1.  Almost everyone can lie on their back in relative comfort.

2.  Gravity works with you rather than against you.  When you are upright, gravity is working to pull you down toward the earth.  When you are on your back, you are already down.  The force of gravity becomes your friend and assists you.

3.  Your bed acts as resistance.  It is soft enough to press into, yet firm enough to push back at you.

4.  If you have an anatomical leg length difference (like 10% of us–one leg is truly shorter than the other) or if one half of your pelvis (one hip bone) is smaller than the other (like 1% of us) it doesn’t matter.  When you are standing or sitting, these size differences can throw you off balance.  They move the center of your body away from neutral.  When you are on your back, these differences are taken “out of the equation.”

5.  Lots of us are “vertically challenged.”  We just plain feel better when we lie down. This is due to leg length differences, scoliosis (curvature of the spine) or weak back muscles.

6.  If your back is weak and you have trouble staying upright, working from a flat position is easier.

7.  It is easier to isolate the areas of your body that you need to strengthen when you are on your back.

8.  Stretching from this position is also easier because gravity pulls on your arms and legs while your back is in a neutral position.

9.  You don’t need any additional equipment.

So, those are some of the reasons I’m working on a program to help you get strong while you lie in bed.  If you read the articles here at SimpleStrengthening.com you will find lots of “how-to’s.”

It is so important to have a strong back side!  Everything from your knees to the base of your skull should be strong.   When your back side is strong, you will feel better, your body will function better and you will be able to withstand the forces of gravity when you are upright.  This is a good thing.

“Because You Deserve to Feel Better!”

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!”

Here are a few reasons why they may not be the exercise-of-choice for you.

When you do sit-ups, it’s easy to aggravate your neck and upper back.  This can cause neck pain and or headaches.

Sit-ups strengthen the upper abdominals.  When the upper abs are tight, they can pull us into forward-head posture.  “Forward-head posture” means that when we are standing up, our head is in front of our body instead of over our shoulders.  Not good, for many reasons.

It’s easier and less potentially aggravating to strengthen your lower abdominals, instead.

This is how to get into position:  Start on your back with your knees bent and pointed toward the ceiling.  Lift, or move, your knees toward your head, so that your shins (lower legs) are perpendicular to the floor.  Now you are ready for the strengthening movement.

Note:  Your head will be resting comfortably and will never leave the floor during the movement.

This is how to do the movement:  Using only your lower ab muscles, not your legs or hips, move your knees closer to your chin.  That’s it.  Your tail bone may lift or roll slightly upward, off the floor or mat.  Go back to the position where your shins are perpendicular to the floor.  Repeat.

Isolating the lower abdominal muscles can be a very ‘interesting’ thing for a lot of people.  They want to do this move with their hip muscles.

If you place your hand on your lower abdomen, between your belly button and pubic bone (and closer to the pubic bone), those are the muscles you want to contract–make tight–when you move your knees closer to your chin.  It’s okay to practice with your hand pressed lightly there until you learn to isolate the lower ab muscles.

Do only two or three movements for the first few days.  Your newly awakened muscles may get sore from over-use if you do more.  After a few days, you may add one or two a day and gradually work up to ten movements once or twice a day.

Always pay attention to your body and move thoughtfully.

And, remember, if you work on strengthening your back side, from knees to head, those muscles will hold you straight, strong and upright and your belly won’t pouch out like it will if you have forward-head posture.

That would be very good.  For more help, go to 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!”

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 our chairs, car seats, couches and work positions.

Sometimes we can blame it on the way we are built, when we stand a certain way to hide parts of our bodies.

All those things can add up to poor posture for us, and poor posture with our head forward definitely is a major cause of head pain and migraine headaches.

So where does exercise come in?

If we strengthen the muscles in back of our neck, shoulders, back, glutes (butt), and thighs, we can develop the good posture that we had when we were little.

When we are upright, strong and straight, with good posture, we have much less head pain.  There is less strain on our necks and heads, fewer tight muscles around our shoulders and less pain!

As a bonus, we will feel better all over.  Our whole body will function better, and we will have less pain in our back.

Here is something else to consider which affects 1 in 10 of us.  A short leg.

According to a study by the U.S. Armed Forces, 1 out of 10 of us has a short leg.  When people with a short leg of 1/8″ or more walk, it causes a rotation in our neck muscles near our head.

This rotational pulling causes migraines.

If you notice that one pant leg always needs to be hemmed, or you sense that you are rotating, get it checked out.  It’s very easy to correct by getting a special lift in the shoe of your short leg.

You’ll find lots of information right here to help you get straight and strong.

You deserve to feel better, and you can feel better.

Which step will you take first to get a strong back side?

Find more help at http://www.SimplePainRelief.com and www.CarpalTunnelPainReliefNow.com.

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 muscles can be fixed.

When your back muscles get overstretched, they will complain and cause back pain.

So, how do muscles get overstretched?

For your upper back it is usually from reaching forward, or working with hands in front of you, a great deal of time, especially with your dominant hand.  For example, most hairdressers use one hand more than the other, and the side they use most can get pain, unless…

They take the time to strengthen their back, and to do periodic stretches to lengthen the muscles which have become short in front of the arm and chest.  (The front muscles become short due to the arm being held in front of the body for so long.)

If you work with both hands in front (reaching or stretching) for long periods, your whole upper back can get overstretched and be uncomfortable.

So, how do the muscles in your low back become overstretched?

If you lose the nice low curve you used to have in your back, pain comes as a complaint.  Your muscles are telling you they are not happy, they are out of balance, they want to be back in neutral.

How did you lose the low back curve?  Mostly, it is from the way we sit, and sometimes how we stand.

Our couches, car seats and desk chairs don’t serve our muscles well.  They let us slouch.  They often don’t fit us.  Instead of looking for a better fitting seat, we allow our backs to round in the opposite direction of where we ought to be, of where we used to be, unless…

We strengthen our large gluteal muscles – our butt muscles – which are very powerful, and our hamstrings in the back of our thighs, and our backs.  Doing this will help bring the curve back into our low back, and help reduce our pain.

Strengthening your back side will help you stand and sit straighter.  That will cause less pull on your muscles, and so less pain.

How does your neck get overstretched?   Sometimes it is as simple as lying wrong in bed, or having our head turned in one direction for a long time, or any of the rotten things we do to our necks when we are slouching on a chair or straining to see a computer screen or game or driving.

Your neck will have a hard time staying in neutral, with its’ own nice small curve, if you have lost the curve in your low back.

What goes on in the low back, goes on in the neck, and vice versa.

Sometimes we just want to feel better…NOW!  That would be great, but…

It takes time.  It takes time for bodies to heal, but they do.  You know they do.  If you get a little cut, you keep it clean, and covered, and keep germs and dirt out, and it heals.

Muscles are bigger than a little cut.  They take longer to “heal” and get corrected.  A cut happens in an instant.  Muscle pain usually took a long time, a lot of overuse or abuse, until it started.  It will take longer to get rid of, but it can be done!

You can start getting a stronger back side by following the steps that I share with you here, or you can use another program if you prefer.

The important thing is that you start doing what needs to be done to feel better.

Why?

“Because You Deserve To Feel Better.” And, you can find more help at http://www.CarpalTunnelPainReliefNow.com and http://www.SimplePainRelief.com

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 feel the benefits.  Your posture will be better.  You will have fewer headaches and backaches.  You will feel more powerful.

But, for starters, if moving is a new thing for you, do this:

Start with just one movement, or repetition.  It’s better to do one perfectly than a whole bunch poorly.

It’s better to understand the movement and to do it slowly and thoughtfully.  And, if you do only one rep, you won’t get sore and stop moving.

You can do “just one” three or four times during the course of the first day or two.

Do one in bed when you wake up.  Do one during the day, during the early evening, and then at bedtime.

By the third day, you can increase the repetitions to three.  You can do three reps, three or four times each day for the next few days.

By the end of the second week, you will be able to do up to ten or twelve repetitions.  You might want to do the movements two, three or four times each day, just because it feels good, and to stay in balance.

We’re only talking about a few minutes each time.  It really doesn’t take long to learn to move correctly.  You will feel the benefits, but you will not have become sore.

Now your body is getting used to moving like it used to.  Your muscles are adjusting to the movements.

In fact, your muscles are starting to enjoy being able to move, and they like feeling more in balance!

My Simple Strengthening movements are designed to help you get back into balance, so you will feel better and function better.  These movements are so simple you can do them in bed.  You don’t need any special equipment.

You will find the whole Simple Strengthening program right here.  Just scroll down through the previous articles, and keep watching for more to come.

You do deserve to feel better!

Find more help at www.CarpalTunnelPainReliefNow.com and www.SimplePainRelief.com

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 be on your right side.

It feels like a knot, and almost feels like it is burning.  Do you know that pain?

Here is what happened.  The muscles in the front of your body, chest and arm, and probably your neck, become shorter and tighter.  This occurs because most of the time we hold our heads our arms in front of our bodies.   That makes the muscles in front become tight.

Unless you work to strengthen your back muscles, your tighter, stronger front muscles will win the body war.  They will make your body shorter in front and these shortened muscles will ”pull” on the weaker muscles in your back.

Your back muscles are getting stretched because they are not as strong as your front muscles.  Your back muscles go into a type of contraction, or spasm, to keep from being damaged by further stretching.  The stretching strains the back muscles.

You feel the contraction as pain or burning.  Your body is complaining.  It says, “Please fix me!”

So, when an area is stretched for a long time, or overstretched, the result is muscle strain.

How can you fix this?

Getting a strong back will balance your stronger front-of-body muscles.  A strong back will help you avoid muscle strain in your back.  A strong back will prevent your back muscles from being overstretched.

Strong hamstrings (the muscles on the back of your thighs) will help you avoid hamstring strain.

Strong muscles in the back of your neck will help prevent muscle strain that causes headaches.  When the muscles around the base of your skull or at the sides of your neck become strained, you can get a headache.

Strengthening the back of your neck will help you hold your head in the proper position to avoid straining those muscles.

There are Simple Strengthening Tips here to help you get a strong back side, and more to come.

It is never too late to change our bodies for the better.

Bodies sometimes just need a little assistance from us to feel better and perform better.

You can do it!

Find more help at http://www.CarpalTunnelPainReliefNow.com and http://www.SimplePainRelief.com.

Most of the time we hold our shoulders in a forward position.  Our head and shoulders are in front of our body during virtually all of our activities.

As a result, the muscles in our back get overstretched.  Then those muscles hurt and complain.  They don’t like being overstretched.

Strengthening your upper back will help prevent having pain in your shoulders.  Here’s a simple way to get a strong back.  And, the best part of it is, you can do it lying down!

So, get comfortable on your bed.  Lay on your back.

Gently press your shoulder blades into your bed.  Press them toward your spine.

Can you feel your shoulder blades (scapulae) moving?  If you’re not used to moving your blades, it may take some practice to get them to move and to feel them moving.   Rolling your arms, one at a time, in circles may help you feel your shoulder blades.

If you press your upper arms backward into your bed, you may be able to feel your shoulder blades move with your arms.  This movement also helps strengthen your upper back.

You can also do this standing but, please, watch where your head is.  Sometimes we get so involved with our bodies that we forget where our head is and it moves forward.  When our head moves too far forward, it causes neck and upper back strain and pain.

That’s it.  So simple!  Just press your shoulder blades back, squeeze toward your spine and strengthen up!

Find more help at http://www.SimplePainRelief.com and http://www.CarpalTunnelPainReliefNow.com.