Helping You Get Straight and Strong with Kathryn Merrow, The Pain Relief Coach
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 [...]
Have you ever thought about using your bed as a resistance tool? When we press against an immovable object, like a wall, we build strength. That is called resistance training. Your bed offers some softness and it also allows you to move and press into it while it presses back at you. Here are a [...]
Posted in exercise, knee pain, leg pain, strength on Jan 10th, 2009
Maybe you have knee pain, and maybe you don’t. Maybe your legs feel weak or maybe they feel “out of balance” or “too tight.” Your legs were designed to be used in certain ways. But, lots of times, for all kinds of reasons, we “forget” how we used to climb stairs. Sometimes, we just “clomp” [...]
Posted in back ache, exercise, head pain, headaches, pain, posture, strength on Oct 8th, 2008
You’ve heard about the benefits of weight-bearing exercise for strengthening your bones. 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.) [...]
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 leg pain, pain, posture, strength on Aug 23rd, 2008
I was starting to have “crabby” knees, and decided I had to do something about it. I remembered working with a man who had severe damage to both knees. He told me he could walk without pain, even on stairs, as long as he kept the muscles around his knees strong. He did this with [...]
If your legs feel weak, or achey, here’s a solution for you. We were built for movement and when we don’t move enough – when we spend too much time in a chair or car – our leg muscles get out of balance and lose strength. Balance and strength occur when we use our legs. When we use [...]
Posted in back pain, pain, posture, strength on Oct 2nd, 2007
All day long we are very often stuck in one position. Our shoulders get tired and ache. If we are a new mom, the position we are stuck in might be holding our baby. If we work at a desk, it could be leaning over the desk. If we are a mechanic or line worker or cook, it is [...]
Posted in pain, posture, strength, Uncategorized on Sep 25th, 2007
I had a client who was paralyzed. All Gloria could do was talk and eat, when someone gave food to her. But, boy, could she ever visualize! She would actually visualize herself exercizing so well that she would make her muscles ache. When I would see her, she would say, “Oh, I am so sore. I did [...]
Posted in back pain, head pain, headaches, migraines, pain, posture, strength on Sep 24th, 2007
When your head starts hurting, do you ever think about your back? Do you wonder why your head is hurting? Do you notice that your back aches, or feels tight, at or around the same time? Are your shoulders tight, too? Here’s how it works, in a nutshell. If we get out of balance – [...]
