscles.

Water movement can help.

Water acts as resistance and also massages your muscles as you move through it.  Swimming is excellent if you know how and IF it doesn’t aggravate your pain.

Any body of water is good to exercise in but a swimming pool has the advantage of edges to hold onto.

Hold onto the edge of the pool with your arms outstretched and kick your legs.  That will help strengthen your legs and hips.  And guess what?

Your legs are attached to your back via muscles! 

When you are kicking in this position you dropping your belly and lifting your tail–you are making a forward curve behind your waist.  Your muscles will start to remember where they used to be.  🙂

Every now and then reverse the curve in your lower back.  Give it a break.  Move into the opposite position but only to your comfort level.

The idea is to keep using ALL of the muscles in your spine in ALL directions.  That’s what keeps spines flexible and back pain levels down.

If you don’t have access to water, yoga can help.

There’s a movement or posture in yoga called cat-dog or cow-camel.  It has you on the floor on all fours.  Drop your chin to your chest thoughtfully (always move thoughtfully) and arch your back like an angry cat.

Then lift your head, elongate the front of your neck, and let your belly drop like an old cow.   You’re now flexing and extending your whole spine.

When you do that, it warms, loosens and relaxes the muscles that attach to your spine in a similar way to water movement.

Keeping or re-gaining the natural spinal curves that you had when you were a toddler and small child is KEY to natural back pain relief!

 

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Natural Back Pain Relief, Self Help

Get Rid Of Your Back Pain Naturally

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You can get rid of your back pain naturally.

I love it!

You see, your body wants to be well. It just needs a little help from you. And sometimes from others who understand how bodies work.

Don’t be afraid to test your own abilities. You have a smart body.

And don’t be afraid to look outside of conventional medicine. Doctors are really smart but they know only what they know.

I seriously do love doctors but most aren’t trained to understand the roles of muscles in causing pain.

And if muscle knots in your upper back are a problem for you, they’re caused by muscle imbalance, too.  Muscle imbalance can be fixed.  🙂

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

Do The Knots In Your Back Keep Coming Back?

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Can you get rid of the knots in your back for a while but they keep coming back?  Or can you NOT get rid of them at all?

Let’s look at some possible reasons that those nasty muscle knots keep coming back.

Maybe we can figure out the cause of your back pain and get rid of the cause.

  • It could be posture-related. Do you slouch or slump?
  • It could be that you always lean into the same corner of the couch.
  • It could be your heavy book bag that causes you to lean forward.
  • Do you carry a wallet in one back pocket?
  • Do you carry a heavy purse over one shoulder?

It is something and that something needs to be changed so you will stop getting these miserable muscle knots.

Did you know that muscles need minerals to function their best?

Do you eat a good diet that supplies lots of vitamins and minerals or do you eat mostly pre-packaged, highly processed foods and fast foods?  They cannot supply what your muscles need. 🙁

You cannot fool your muscles with fake foods.

And I’m a big supporter of mineral and vitamin supplements.  They have made a huge difference for my health and wellness.

Here’s another tip:

The knots in your back may be caused by Continue reading Do The Knots In Your Back Keep Coming Back? →

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Natural Back Pain Relief, Self Help

Examples Of How Back Pain Heals Naturally

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Your back pain can get better naturally!  How do I know?

Bodies heal all the time.

You skin your knee.  It heals.

You break a bone.  It heals.

You catch a cold.  You get better.

But sometimes bodies need some help.  Sometimes you will need outside help to get better.

And most likely YOU will need to be the deciding factor.  YOU will need to take action just like a certain “disabled” vet and a former Pro Wrestler did.

After you read the information below, I hope you will have a better understanding of how bodies and back pain can heal naturally.  Especially read the last paragraph.

From wikipedia:

The birth of the Yoga for Regular Guys Workout came in 1998 while Diamond Dallas Page was recovering from ruptures to his L4/L5 discs. He was reluctantly Continue reading Examples Of How Back Pain Heals Naturally →

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Natural Back Pain Relief, Self Help, Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, Upper Back Muscle Knots, Upper Back Pain

Do Knots In Your Upper Back Also Cause Headaches?

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Do you have knots in your shoulders?  Do you have headaches?  Did you know they can definitely be related?

Here’s a question from a reader:

I’ve been suffering with awful headaches for years now.  I have what i call “knots” in my neck, upper back, shoulder blade area, and shoulders.  All of this is on my right side.  I’ve been to many doctors, I’m in physical therapy right now, and nothing has helped.  I’m looking for exercises that I can do to break up these “knots”.  The Continue reading Do Knots In Your Upper Back Also Cause Headaches? →

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

Testimonial For Getting Rid Of Muscle Spasms In Your Shoulders Naturally

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Got knots in your upper back?  An Occupational Therapist who was suffering with muscle knots in her back sent me the following email:  🙂

> Dear Kathryn, Here’s a testimonial for you:
>
> I am an occupational therapist and I know better.  I have preached for
> years that we need to stretch our chests and strengthen our upper
> backs/posterior shoulder girdles.  However, I have been having spasms
> between my shoulder blades and spine (mostly on the right), and I have
> spent what seems like endless hours in hot baths, on the heating pad,
> and lying on tennis balls or pushing as hard as possible against my
> shiatsu
> massage chair.  These techniques often relieved the spasms, but only
> temporarily; not to mention that it left me with a bruise-type pain for
> days from pushing so hard.  One day, feeling beyond frustrated, I
> started searching the web.  That is when I came across your site and had
> that AHA moment (in a “duh” fashion for me).  I had been missing the thing
> I preach so much about!!  (We healthcare professionals are such bad
> patients).  I instantly stood and did the corner stretch and doorway
> stretch, then cut a piece of Theraband and started some scapular
> strengthening exercises (specifically external roataion and horizontal
> abduction).  Boy, did I feel it on the right, but I kept going and guess
> what?  Within 2 days, I was FINE.  Pain-free, spasm-free, and H-A-P-P-Y!
> Thanks for the reminder.  We all need to be smacked upside the head from
> time to time.  =)
>
> ~Katie F.

I appreciate Katie writing and sharing her story.  She started out by chasing symptoms.  She ended up by attacking the CAUSE of her upper back spasms.  And that’s how she got rid of her symptoms.  🙂

So, you see?  Look for the cause of your pain.

And, if you’re not an Occupational Therapist, like Katie, and would like an easy to use self-help program, I have just the thing for you!  Click here:  Knots In Your Back Gone!

You CAN have natural relief of the knots in your upper back.  🙂

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Natural Back Pain Relief

9 TipsTo Keep Your Back Pain From Getting Worse

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Is your back pain getting worse?  Here are nine tips that can start to help you feel better:

1.  Hold in your stomach muscles (that’s the best and easiest way to strengthen them.)  Just suck them back to your spine.

2.  Lift your chest (this strengthens your back.)

3.  Create a small hollow behind your waist if you don’t have one (you should have one.)

4.  Try to use ALL of Continue reading 9 TipsTo Keep Your Back Pain From Getting Worse →

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Natural Back Pain Relief

Massage For Achey Back – Natural Pain Relief?

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Does massage get rid of back pain?  A study in the Annals of Internal Medicine said it can.  (And that is no surprise to me!)

The study compared patients in three groups:

1.  Conventional medical treatment of medicine and exercises
2.  Structural massage (deeper pressure)
3.  Swedish massage (more gentle form of massage)

Guess who won?  🙂

1.  4% improvement in back pain for Continue reading Massage For Achey Back – Natural Pain Relief? →

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Causes of Back Pain, Natural Back Pain Relief

Do Large Breasts Cause Back Pain?

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Can large breasts or breast implants cause pain in your back?  That’s the question I received from Carol.  Here’s what she said:

“Kathryn – Hi, maybe you have some ideas.  I am considering breast reduction.  How much do large breasts play into my back strain?  I used to belly-dance but I think the extra weight up top & out front puts me out of alignment.  I always get low back strain now when I try to dance.”

“The Dr I went to for cosmetic assistance (enlargement) went overboard.   Do you think breast reduction will help?  I am 5’4″, weigh 120 lbs, with a slight build.  I wear 36DD.”

Here’s my answer:

Yes, large breasts do cause back and neck pain issues.

I don’t know how much weight implants have but if they are about the same as natural breasts that’s a lot of weight.

The women I know who have had breast reduction surgery said it made a great deal of Continue reading Do Large Breasts Cause Back Pain? →

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