Tag Archives: Kathryn Merrow

What Keeps Back Pain From Going Away

August 26 Kathryn Merrow Leave a comment

If your back pain won’t go away and stay away, maybe it just can’t.

Here are several possible reasons:

1. Muscle memory. You might be able to relax or release the muscles just enough so your pain lessens but it comes back because your muscles “remember” that they are supposed to be in spasm. You can change this.

2. Old age. You may think that you cannot get better because you are “getting old.” You are most likely wrong.

3. Trigger points. Muscles elsewhere or other soft tissues (not bones) have developed trigger points that are “firing” into Continue reading What Keeps Back Pain From Going Away →

Upper Back Pain

Knots In Your Upper Back Caused By Forward Head Posture

August 24 Kathryn Merrow Leave a comment

When you learned to walk, your spine did this really neat thing. It developed curves to help you stand “straight.”

When we say, “Stand up straight,” it really means stand tall; stand with the proper curves in your spine; stand with your head over your body instead of in front of it.

See this fellow sitting with his back rounded? Sitting, sleeping or working in a position with your back like that will cause you to lose the curve in your lower back.

You are supposed to have a curve behind your waist that creates a small hollow.

When you lose that curve, your head moves forward just like this fellow.

And that forward head posture creates a LOT of strain on the muscles of your upper back. It can cause headaches, neck aches, lower back pain, upper back pain Continue reading Knots In Your Upper Back Caused By Forward Head Posture →

Lower Back Pain

Low Back Pain Caused By Muscle Strain

August 22 Kathryn Merrow Leave a comment

Muscle strain can cause low back pain. No surprise there because muscles are the most common cause of back pain. They are also the most commonly overlooked cause of pain.

Medical tests look for pressure on nerves. But what causes the pressure? Muscles.

Medical tests look for damage to joints. Outside of direct injury, what’s the most likely cause of damage to joints? Muscles.

And how about discs or spinal bones pressing on nerves? What causes that? I bet you know the answer. Muscles!

Muscles pull on and move bones and discs. Muscles are movers. They are the only tissues in your whole body that have that ability. That’s their job!

Muscle imbalances Continue reading Low Back Pain Caused By Muscle Strain →

Causes of Back Pain

Dislocated Ribs Heal

August 17 Kathryn Merrow 2 Comments

My last article told the story of how I dislocated my ribs. This one continues to the cure. 🙂

It just wasn’t getting completely better so I ended up going to my colleague Janet who is an excellent massage therapist. We took a lot of advanced training together and worked together, too. She “surrounded the dragon” (the painful rib area) using finger pressure to relax tender muscles.

The dislocated ribs were mid-chest. Janet pressed into the muscles in the upper ribs near my collar bones. She also released (relaxed) the muscles on the sides of my back and spine.

But I just could not let her press into the painful rib joint at my breastbone. I just couldn’t. Way too painful!

And when she gently lifted my head Continue reading Dislocated Ribs Heal →

Causes of Back Pain

Pain From Dislocated Ribs

August 13 Kathryn Merrow Leave a comment

“Woman Breaks Her Own Ribs Crawling Through Cave”

That’s what I thought the headline would read. It was my first time ever on a cave crawl. When I got to the low ceiling and could no longer crawl on my knees I had to do the army crawl (belly crawl.) That’s when I dislocated my ribs for the second time in 2 days.

I had done the same thing 2 days prior practicing this belly crawl on the living room floor but on the opposite side of my ribs. That side was feeling somewhat better when I did it again in the cave.

I did this by cleverly (and incorrectly) placing Continue reading Pain From Dislocated Ribs →

Lower Back Pain

The Four-Sided Devil Muscle That Causes Low Back Pain

August 12 Kathryn Merrow Leave a comment

If you have lower back pain or sciatica here’s something you should know.

There is a muscle on each side of your waist called the quadradus lumborum or QL.

It is also called “the muscle from hell” and “the four-sided devil.”

See the dark red muscle at the waist on the far side of this illustration? That’s it on the left back side of a body. It attaches to the lower ribs, the spine and the hip bone. The outer side of the QL is open. (Those are the 4 sides.)

That one in the picture is Continue reading The Four-Sided Devil Muscle That Causes Low Back Pain →

Causes of Back Pain, Upper Back Pain

Causes of Shoulder Blade Pain and Back Pain

August 11 Kathryn Merrow 2 Comments

What causes shoulder blade pain and back tightness and pain?

Here’s an email I received from a healthy young man who always exercised with no health issues other than debilitating back pain.

I used to work a very physical job with a lot of heavy lifting, bending, and twisting for an 8 1/2 hour shift. The job caused soreness, tightness and an aching pain between my shoulder blades and sometimes my lower back would get stiff but Continue reading Causes of Shoulder Blade Pain and Back Pain →

Lower Back Pain, Upper Back Pain

Back Pain Can Be Caused By Prescription Drugs

August 10 Kathryn Merrow 3 Comments

Muscle and joint pain in your back can be caused by a variety of prescription medications. Most prescription drugs have a whole laundry list of side effects. That’s why I’m always encouraging you to go the natural route–no side effects. That’s pretty cool.

Here’s an article about unwanted side effects like back pain caused by a drug called Continue reading Back Pain Can Be Caused By Prescription Drugs →

Neck Pain

How To Relax Your Neck Muscles And Get Rid Of Neck Pain

August 2 Kathryn Merrow Leave a comment

What causes pain in your neck? Most often the cause is muscles.

Unless you had a traumatic accident which shifted your neck bones, muscles are generally to blame. Even if the pain is caused by pressure on nerves, muscles are still the bad guy. Muscles caused the pressure on the nerves to start in the first place.

Here are some ways to relax those neck muscles and take pressure off the nerves.

1. Ice massage. Use ice to massage the muscles in front on the sides and in back of your neck. Also do the base of your skull and the top of your breastbone. Go to http://SimplePainRelief.com and look for the Category for Ice and Heat.

2. Do subtle, gentle movements. Don’t try to force movement in your neck. Rather, Continue reading How To Relax Your Neck Muscles And Get Rid Of Neck Pain →

Neck Pain

Neck Pain – How To Get Rid Of The Pain In Your Neck

August 2 Kathryn Merrow 2 Comments

Here’s how neck pain starts. Your neck is attached to your shoulders. And to your upper back. And to your chest and abdomen. And to your lower back. Your legs. Feet, too.

Your neck muscles got tight and crabby because all of those muscles from all over your body were pulling on your neck and head.

When your head started moving forward (because the muscles in the front of your body were pulling it) in front of your body instead of over it–when your perfect posture started to collapse–gravity was able to grab Continue reading Neck Pain – How To Get Rid Of The Pain In Your Neck →

SIMPLE BACK PAIN RELIEF