Helping You Get Straight and Strong with Kathryn Merrow, The Pain Relief Coach
When back muscles are stretched a bit more than they like to be, they get crabby. They can get really crabby. Why? 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 [...]
Posted in back pain, exercise, posture, strength on Mar 1st, 2009
There are lots of types of exercise and movement strengthening programs, and most of them are done in upright positions. Here are some of the reasons I prefer a program that can be done while you lie on your back in bed. 1. Almost everyone can lie on their back in relative comfort. 2. Gravity [...]
Posted in back ache, back pain, exercise, posture, strength on Oct 7th, 2008
Osteoporosis is not something we want to have. What we really want are strong, healthy bones. 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 [...]
Posted in back ache, back pain, exercise, posture, strength on Mar 19th, 2008
Here’s an easy, simple strengthening strategy to get long, strong torso muscles. 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 [...]
Posted in back pain, exercise, headaches, posture on Mar 8th, 2008
A physical therapist told me that the best way to strengthen abdominal muscles was just to “suck in your stomach and hold it,” several times. And that does work, but when we want strong and flat abdominal muscles, we often think of sit-ups. Here are a few reasons why they may not be the exercise-of-choice [...]
Posted in back ache, back pain, pain, posture on Feb 24th, 2008
If I were to ask you what causes the pain between your shoulder blades, what would you say? 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 [...]
Posted in back pain, head pain, headaches, migraines, posture, strength on Jan 12th, 2008
Is it actually possible that exercise can help get rid of your migraine headaches? Yes, in many ways. Often the muscles on the tops of your shoulders, the front and the back of your neck, and your jaw get tight. They get tight because we are out of balance, muscularly. We can often blame this on [...]
Does your back hurt now more than it used to? Do you have back pain between your shoulder blades? Is the pain more on your dominant side? Or, is it more lower back pain and/or your neck? There are many possible causes for back pain and muscles are the usual culprit! Honest! Muscles! That’s good news, because [...]
Posted in back pain, headaches, posture, strength on Nov 26th, 2007
After you have been in your exercise or movement program for a while, knowing how many repetitions of an exercise or movement you should do will become second nature to you. You will feel good when your muscles are moving in the correct ways. You will do the movements often, because it feels good. You will be able to [...]
Posted in back pain, head pain, headaches, migraines, pain, posture, strength on Nov 12th, 2007
If our muscles get out of balance – some too tense or tight, and others too loose or flacid – it is easy to have muscle strain. Here is an example. You may recognize this pain that lots of us experience: The one on your back, between your spine and your shoulder blade. If you are right-handed, it will [...]
