Category Archives: Upper Back Pain

Causes of Back Pain, Self Help, Upper Back Pain

How To Walk To Help Get Rid Of Upper Back Pain

Walking “wrong” can cause upper back pain and strain. Walking with poor body mechanics can also cause neck strain and headaches.

There are ways to walk correctly and avoid pain. Let’s talk about them!

This walking tip will help your poor upper back start to feel better. It will help you use your muscles in a way that warms and balances them instead of straining them. You know, after all, your ARMS are attached to your back and shoulders. 🙂

The proper way to swing your arms when you walk:

Thumbs up!

Just as though you are going to shake hands.

Stand up and look down. If the backs of your hands are facing forward, that means the muscles in the front of your body are short.

Those short muscles are turning your hands like that.

Now, try to hold your hands thumbs forward. That is neutral position.

We WANT to be in neutral! Neutral = no pain. 🙂

1. When you walk, swing your arms from the shoulders with your thumbs facing forward.

2. Let your arms swing freely at your sides rather than crossing in front of your body.

It may help if you think about walking with your arms in the position that a robot would use. That will use your upper body muscles in a more neutral position and they will be happier!

If you are used to using poor posture when you walk this may feel strange or even uncomfortable at first. But as your posture becomes better you will have less and less upper back muscle pain.

Walking correctly can help you get rid of your back pain naturally!

Self Help, Upper Back Muscle Knots, Upper Back Pain

Let’s Get Rid Of The Knots In Your Upper Back

May 24 Kathryn Merrow Leave a comment

You are not stuck with those miserable knots in your shoulders. You can get rid of them naturally but you have to take action. Discover how now:

Get rid of muscles knots in your upper back naturally!

Actually, taking action is the key to unlocking most of the pain and dysfunction that people suffer from.

First, find the cause of your knots. It’s often not where you hurt.
Second, take action! There are things that you did to create your muscle knots. There are steps you will have to take to get rid of them.

Muscle ‘knots’ form when muscles are in spasm or contraction. There are basically two things you may be doing that started the whole knot process.

1. Maybe you hold the upper back/shoulder blade area tightly. This happens when you are carrying something or even when you do a repetitive motion that uses those muscles. The muscles get used to being contracted and short and so they stay that way. At least temporarily.

That’s the easiest type of muscle knot to get rid of.

Tennis ball therapy usually will work quite well for these knots. (Place the ball behind the knot and lean onto it.)

2. Or, your upper back and shoulder blade muscles are in spasm because Continue reading Let’s Get Rid Of The Knots In Your Upper Back →

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?

April 22 Kathryn Merrow 2 Comments

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? →

Neck Pain, Upper Back Pain

What’s The Most Common Cause Of Upper Back Pain?

April 4 Kathryn Merrow 2 Comments

What’s the most common cause of upper back pain? Is it herniated disks?

Is it neck bones that are out of place? Is it your neighbors or your job?

Not likely any of those. It’s muscles! (Well, maybe your job is contributing, too.)

A recent commenter said the knots in her upper back are caused by a herniated disk. But that’s taking things out of sequence. (And that‘s really, really common in the medical field.)

You see, disks cannot move on their own. Neither can bones. So how do they move?

You got it: Muscles! Muscles move bones and disks. That’s their job.

So how do disks get herniated? (We will assume there is not a whiplash or other serious tossing-around injury.)

When muscles get out of balance they don’t hold the bones in a neutral position anymore. Instead the muscles pull or push the bones and disks out of alignment. They can actually push a disk out of place!

“Out of balance” means muscles on one side of your neck or back are too short or tight. On the other side they are too loose or weak.

This means pain in your upper back and neck.

What’s the solution?

In a nutshell, strengthen the muscles on the back side of your body. Stretch and lengthen the muscles on the front side.

And don’t forget you also have muscles on the sides of your body. They probably need lengthening and stretching, too!

Other things such as nutrition can also play a big part in how happy your muscles are. If you eat healthy and exercise and get plenty of water into your body your muscles will be nicer to you in return.

And posture plays a huge role in upper back pain. I created a self-help program for upper back pain and knots and in that program I actually have a video that will help you get straighter and stronger in a simple, easy way.

If you’d like to know more about the upper back pain relief program that addresses ALL of these, please click here: www.KnotsInYourBack.com

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

March 14 Kathryn Merrow Leave a comment

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. 🙂

Causes of Back Pain, Upper Back Pain

Do Flat Feet Cause Upper Back Pain?

February 23 Kathryn Merrow Leave a comment

Did you ever wonder whether your flat feet are causing your upper back pain? Has your doctor ever checked your feet when you complain about pain in your neck?

Well…

Your upper back pain is being caused by something and sometimes that something is as far away as your feet!

Flat feet or ‘fallen arches’ can cause the ‘foundation’ of your body to be faulty. Instead of standing up with nice posture, people without arches in their feet tend to fall forward posture-wise.

Here’s how to demonstrate this:

Stand normally. Now make an Continue reading Do Flat Feet Cause Upper Back Pain? →

Self Help, Upper Back Pain

Natural Relief For Knots In Your Shoulders

February 5 Kathryn Merrow Leave a comment

Got muscle knots in your shoulders?

You need someone to help you figure out WHY you are getting these muscle spasms in your upper back so you can get rid of them forever.

The answer is not to attack only the area where the muscle knots are because those are just symptoms. The solution is to get to the cause of your pain.

You have to figure out the cause of your knots and get rid of it (or them).

The reason for those miserable muscle spasms in your upper back could be posture-related.

>>Do you slouch or slump?

>>Or do you always lean into the same corner of the couch?

>>Or does your heavy book bag cause you to lean forward or your purse makes you hike your shoulder?

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

And 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. Your muscles (and brain and other parts of your body) like REAL food. 🙂

One more thing: The knots in your back may be caused because of tight muscles in the front of your body. Most of the time we humans have our hands and heads in front of our bodies and this shortens the muscles in the fronts of our chests, abdomen, arms and neck.

Are you a sloucher?

That means the muscles in the front of the body need to be stretched. They are most often the culprit that causes poor posture and upper back pain and muscle spasm!

The muscles and soft tissues in the front of your body have shortened and pull you into slouching posture. They need to be lengthened.

At the same time, the muscles in the back of your body need to be strengthened. Part of the reason they’re complaining is because they’ve become weak.

If you can give your body movement, nutrition, stretching and strengthening in the right directions and good posture you can get rid of the muscle knots in your shoulders naturally.

The directions that you need are in this natural, self help, easy-to-use, do-it-yourself program: Knots In Your Back Gone!

Click the link for more information.

Self Help, Upper Back Muscle Knots, Upper Back Pain

How To Get Rid Of Muscle Pain In Rhomboid

January 6 Kathryn Merrow 17 Comments

Do you have burning in your back between your shoulder blade and spine? That area has a muscle called the rhomboid. There’s one on each side of the spine.

The rhomboid muscle gets blamed for pain all the time but it is usually NOT the muscle at fault!

Poor rhomboid.

Rhomboid area pain is typically caused by that area being over-stretched. The burning is a symptom. You have to figure out the cause and get rid of it.

Your neck could be involved if the scalene muscles on the sides of your neck are causing you to have a ‘knot’ in your back. The scalene muscles in your neck can have trigger points Continue reading How To Get Rid Of Muscle Pain In Rhomboid →

Upper Back Muscle Knots, Upper Back Pain

What Causes Muscle Pain Between Your Shoulder Blades?

November 28 Kathryn Merrow 27 Comments

What causes the pain between your shoulder blades?

Could it be stress? Overwork? Old age? Arthritis? Or maybe your nerves or bones?

Would you be surprised if I told you that the cause was most likely cause of pain between your shoulder blades is…in most cases…muscles?

But not any old muscles.

Overstretched muscles cause most back pain, especially pain between the shoulder blades.

Pain between your shoulder blades and spine can Continue reading What Causes Muscle Pain Between Your Shoulder Blades? →

Self Help, Upper Back Pain

How To Walk To Get Rid Of Upper Back Pain Naturally

October 14 Kathryn Merrow Leave a comment

Here’s a walking tip that will help your poor upper back start to feel better naturally.

Did you know there is a right way to swing or move your arms when you walk? There is!

Moving your arms correctly takes the strain off your upper back muscles.

Here it is: