They are trying to tell you something.

They are saying, “Help!  I’m not happy!  You are straining me!  Stop it!”

But what do we often do?

>  Take a couple of pills to hopefully relieve the discomfort in your back.  But that doesn’t really cure the back pain; just helps cover it up, maybe.

>  Use heat.  Oh, not good!  Why?

Because heat helps those poor overstretched muscles relax and get even more stretched.  And even more unhappy.

There are lots of articles at http://SimpleBackPainRelief.com to help you get rid of all types of back pain.

And you will find lots of articles right here at SimpleStrengthening.com to help you get rid of your aching back by doing gentle movements to strengthen your back muscles.  When they are strong, your back muscles are less likely to be stretched too far.

If your mother ever told you to ‘watch your posture’ or ‘straighten up’ she was right!    A strong back will help you do that.

And that means…your crabby overstretched muscles will be less likely to give you a back ache.

Let’s think about this for a moment.  When you were little, you were running, sliding, hopping, jumping, climbing.  You were skipping, swinging, squirming, wiggling, jiggling.  Hula-hooping and jump-roping.  You were up and down, up and down.

You even used the muscles in your face.  And when you cried, you cried with your whole body.  If you were like most healthy children, you were moving all the time.  Unless you were asleep.

You used ALL of your 600+ muscles every day!

And, now?  Or, like most of us, do you use only the same 60 or so muscles, just the bare minimum to get through the day?

You might be able to lift and carry that little child, so you think you’re stronger.  But, the reality is, that little child is strong ALL OVER while some of your muscles are strong and some are weak.  Some are used too much, some not enough.

If you were as strong as that little child you used to be, you wouldn’t have that achy back and neck or those headaches.  Your posture wouldn’t be collapsing forward.  You’d feel really good!

Well, good news!

You can feel a lot better than you do now.  All you have to do is make a few changes, do some things differently, and start using more of your muscles again.  Like you did.  Remember?  When you were little?

Right here at SimpleStrengthening.com you can discover simple, easy ways to start getting strong again and use of all of your muscles again.  You can get a strong back.  You can relearn how to hold your head over your body.  You can become as strong as you were when you were that little active kid.

There’s no time like the present!  You’re gonna start feeling better and feeling stronger.

Being straight and having a strong backside puts the pressure of being upright on your bones, where it belongs.  That lets your bones become strong.

And you can read about preventing osteoporosis with good posture (which you can create with the SimpleStrengthening exercises.)

I’m here to testify…

I kind of hate to admit it, but from time to time, I trip.

I had a lovely “trip” just a few days ago.  A five-point landing.  No one applauded, but I’m quite sure it was very impressive.

And, once again, I did not break any bones.

And, I am grateful.

How do I keep my bones strong and healthy?

Let me count the ways:

1.  Plenty of sunshine (creates vitamin D.)  Bones need vitamin D to absorb calcium from your food.  (D3 is the best type.)

Most people in the northern United States are deficient in Vitamin D.  This happens because you don’t get enough sunshine on your skin for one reason or another.  Your doctor can do a blood test to check if you are deficient, if you want.

A good time to get sunshine is while you are…

2.  Walking.  Walking is weight-bearing exercise.  So is being on your feet while you watch TV.

Instead of sitting, stand and do side-swaying movements or lunges or toe raises and calf stretches.  Just do something while you are on your feet rather than on your seat.

3.  A good quality multi-vitamin and mineral supplement.

4.  Lots of green, leafy vegetables (they contain calcium.)

5.  A varied diet with all kinds of wholesome foods (this means not highly processed and sold in a box.)

6.  And, always fight gravity!  Gravity is a very powerful force.  It is always trying to pull your head forward and down.  Stretching to open up and relax your chest and front muscles is a necessity.  So is strengthening the muscles on the backside of your body.

By the way, walking also strengthens your arms and upper body.

How?

When you walk, you swing your arms.  Your arms have weight.  This is weight-bearing exercise for your upper body.  The muscles in your arms pull on the bones all around your shoulders, and this makes your bones stronger.

So, that’s my secret.  This is how I keep bouncing instead of breaking.

And, one more thing.

The people who are most injured, and who take longer to recover from a fall or accident, are the ones who are most “out of balance” before the accident.

So, recovering faster and having less injury is another big benefit of being as straight, strong and flexible as you can be.  When you are learning to have a strong backside (from the back of your thighs to the back of your neck,) you will also be learning how to move your shoulder blades and your joints into neutral positions.

Your bones and muscles will be healthier and stronger, and you, too, can bounce instead of break.

(Although I hope you never trip.)

For more help, go to http://www.SimplePainRelief.com and http://www.CarpalTunnelPainReliefNow.com.

So, I’m going to tell you about the most common cause of osteoporosis.

It’s really common to see people with their heads in front of their bodies.  Sometimes their heads are really far ahead of their bodies.  Not good.

We were built so that all of our bones stack up, one on top of the other.  When our posture is perfect (like it was when we were young children) then our bones support our bodies.

When we start to fall into a collapsed posture–when we get a forward head–then we start using muscles to support our body.  Our muscles are not designed to support us; that’s what our bones are for.

Using the Simple Strengthening program (everything you need to know is here) for easily making your back side strong will correct your posture.

When your posture is once again nice and straight, your bones will be supporting your whole body as they used to.

When your bones are supporting your body, they are “working.”  When they do the job they were designed to do, there is correct pressure on your bones.  This pressure helps your bones to stay and become dense and strong.

Skeletons need to be stacked up properly so your bones will work to support you, and so they will be strong.

When bones are not “working” to support you, they become weak.  So osteoporosis is caused by not letting your bones do their job.  If we take the pressure off the bones, they can’t rebuild themselves as they should.

When your skeleton is stacked in “neutral,” as it should be, inappropriate pressure is taken off your muscles.  Now, your muscles can easily do what they are supposed to do: their job is to let you move.

And, so, since muscles move bones, getting strong muscles on your back side will help move your bones back into the neutral position they need to be and avoid osteoporosis.

And, that’s a good thing.  For more help, go to http://www.CarpalTunnelPainReliefNow.com and  http://www.SimplePainRelief.com

“Because You Deserve To Feel Better!”

We often fall into the habit of having a weak, collapsed forward posture.  This simple strengthening tip will help you get tall, straight and strong.

You can do this sitting and do this on your back in bed or on the floor.

• Lift your arms over your head, stretching as far as you can.
• Inhale.
• Exhale, and stretch even farther.
• Relax a little, but keep your arms up.
• Inhale, exhale, stretch a little farther again.

As you stretch up, the muscles around your ribs, abdomen and back are getting stronger.  When they are stronger, they will help you stand tall and proud, not slumped forward.

It’s much healthier for your whole body to be straight.  Being straight avoids a lot of pain and problems.

When you do this sitting down, it takes your legs out of the mix, in case they are throwing your posture off.

When you do this in bed or on the floor, it takes gravity out of the mix.  Now gravity is working with you, instead of against you.

In addition, re-learning how to keep your shoulder blades tucked in closer to your spine will help.  You can read about that in one of my other articles.

If this is difficult for you to do sitting, then start off on your back in bed.

A strong, straight, painfree body is a thing of beauty, and I believe you’ll get there.  Find more help at   http://www.SimplePainRelief.com

“Because You Deserve To Feel Better!”

Would you tell me the cause was stress? Overwork? Old age? Arthritis? Or from your nerves or bones?

Would you be surprised if I told you that the cause was most likely…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 be on both sides or just one side, depending on how you use your body. Some people only get pain on the dominant side, which means if they are right-handed, the right side of their back will hurt.

When our muscles are continually overstretched, like our back muscles are when we have “forward head” posture, they have to react. If they did not react, the muscles would tear and we would be unable to function.

So, instead of tearing, the muscles “splint” themselves.

They become taut and protect themselves from being damaged or ripping off the bone. (Although that can happen in extreme cases.)

When your muscles become taut (think of a rope being pulled from both ends that can’t relax because no one will let go) they become less able to function fully.

They also become crabby.

The overstretched muscles are working way too hard. They are not working the way they were designed to work. Muscles are supposed to help us move. They let us flex and bend and stretch.

Bones are supposed to support us. We are not supposed to use our muscles as bones.

You can stop your muscles from being overstretched!

You can get your muscles back to being the way they used to be, but it will take some time and effort and you’re the only one who can do it. Well, you could get some help to loosen up from a knowledgeable massage therapist, but basically you are in charge.

(The reason I said a knowledgeable massage therapist is because many of them only work where it hurts–your back, in this situation–and your back pain is the symptom, not the cause. He or she will also need to loosen the muscles in front of your body.)

• You need to eliminate your forward head or forward arm posture to stop overstretching your back muscles.
• You need to strengthen your back.
• You will have to practice lifting your shoulder blades and rolling them backward, so they will become more movable.
• Practice squeezing your shoulder blades toward your spine.
• Read the rest of the simple strengthening articles here.

The purpose of this article and this site is to help you become pain-free.  Find more help at http://www.SimplePainRelief.com and www.CarpalTunnelPainReliefNow.com

“Because You Deserve to Feel Better!”