Muscle spasms in your upper back? Knots in your shoulders?
Happens to the best of us! Including me! And to the occupational therapist who sent the following testimonial to me.
I really got a kick out of this because she 'forgot' what to do for herself just as I have when a miserable knot came to visit.
Here's what Katie said:
> Here's a testimonial for you:
>
> I am an occupational therapist and I know better. I have preached for
> years that we need to stretch our chests and strengthen our upper
> backs/posterior shoulder girdles. However, I have been having spasms
> between my shoulder blades and spine (mostly on the right), and I have
> spent what seems like endless hours in hot baths, on the heating pad,
> and lying on tennis balls or pushing as hard as possible against my
> shiatsu
> massage chair. These techniques often relieved the spasms, but only
> temporarily; not to mention that it left me with a bruise-type pain for
> days from pushing so hard. One day, feeling beyond frustrated, I
> started searching the web. That is when I came across your site and had
> that AHA moment (in a "duh" fashion for me). I had been missing the thing
> I preach so much about!! (We healthcare professionals are such bad
> patients). I instantly stood and did the corner stretch and doorway
> stretch, then cut a piece of Theraband and started some scapular
> strengthening exercises (specifically external roataion and horizontal
> abduction). Boy, did I feel it on the right, but I kept going and guess
> what? Within 2 days, I was FINE. Pain-free, spasm-free, and H-A-P-P-Y!
> Thanks for the reminder. We all need to be smacked upside the head from
> time to time. =)
>
> ~Katie F.
I really appreciated Katie sharing her experience with me.
She started getting to the root of her muscle knot. She started strengthening her back muscles.
And she started stretching and lengthening the muscles in the front of her arms and chest.
She was H-A-P-P-Y! And that makes me happy, too!
I have observed and heard over and over that massage therapists (who should know better) blast away on muscle knots. And the knots cannot relax! Why?
Because the CAUSE of the knots is not where the pain is. Bodies often work like that!
And now I'd like to invite you to discover lots and lots of articles about natural relief for knots and muscle spasms in your upper back at Simple Back Pain Relief.com.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Monday, October 17, 2011
Work Stress--7 Ways To Get Rid Of Stress At Work
Work stress can cause pain, just like all stress does.
Since we don't like having pain, we want to eliminate as much stress as possible from our work.
Here are 7 ways to begin lowering your stress level.
1. Start reducing your stressors outside of work. When you are calmer at home, that will carry over and you will feel more calm at work, also. The same tools that work outside of work will help you at your job.
2. Learn how to breathe for relaxation. Practice at home in bed. At work, sit up straight and do the same deep belly breaths you practiced in bed. Count to four on the inhale, slowly, hold for four, and exhale to the count of four. Let your neck relax. Let it rock gently front to back as you breathe. Repeat several times.
3. Remember, you are very good at what you do. Remember that. Keep reminding yourself. You are good! Negative self-talk causes stress.
4. Take frequent stretch breaks. Get your arms up and back. Open up the front of your body like a cat or dog does when they stretch. This will get the blood flowing again, you will feel more energized and less stressed.
5. Lift your shoulders up and roll them back, while your arms are hanging at your sides. You can do this often at your desk. It helps release muscle tension in your neck and shoulders. Less muscle discomfort equals less stress.
6. Learn to meditate, visualize or pray. Take a few minutes every hour tohttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif recharge your mind by going to your safe place, in your mind, for a mini-break or to bask in the warmth of God's grace.
7. Be grateful for the day, your job, your wonderful body, your life. Gratitude knocks out negative thoughts. Negative thinking causes stress. Think, "I am grateful for..." Say, "I am grateful for..."
Visit me at http://KathrynMerrow.com for more natural health information.
Since we don't like having pain, we want to eliminate as much stress as possible from our work.
Here are 7 ways to begin lowering your stress level.
1. Start reducing your stressors outside of work. When you are calmer at home, that will carry over and you will feel more calm at work, also. The same tools that work outside of work will help you at your job.
2. Learn how to breathe for relaxation. Practice at home in bed. At work, sit up straight and do the same deep belly breaths you practiced in bed. Count to four on the inhale, slowly, hold for four, and exhale to the count of four. Let your neck relax. Let it rock gently front to back as you breathe. Repeat several times.
3. Remember, you are very good at what you do. Remember that. Keep reminding yourself. You are good! Negative self-talk causes stress.
4. Take frequent stretch breaks. Get your arms up and back. Open up the front of your body like a cat or dog does when they stretch. This will get the blood flowing again, you will feel more energized and less stressed.
5. Lift your shoulders up and roll them back, while your arms are hanging at your sides. You can do this often at your desk. It helps release muscle tension in your neck and shoulders. Less muscle discomfort equals less stress.
6. Learn to meditate, visualize or pray. Take a few minutes every hour tohttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif recharge your mind by going to your safe place, in your mind, for a mini-break or to bask in the warmth of God's grace.
7. Be grateful for the day, your job, your wonderful body, your life. Gratitude knocks out negative thoughts. Negative thinking causes stress. Think, "I am grateful for..." Say, "I am grateful for..."
Visit me at http://KathrynMerrow.com for more natural health information.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Shoulder Blade Pain--When the Knots in Your Upper Back Won't Relax?
People often ask me if I can help them get rid of the knots between their spine and shoulder blades. I explain why they have knots in their upper back and why they are having pain. And, I also explain why the therapies they have tried did not work or didn't work for very long.
If you have had deep tissue massage or other treatments that didn't get rid of your shoulder-blade-to-spine pain, it's because the treatment did not address the cause of your pain. The massage therapist or doctor was working on your symptom rather than the actual cause of your pain. This is a very common occurrence as therapists and doctors often don't understand exactly why someone is having pain.
Here is some background. Each of your muscles attaches to at least two bones. This is what allows us to move. If a muscle is pulling on one side of a bone because it is short and tight, then the muscles that attach to the other sides of the bone will also be pulled on (they will get stretched.)
The muscles that are being stretched will start to complain. And, they will develop "knots." The knots are their way of getting your attention. Your muscles are calling to you.
Actually, your muscles may be screaming at you.
Those stretched muscles are called "taut." Taut is different from "tight." Taut muscles cannot relax on their own. Taut muscles need the muscles around them that are pulling on them to be relaxed, or released, before they can relax.
So, if you have had massage or other therapies that did not relieve your painful back spasms or knots, now you know why.
What are some things you can do yourself to get rid of those knots?
1. Have a therapeutic massage. Ask the massage therapist if he or she will be able to work on the muscles that are around your knot (which are the probable cause of your knot) to release them before massaging the knot itself.
2. A good massage therapist will also be able to figure out whether your shoulder blade knot is being caused by tight muscles in your neck. Those muscles are called the scalenes and they can cause knots in your back near your shoulder blades.
3. Strengthen your back from the base of your head to the back of your thighs. This will help prevent the painful back knots from happening in the first place. It will help normalize your muscles. See the helpful articles at SimpleStrengthening.com
4. Try "tennis ball therapy." Lie down on the floor with a tennis ball under the "knot." Just lie still for 5 minutes. The tennis ball will aggravate the knot and get more blood flowing to that area. This will often help release your knot.
5. Squeeze your shoulder blades toward your spine. This helps strengthen your back muscles and stretches the too-tight muscles that caused your knot in the first place.
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
A person who is well-educated about the cause of their pain or dysfunction is more likely to get better than someone who simply puts their care into the hands of another person. You can get lots more 'education' at http://SimpleBackPainRelief.com I have many more natural back pain relief articles there.
And I'm glad you are becoming that well-educated person so you can get rid of those shoulder blade knots.
If you have had deep tissue massage or other treatments that didn't get rid of your shoulder-blade-to-spine pain, it's because the treatment did not address the cause of your pain. The massage therapist or doctor was working on your symptom rather than the actual cause of your pain. This is a very common occurrence as therapists and doctors often don't understand exactly why someone is having pain.
Here is some background. Each of your muscles attaches to at least two bones. This is what allows us to move. If a muscle is pulling on one side of a bone because it is short and tight, then the muscles that attach to the other sides of the bone will also be pulled on (they will get stretched.)
The muscles that are being stretched will start to complain. And, they will develop "knots." The knots are their way of getting your attention. Your muscles are calling to you.
Actually, your muscles may be screaming at you.
Those stretched muscles are called "taut." Taut is different from "tight." Taut muscles cannot relax on their own. Taut muscles need the muscles around them that are pulling on them to be relaxed, or released, before they can relax.
So, if you have had massage or other therapies that did not relieve your painful back spasms or knots, now you know why.
What are some things you can do yourself to get rid of those knots?
1. Have a therapeutic massage. Ask the massage therapist if he or she will be able to work on the muscles that are around your knot (which are the probable cause of your knot) to release them before massaging the knot itself.
2. A good massage therapist will also be able to figure out whether your shoulder blade knot is being caused by tight muscles in your neck. Those muscles are called the scalenes and they can cause knots in your back near your shoulder blades.
3. Strengthen your back from the base of your head to the back of your thighs. This will help prevent the painful back knots from happening in the first place. It will help normalize your muscles. See the helpful articles at SimpleStrengthening.com
4. Try "tennis ball therapy." Lie down on the floor with a tennis ball under the "knot." Just lie still for 5 minutes. The tennis ball will aggravate the knot and get more blood flowing to that area. This will often help release your knot.
5. Squeeze your shoulder blades toward your spine. This helps strengthen your back muscles and stretches the too-tight muscles that caused your knot in the first place.
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
A person who is well-educated about the cause of their pain or dysfunction is more likely to get better than someone who simply puts their care into the hands of another person. You can get lots more 'education' at http://SimpleBackPainRelief.com I have many more natural back pain relief articles there.
And I'm glad you are becoming that well-educated person so you can get rid of those shoulder blade knots.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Shoulder Pain? Three Causes and Three Cures
There are many possible causes for your shoulder pain.
Do you carry a heavy purse or bag?
Do you have weak or poor posture?
Are your chest muscles short?
What can you do to correct shoulder pain from these causes?
In the case of a hiked shoulder:
In the case of forward head posture:
In the case of short chest muscles:
All of these things will help you get rid of your shoulder pain, and that's a good thing.
You can find much more natural pain relief information and links to all of my websites at http://KathrynMerrow.com
Do you carry a heavy purse or bag?
I have done many, many therapeutic massages on people who carry a heavy bag around. Sometimes it is work or school related, sometimes it's just a huge, heavy "purse." (More like a suitcase, actually.)
I have had happy women leave my clinic, smiling that their "shoulder pain is all gone now." And, then I have to say, "Hey! Why are you hiking that shoulder up?" Well, the reason is because they've tossed the strap of their purse over their shoulder and hiked that shoulder up to keep the strap in place. Not good.
Do you have weak or poor posture?
If you have a forward head posture (your head is out in front of your body rather than over your shoulders) that puts a lot of strain on your poor back and shoulders. Forward head posture causes shoulder pain (and neck and back pain, and carpal tunnel pain, too.)
Are your chest muscles short?
Short or tight chest muscles pull your shoulders forward, rather than letting them be out to the sides of your body where they belong. Chest muscles can get short from posture habits that we have developed. They can also shorten when we use our chest (or pectoral) muscles way more than our back muscles. This causes pain in your shoulders, too. It doesn't allow you to use your shoulders in the neutral fashion they were designed to work in.
What can you do to correct shoulder pain from these causes?
In the case of a hiked shoulder:
Carry a lighter bag (you really do not need everything in the immediate world for every possible event in your purse, honest. There are stores all over the place!) Or, if you need a large bag for work, consider a rolling suitcase or bag on wheels. (When I suggested that to a male client, he said, simply, "I can't. I'm a guy." But he could.) Or, instead of a shoulder bag, use a "fanny pack" or a "tummy pack." Maybe not so easy to find, maybe not too stylish, but I love 'em. Hands-free carrying so I can swing my arms and shoulders or use my hands to do things other than carry a purse. Or, carry your purse in the crook of your elbow, like a football.
In the case of forward head posture:
Begin a simple program to strengthen your whole backside. Think small. You don't have to strengthen your whole body all at once. You can find lots of helpful articles at Simple Strengthening . Search the older posts, too.
In the case of short chest muscles:
Begin a simple stretching program to open and lengthen those muscles. Gravity and your bed are good tools to work with. Let your arms carefully hang off the side of the bed while you lie on your back. You will feel the muscleshttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif in front of your shoulders and arms stretching, as well as your chest muscles. Also, strengthening your back will help lengthen your chest muscles, too.
All of these things will help you get rid of your shoulder pain, and that's a good thing.
You can find much more natural pain relief information and links to all of my websites at http://KathrynMerrow.com
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Another Cause For That Knot In Your Back
Does your upper back pain feel like a "knot" or muscle spasm between your shoulder blade and spine?
Last time we talked about muscles in your torso that could cause this pain. Today we will talk about another cause, which is almost always overlooked.
The muscles that can cause that "knot" in your back are on the side of your neck. There is a set of muscles on each side of your neck called the scalenes.
When the scalene muscles get tight, or aggravated, they develop "trigger points." If you have a therapeutic massage to work out your knotty back problem, and it doesn't help, then the problem isn't in your back. (I am assuming here that your therapist worked ALL of your back and rib muscles, not just the knot.)
The problem is in your scalenes.
Trigger points in your scalene muscles are "firing" or causing pain in your upper back. If you get a well-trained massage therapist to work on your neck muscles and release the trigger points, your back pain will go away.
If you suspect this may be what is causing that knot in your upper back, you can try to release the scalenes yourself.
Press gently into the side of your neck. Using the pads of your fingertips, explore the muscles that run on the side of your spine, or neck bones.
If you feel hard, knobby things, those are probably the edges of your vertebrae, or neck bones. If you feel a pulse, move off it.
Thoughtfully and carefully explore the length of your neck from your jaw to your collarbone. If you run into a very tender area, gently hold pressure there for about 12 seconds. If it doesn't "release" or become less painful, move on. You can come back to that tender area a few more times, after letting it rest for a few minutes, to see if it will release.
If an area refers pain into your "knot" on your back, you have found the trigger point that is causing your pain! Apply gentle pressure with your finger pads for about 12 seconds and see if it lessens. You can repeat as needed.
As you explore the muscles on the sides of your neck, you may be surprised by all of the sensations you feel. http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Many of our upper body muscles refer, or cause sensations, in our head, back and arms. You may even notice sensations in your carpal tunnel area.
Don't be afraid to explore. It's your body.
You can discover more about how to get rid of that miserable knot in your back naturally at http://KnotsInYourBack.com
Last time we talked about muscles in your torso that could cause this pain. Today we will talk about another cause, which is almost always overlooked.
The muscles that can cause that "knot" in your back are on the side of your neck. There is a set of muscles on each side of your neck called the scalenes.
When the scalene muscles get tight, or aggravated, they develop "trigger points." If you have a therapeutic massage to work out your knotty back problem, and it doesn't help, then the problem isn't in your back. (I am assuming here that your therapist worked ALL of your back and rib muscles, not just the knot.)
The problem is in your scalenes.
Trigger points in your scalene muscles are "firing" or causing pain in your upper back. If you get a well-trained massage therapist to work on your neck muscles and release the trigger points, your back pain will go away.
If you suspect this may be what is causing that knot in your upper back, you can try to release the scalenes yourself.
Press gently into the side of your neck. Using the pads of your fingertips, explore the muscles that run on the side of your spine, or neck bones.
If you feel hard, knobby things, those are probably the edges of your vertebrae, or neck bones. If you feel a pulse, move off it.
Thoughtfully and carefully explore the length of your neck from your jaw to your collarbone. If you run into a very tender area, gently hold pressure there for about 12 seconds. If it doesn't "release" or become less painful, move on. You can come back to that tender area a few more times, after letting it rest for a few minutes, to see if it will release.
If an area refers pain into your "knot" on your back, you have found the trigger point that is causing your pain! Apply gentle pressure with your finger pads for about 12 seconds and see if it lessens. You can repeat as needed.
As you explore the muscles on the sides of your neck, you may be surprised by all of the sensations you feel. http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Many of our upper body muscles refer, or cause sensations, in our head, back and arms. You may even notice sensations in your carpal tunnel area.
Don't be afraid to explore. It's your body.
You can discover more about how to get rid of that miserable knot in your back naturally at http://KnotsInYourBack.com
Monday, March 17, 2008
Back Pain - Spasm Between Shoulder Blade and Spine
You probably know the back pain I mean. It's that nagging, cannot-be-ignored pain between your shoulder blade and spine. It often feels like a knot or spasm.
It's usually on the side of your dominant hand. If you're right-handed, it will probably be on the right side of your back.
There are two likely causes and one that often gets the blame, but usually isn't the cause.
The rhomboid muscle (there is one on each side of your back)often gets blamed as being the cause of that pain. The reason for this is probably because the muscle happens to be in the same area as your back pain. This is the muscle most massage therapists will probably try to rub out for you, but it may or may not (probably not) be the cause of your pain.
If this massage doesn't help, or the muscle "won't release," then the rhomboid muscle is not the cause of your pain.
A more likely cause is that the muscles where your knot is located are being overstretched. They are complaining about this by causing pain. Overstretched muscles will go into spasm to keep from being stretched further and torn.
Your back muscles can get overstretched when the muscles in front of your body (your chest and neck) are short and tight. Over-stretching can also occur when you work or play alot with your arm stretched out in front.
You can correct this by strengthening the muscles between your spine and shoulder blades. The stronger muscles won't be so easily overstretched and so won't go into spasm like they do now. Also, strengthen the muscles behind your neck so you won't go into "forward-head" posture, which also strains your upper back muscles.
Loosen, relax and open the muscles in front of your body, too, with stretching or massage.
Another likely cause of this back pain are the scalene muscles, which are located on each side of your neck. These muscles can harbor trigger points. Trigger points in the scalenes refer, or cause, pain into the rhomboid area.
Often a massage therapist will try to work out a pain by working where it hurts.
You can see in the two likely causes above, that the problem can be elsewhere. The pain between your spine and shoulder blade may be caused by muscles in frohttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifnt of your body being short or trigger points in your neck.
The first thing I would suggest today would be to begin a strengthening program for your upper back. This will help you get rid of that nagging pain between your spine and shoulder blade.
There is much more information for you to discover about natural back pain relief at http://SimpleBackPainRelief.com
It's usually on the side of your dominant hand. If you're right-handed, it will probably be on the right side of your back.
There are two likely causes and one that often gets the blame, but usually isn't the cause.
The rhomboid muscle (there is one on each side of your back)often gets blamed as being the cause of that pain. The reason for this is probably because the muscle happens to be in the same area as your back pain. This is the muscle most massage therapists will probably try to rub out for you, but it may or may not (probably not) be the cause of your pain.
If this massage doesn't help, or the muscle "won't release," then the rhomboid muscle is not the cause of your pain.
A more likely cause is that the muscles where your knot is located are being overstretched. They are complaining about this by causing pain. Overstretched muscles will go into spasm to keep from being stretched further and torn.
Your back muscles can get overstretched when the muscles in front of your body (your chest and neck) are short and tight. Over-stretching can also occur when you work or play alot with your arm stretched out in front.
You can correct this by strengthening the muscles between your spine and shoulder blades. The stronger muscles won't be so easily overstretched and so won't go into spasm like they do now. Also, strengthen the muscles behind your neck so you won't go into "forward-head" posture, which also strains your upper back muscles.
Loosen, relax and open the muscles in front of your body, too, with stretching or massage.
Another likely cause of this back pain are the scalene muscles, which are located on each side of your neck. These muscles can harbor trigger points. Trigger points in the scalenes refer, or cause, pain into the rhomboid area.
Often a massage therapist will try to work out a pain by working where it hurts.
You can see in the two likely causes above, that the problem can be elsewhere. The pain between your spine and shoulder blade may be caused by muscles in frohttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifnt of your body being short or trigger points in your neck.
The first thing I would suggest today would be to begin a strengthening program for your upper back. This will help you get rid of that nagging pain between your spine and shoulder blade.
There is much more information for you to discover about natural back pain relief at http://SimpleBackPainRelief.com
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Work Place Stress? 7 Strategies To Reduce Work Stress
Do you have stress at work?
There are physical as well as emotional stresses. Some stressors make us feel powerful, in charge and are fun, and some make us feel anxious and cause pain.
If we run on stress-fuel most of the time, we need to give our bodies a break.
1. Watch your posture. When we slouch, we can't breathe as deeply. We don't get as much oxygen into our brains and bodies. Slouching makes us tired and stressed. Slouching makes our backs ache.
2. Feel your "sit bones" on the chair. Center yourself so your weight is equal on both sides. You want to feel your sit bones equally. Rock slowly and gently, rolling on your sit bones from front to back, front to back. This relaxes your back and neck. Let your head move slightly forward as your round your waist backward. When you round your tummy forward (closer to your knees)let your head move over your shoulders.
3. Get more sleep. If you are not sleeping as much as your body needs, your stress level will go up. You will be more easily irritated. Arrange your evening or morning schedules so you can get 30 or 60 more minutes of sleep.
4. Grab a funny story or joke to share or to laugh privately about. Laughter makes stress hormones go down. A good laugh is like a massage from the inside out. Sharing something funny makes us feel better.
5. Pretend you are chewing gum. Keep your lips together, teeth slightly apart. Open and close your jaw without opening your lips. Your teeth should stay apart. This relaxes tense muscles around your jaw and temples.
6. Sit up and close your eyes. Roll your eyes around. With your lids closed, look up and roll your eyes in a complete circle. Roll your eyes in the opposite direction, in a complete circle. Do this several times in each direction. Eyes have muscles, and they can get tired. This relaxes the muscles around your eyes.
7. Take a "re-focus break." Stop what you are doing and look around. Look at something at a distance. Look at something very close, perhaps your hand. Look far away again. Re-focusing helps tired eye muscles and gives us a quick mini-break.
Lots of little breaks reduce stress and actually help us be more productive, because we have less discomfort. When we take a lot of mini-breaks, we feel better and we get more done, not less.
Now you have several strategies you can use to reduce your stress at work.
Which will you use first?
In my experience, the people who are more proactive get the most benefit from a stress reduction program. Get started now!
"Because You Deserve To Feel Better!"
There are physical as well as emotional stresses. Some stressors make us feel powerful, in charge and are fun, and some make us feel anxious and cause pain.
If we run on stress-fuel most of the time, we need to give our bodies a break.
1. Watch your posture. When we slouch, we can't breathe as deeply. We don't get as much oxygen into our brains and bodies. Slouching makes us tired and stressed. Slouching makes our backs ache.
2. Feel your "sit bones" on the chair. Center yourself so your weight is equal on both sides. You want to feel your sit bones equally. Rock slowly and gently, rolling on your sit bones from front to back, front to back. This relaxes your back and neck. Let your head move slightly forward as your round your waist backward. When you round your tummy forward (closer to your knees)let your head move over your shoulders.
3. Get more sleep. If you are not sleeping as much as your body needs, your stress level will go up. You will be more easily irritated. Arrange your evening or morning schedules so you can get 30 or 60 more minutes of sleep.
4. Grab a funny story or joke to share or to laugh privately about. Laughter makes stress hormones go down. A good laugh is like a massage from the inside out. Sharing something funny makes us feel better.
5. Pretend you are chewing gum. Keep your lips together, teeth slightly apart. Open and close your jaw without opening your lips. Your teeth should stay apart. This relaxes tense muscles around your jaw and temples.
6. Sit up and close your eyes. Roll your eyes around. With your lids closed, look up and roll your eyes in a complete circle. Roll your eyes in the opposite direction, in a complete circle. Do this several times in each direction. Eyes have muscles, and they can get tired. This relaxes the muscles around your eyes.
7. Take a "re-focus break." Stop what you are doing and look around. Look at something at a distance. Look at something very close, perhaps your hand. Look far away again. Re-focusing helps tired eye muscles and gives us a quick mini-break.
Lots of little breaks reduce stress and actually help us be more productive, because we have less discomfort. When we take a lot of mini-breaks, we feel better and we get more done, not less.
Now you have several strategies you can use to reduce your stress at work.
Which will you use first?
In my experience, the people who are more proactive get the most benefit from a stress reduction program. Get started now!
"Because You Deserve To Feel Better!"
Work Stress--7 Steps To Get Rid Of Stress At Work
Work stress can cause pain, just like all stress can.
Since we don't like having pain, we want to eliminate as much stress as possible.
Here are 7 steps to start lowering your stress level now.
1. Start reducing your stress level outside of work. When you are calmer at home,that will carry over and you will feel more calm at work. The same tools that work at home will help you feel less stressed at your job.
2. Learn how to breathe for relaxation. Practice at home in bed. At work, sit up straight and do the same deep belly breaths you practiced in bed. Count to four on the inhale, slowly, hold for four, and exhale to the count of four. Let your neck relax. Let it rock gently front to back as you breathe. Repeat several times.
3. You are very good at what you do. Remember that. Keep reminding yourself. You are good! Negative self-talk causes stress.
4. Take frequent stretch breaks. Get your arms up and back. Open up the front of your body like a cat or dog does when they stretch. This will get the blood flowing again, you will feel more energized and less stressed.
5. Lift your shoulders up and roll them back, while your arms are hanging at your sides. You can do this often at your desk. It helps release muscle tension in your neck and shoulders. Less muscle discomfort equals less stress.
6. Learn to meditate, visualize or pray. Take a few minutes every hour to recharge your mind by going to your safe place, in your mind, for a mini-break or to bask in the warmth of God's grace. Sit up straight, close your eyes, breathe. Relax.
7. Be grateful for the day, your job, your wonderful body, your life. Gratitude knocks out negative thoughts. Negative thinking causes stress. Think, "I am grateful for..." Say, "I am so fortunate that..."
Which of these tips will you incorporate into your life today?
Will you practice breathing tonight, so you can do it tomorrow? Will you practice rolling your shoulders to reduce your stress?
Choose any three of these tips and use this stuff.
"Because You Deserve To Feel Better!"
Since we don't like having pain, we want to eliminate as much stress as possible.
Here are 7 steps to start lowering your stress level now.
1. Start reducing your stress level outside of work. When you are calmer at home,that will carry over and you will feel more calm at work. The same tools that work at home will help you feel less stressed at your job.
2. Learn how to breathe for relaxation. Practice at home in bed. At work, sit up straight and do the same deep belly breaths you practiced in bed. Count to four on the inhale, slowly, hold for four, and exhale to the count of four. Let your neck relax. Let it rock gently front to back as you breathe. Repeat several times.
3. You are very good at what you do. Remember that. Keep reminding yourself. You are good! Negative self-talk causes stress.
4. Take frequent stretch breaks. Get your arms up and back. Open up the front of your body like a cat or dog does when they stretch. This will get the blood flowing again, you will feel more energized and less stressed.
5. Lift your shoulders up and roll them back, while your arms are hanging at your sides. You can do this often at your desk. It helps release muscle tension in your neck and shoulders. Less muscle discomfort equals less stress.
6. Learn to meditate, visualize or pray. Take a few minutes every hour to recharge your mind by going to your safe place, in your mind, for a mini-break or to bask in the warmth of God's grace. Sit up straight, close your eyes, breathe. Relax.
7. Be grateful for the day, your job, your wonderful body, your life. Gratitude knocks out negative thoughts. Negative thinking causes stress. Think, "I am grateful for..." Say, "I am so fortunate that..."
Which of these tips will you incorporate into your life today?
Will you practice breathing tonight, so you can do it tomorrow? Will you practice rolling your shoulders to reduce your stress?
Choose any three of these tips and use this stuff.
"Because You Deserve To Feel Better!"
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Waking Up With Head Pain? What Causes Morning Headaches?
Do most of your headaches occur during the night, or as soon as you start to get out of bed? Then it's possible that sleeping positions and movements that strain your neck are responsible for your head pain.
It always amazes me that we can hurt ourselves even in our sleep, but we do.
Sometimes it's a matter of sleeping with your head tilted (Your chin is tilted toward or away from the bed. Your neck is not in line with your spine.)
Check your neck position before you fall asleep. You may need a different pillow, or even a pile of small, flat pillows stacked to fit you better.
If you're a back sleeper, just use a small roll behind your neck to fill in the natural curve of your neck. Use as little as possible behind your head.
If you sleep on your tummy, that can cause a lot of strain for your neck muscles.
Some people tell me that they just cannot change their sleeping habits, or cannot fall asleep in a different position.
Perhaps practicing relaxation techniques laying flat on the floor would help their muscles get used to being in a different position. It's worth a try.
Perhaps deep breathing using their whole torso, chest and belly, would allow them to slip into sleep in a different position.
Perhaps a stretching or yoga class, to wake up all of their muscles and help get muscular balance, would be their ticket.
Sometimes we wake up feeling fine, but by the time we get out of bed, we have a headache or migraine. What's happening?
Here's one possibility.
I would wake up feeling well. Then I would twist my neck and stretch my head around to see the alarm clock. That twist and stretch aggravated my neck enough that I would get instant migraine!
It actually took me quite a long time to figure that out. It happened several times before I realized the cause of those migraines. When I quit doing that twist and stretch, of course the head pain quit also.
Could that be your possibility? Or, perhaps you can think of something else you may be doing to cause your headache to start when you woke up feeling fine.
If it feels like you're straining your neck by sitting straight up, try rolling to your side and push yourself up with your arms while keeping your neck in a straight, neutral position.
One of my clients always awoke feeling fine, but by the time she was in the kitchen with her coffee, her head pain started. Right after she took the first deep drags on her cigarette, her headache started. Every morning.
What do you suppose was the cause of her headache?
Because she was a smoker, and because she inhaled strongly, using the muscles in her jaw and temples (the temple muscles are related to the jaw muscles) she caused those muscles to become tight and restricted. That caused her morning headaches. Like many morning headaches, once they started, they tended to stay all day.
So the plan is to avoid your headache in the first place.
Pay attention to what's going on that may be creating head pain for you. Change the position, posture or movement you suspect and see if that makes a difference.
A simple change could make all the difference in the world. Awareness is the first step in the right direction.
"Because You Deserve To Feel Better"
It always amazes me that we can hurt ourselves even in our sleep, but we do.
Sometimes it's a matter of sleeping with your head tilted (Your chin is tilted toward or away from the bed. Your neck is not in line with your spine.)
Check your neck position before you fall asleep. You may need a different pillow, or even a pile of small, flat pillows stacked to fit you better.
If you're a back sleeper, just use a small roll behind your neck to fill in the natural curve of your neck. Use as little as possible behind your head.
If you sleep on your tummy, that can cause a lot of strain for your neck muscles.
Some people tell me that they just cannot change their sleeping habits, or cannot fall asleep in a different position.
Perhaps practicing relaxation techniques laying flat on the floor would help their muscles get used to being in a different position. It's worth a try.
Perhaps deep breathing using their whole torso, chest and belly, would allow them to slip into sleep in a different position.
Perhaps a stretching or yoga class, to wake up all of their muscles and help get muscular balance, would be their ticket.
Sometimes we wake up feeling fine, but by the time we get out of bed, we have a headache or migraine. What's happening?
Here's one possibility.
I would wake up feeling well. Then I would twist my neck and stretch my head around to see the alarm clock. That twist and stretch aggravated my neck enough that I would get instant migraine!
It actually took me quite a long time to figure that out. It happened several times before I realized the cause of those migraines. When I quit doing that twist and stretch, of course the head pain quit also.
Could that be your possibility? Or, perhaps you can think of something else you may be doing to cause your headache to start when you woke up feeling fine.
If it feels like you're straining your neck by sitting straight up, try rolling to your side and push yourself up with your arms while keeping your neck in a straight, neutral position.
One of my clients always awoke feeling fine, but by the time she was in the kitchen with her coffee, her head pain started. Right after she took the first deep drags on her cigarette, her headache started. Every morning.
What do you suppose was the cause of her headache?
Because she was a smoker, and because she inhaled strongly, using the muscles in her jaw and temples (the temple muscles are related to the jaw muscles) she caused those muscles to become tight and restricted. That caused her morning headaches. Like many morning headaches, once they started, they tended to stay all day.
So the plan is to avoid your headache in the first place.
Pay attention to what's going on that may be creating head pain for you. Change the position, posture or movement you suspect and see if that makes a difference.
A simple change could make all the difference in the world. Awareness is the first step in the right direction.
"Because You Deserve To Feel Better"
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome - What Causes Carpal Tunnel Pain?
In my land of "the way things ought to be," we would all be in perfect physical (and mental!) balance.
We wouldn't have any pain, of course, because most pain--about 90% of all pain--is caused by out-of-balance muscles. That includes carpal tunnel pain.
You might have thought that you have pain or numbness in your hand, wrist, fingers or arm because you are doing a lot of repetitive movements.
The real reason is that you are doing a lot of repetitive movements incorrectly.
Hmmm. If you were using all of the rest of your muscles, you would be pretty well balanced. If you were pretty well balanced, you would hurt less.
But we don't.
We use only about the same 60 or so muscles over and over. Most of us haven't used ALL of our muscles since we were young kids.
And we have a LOT of muscles.
So, there are two parts to relieving your carpal tunnel pain when it is caused by repetitive movement (also called repetitive stress or motion.)
1. Doing repetitive movements in an incorrect way, for example, over-stretching your muscles. The cure for this would be to explore and find the least damaging ways to do repetitive movements.
For example, holding our elbow close to our body instead of reaching out with our arm. Holding our arm close to our waist causes less muscle strain, and so less pain in our arm and hand.
2. Being physically out-of-balance in general. When some of our muscles are being over-stretched and some are allowed to shorten--due to poor posture or habits--we get symptoms of pain, discomfort or numbness.
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
When we strengthen our back and the back of our arms and neck, we take a lot of pressure off the structures that cause carpal tunnel pain.
You can find a lot of simple strengthening movements by clicking here.
And you can find a whole ton of articles about the causes and natural remedies for Carpal Tunnel Symptoms at http://CarpalTunnelPainReliefNow.com
We wouldn't have any pain, of course, because most pain--about 90% of all pain--is caused by out-of-balance muscles. That includes carpal tunnel pain.
You might have thought that you have pain or numbness in your hand, wrist, fingers or arm because you are doing a lot of repetitive movements.
The real reason is that you are doing a lot of repetitive movements incorrectly.
Hmmm. If you were using all of the rest of your muscles, you would be pretty well balanced. If you were pretty well balanced, you would hurt less.
But we don't.
We use only about the same 60 or so muscles over and over. Most of us haven't used ALL of our muscles since we were young kids.
And we have a LOT of muscles.
So, there are two parts to relieving your carpal tunnel pain when it is caused by repetitive movement (also called repetitive stress or motion.)
1. Doing repetitive movements in an incorrect way, for example, over-stretching your muscles. The cure for this would be to explore and find the least damaging ways to do repetitive movements.
For example, holding our elbow close to our body instead of reaching out with our arm. Holding our arm close to our waist causes less muscle strain, and so less pain in our arm and hand.
2. Being physically out-of-balance in general. When some of our muscles are being over-stretched and some are allowed to shorten--due to poor posture or habits--we get symptoms of pain, discomfort or numbness.
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
When we strengthen our back and the back of our arms and neck, we take a lot of pressure off the structures that cause carpal tunnel pain.
You can find a lot of simple strengthening movements by clicking here.
And you can find a whole ton of articles about the causes and natural remedies for Carpal Tunnel Symptoms at http://CarpalTunnelPainReliefNow.com
Friday, January 18, 2008
Got Pain? Sick? Is What You Eat Causing Problems For You?
Ever wondered whether food could cause your headaches, diabetes, overweight, body pain or other problems?
Years ago, when I suffered seriously from migraines, I became aware of the cause and effect that food can have. After I eliminated trigger foods, my migraine headaches became much less severe and frequent.
My brother recently gave me some packets of honey from a well-known fast-chicken place. (That's like fast food, but it's chicken.)
I was going to put some honey in my tea, until...
I noticed that the label said "Honey" in large letters and "sauce" in little letters.
So I flipped it over to read the ingredients. Now, wouldn't you think that something that says "honey" would actually be honey?
But, nooo...
Ingredients: high fructose corn syrup, sugar, corn syrup, honey, caramel color.
Not honey.
Bad.
I don't know whether anyone has told you yet, but high fructose corn syrup is a killer. A slow killer.
Honey is a natural product. Sugar is a natural product. Sure, too much can cause problems, but a bit is fine.
High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is made by splitting corn syrup into parts. It is the sweetest part. It is extremely sweet. It is no longer a natural food.
Many, many manufacturers of "food products" use HFCS instead of honey, sugar or even whole corn syrup because it is cheaper to use.
It's one of the franken-foods.
Sounds scary, doesn't it? It is.
Because it is not real, and because it's so hyper-sweet, it messes with your pancreas and insulin level. HFCS is a primary cause of diabetes and obesity.
Don't think so?
How come we Americans are the ones with the most sugar diabetes and the fattest kids?
You know it's not "genetics" because we come from a huge gene pool from all over the world. Are the people where we came from fat and sick?
Only the ones who are starting to eat "Americanized" food are getting sick and fat.
Read the label on your bread, on your hotdogs, lunch meat, catsup...you're gonna find it all over the place.
You'll find it in places you'd never expect. Check out your ice cream, your kids' lunch foods, puddings, fruit roll ups, cereals, chocolate milk and syrup...
Some companies, like Meijers, have their own product lines and are putting good and real ingredients into many of their branded foods. Meijers has a Gold and an Organic line, both of which have pretty nice ingredients.
There are a few cereals with some sugar in them, and a few with no sweetners (hey, add your own if you need a little bit.)
Want to stop being a sucker for the food industry to make a profit from, at the expense of your health?
Read labels.
Buy food that is as close to real as you can. (Hint: Check out the fruit and vegetable aisles, beans, nuts, seeds and whole grains.)
Eventually, the food industry (it is a huge industry) will get the message.
"Because You Deserve To Feel Better!"
Years ago, when I suffered seriously from migraines, I became aware of the cause and effect that food can have. After I eliminated trigger foods, my migraine headaches became much less severe and frequent.
My brother recently gave me some packets of honey from a well-known fast-chicken place. (That's like fast food, but it's chicken.)
I was going to put some honey in my tea, until...
I noticed that the label said "Honey" in large letters and "sauce" in little letters.
So I flipped it over to read the ingredients. Now, wouldn't you think that something that says "honey" would actually be honey?
But, nooo...
Ingredients: high fructose corn syrup, sugar, corn syrup, honey, caramel color.
Not honey.
Bad.
I don't know whether anyone has told you yet, but high fructose corn syrup is a killer. A slow killer.
Honey is a natural product. Sugar is a natural product. Sure, too much can cause problems, but a bit is fine.
High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is made by splitting corn syrup into parts. It is the sweetest part. It is extremely sweet. It is no longer a natural food.
Many, many manufacturers of "food products" use HFCS instead of honey, sugar or even whole corn syrup because it is cheaper to use.
It's one of the franken-foods.
Sounds scary, doesn't it? It is.
Because it is not real, and because it's so hyper-sweet, it messes with your pancreas and insulin level. HFCS is a primary cause of diabetes and obesity.
Don't think so?
How come we Americans are the ones with the most sugar diabetes and the fattest kids?
You know it's not "genetics" because we come from a huge gene pool from all over the world. Are the people where we came from fat and sick?
Only the ones who are starting to eat "Americanized" food are getting sick and fat.
Read the label on your bread, on your hotdogs, lunch meat, catsup...you're gonna find it all over the place.
You'll find it in places you'd never expect. Check out your ice cream, your kids' lunch foods, puddings, fruit roll ups, cereals, chocolate milk and syrup...
Some companies, like Meijers, have their own product lines and are putting good and real ingredients into many of their branded foods. Meijers has a Gold and an Organic line, both of which have pretty nice ingredients.
There are a few cereals with some sugar in them, and a few with no sweetners (hey, add your own if you need a little bit.)
Want to stop being a sucker for the food industry to make a profit from, at the expense of your health?
Read labels.
Buy food that is as close to real as you can. (Hint: Check out the fruit and vegetable aisles, beans, nuts, seeds and whole grains.)
Eventually, the food industry (it is a huge industry) will get the message.
"Because You Deserve To Feel Better!"
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Pain In the Back of Your Arm? Here's A Possible Cause...
Last week I worked on a police officer.
I hate to say "worked on" because my feeling is that I work "with" people rather than "on" them. But, if I tell you I worked with him, you'd think I work with him, which I do not...
Anyway, back to my story - the officer was complaining of pain in the back of his upper arms.
As many people in law enforcement are, he was very involved with working out with weights. It is important to be physically strong in his field. Sometimes it is necessary to control a person, and an officer needs every advantage.
I noticed his shoulders were rounded very far forward.
When you lie on your back, your shoulders should be on or pretty close to the floor or bed.
But, this policeman's shoulders were not anywhere close to the treatment table he was on. I could slide practically my whole fist under his shoulders.
The gap behind his shoulders was huge!
I explained the necessity of getting his back stronger. I explained how his tight front muscles (pectoral muscles) were pulling his shoulders forward.
I explained how his forward shoulders were pulling on and overstretching the muscles in his back and the back of his arms.
His chest muscles were the cause of his pain!
And then I suggested that he lay off the pectoral muscle exercises while he gets back in balance.
He chuckled.
I knew what that meant.
Up to that point, he was with me - he heard what I was saying. But, when I said, "Lay off the pecs for a while," I lost him.
I saw it in his eyes.
He had no intention of stopping his chest exercises, even though they were causing physical pain symptoms for him.
In his mind, working his pectorals was important to his well-being and safety.
My suggestion was outside of his comfort zone.
But, sometimes, there comes a point when someone is so tired of their pain, they will do anything necessary to feel better.
They will stop blaming aches and pains on "I'm getting old," or "My aunt had the same pain."
Sometimes people get to the point where they realize that no one can fix them except themselves. And so they find out what to do.
And they do it.
And they feel better.
Because we can.
You can, too.
Bounce on over to SimpleStrengthening for lots of info on strengthening your back and getting back in balance.
"Because You Deserve To Feel Better!"
I hate to say "worked on" because my feeling is that I work "with" people rather than "on" them. But, if I tell you I worked with him, you'd think I work with him, which I do not...
Anyway, back to my story - the officer was complaining of pain in the back of his upper arms.
As many people in law enforcement are, he was very involved with working out with weights. It is important to be physically strong in his field. Sometimes it is necessary to control a person, and an officer needs every advantage.
I noticed his shoulders were rounded very far forward.
When you lie on your back, your shoulders should be on or pretty close to the floor or bed.
But, this policeman's shoulders were not anywhere close to the treatment table he was on. I could slide practically my whole fist under his shoulders.
The gap behind his shoulders was huge!
I explained the necessity of getting his back stronger. I explained how his tight front muscles (pectoral muscles) were pulling his shoulders forward.
I explained how his forward shoulders were pulling on and overstretching the muscles in his back and the back of his arms.
His chest muscles were the cause of his pain!
And then I suggested that he lay off the pectoral muscle exercises while he gets back in balance.
He chuckled.
I knew what that meant.
Up to that point, he was with me - he heard what I was saying. But, when I said, "Lay off the pecs for a while," I lost him.
I saw it in his eyes.
He had no intention of stopping his chest exercises, even though they were causing physical pain symptoms for him.
In his mind, working his pectorals was important to his well-being and safety.
My suggestion was outside of his comfort zone.
But, sometimes, there comes a point when someone is so tired of their pain, they will do anything necessary to feel better.
They will stop blaming aches and pains on "I'm getting old," or "My aunt had the same pain."
Sometimes people get to the point where they realize that no one can fix them except themselves. And so they find out what to do.
And they do it.
And they feel better.
Because we can.
You can, too.
Bounce on over to SimpleStrengthening for lots of info on strengthening your back and getting back in balance.
"Because You Deserve To Feel Better!"
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Do You Have Hip Pain?
Have you ever wondered why your hips hurt?
Do you think you need a hip replacement?
Have you paid attention to where the pain in your hip is located?
Is it in the meaty back part, at the outside, or on the bone/at the joint? Is it at the inside or outside of your thigh? Is is mid-thigh on the outside of your leg?
Are there times when your hip pain is worse or not noticeable?
Answering these questions will help you determine what's going on - why you have hip pain or discomfort - and how to get rid of it.
Having the answers to these questions will also help you explain your pain to your doctor in case you decide to talk to him or her about it.
Lately, people, including me, have been complaining about pain at the hip joint.
The hip joint is the bone that you can feel on the outside of your very upper leg. If you drop your hand down at your side, you will feel the bone somewhere around your lower arm or wrist, depending how long your arm is. What you are actually feeling is the head of your thigh bone.
Muscles and tough tissues cross over this joint.
Sometimes the bursa - a little pocket of lubrication for the joint - gets irritated. Your doctor may say you have bursitis. That can go away on its' own, especially if you stop doing whatever was irritating it.
Sometimes the muscles get aggravated. This can be from pressure, like laying on your favorite side in bed all the time. It can also be from an over-stretch, like crossing your leg.
The position that would most likely cause over-stretch is when you move your knee closer or past your midline. The midline is the imaginary line is the line that goes from your nose to belly button, straight down your body.
Lots of times people think they need a hip replacement. Often all they need is...
> Some really good therapeutic massage to release the muscles and tissues which have become tight around the joint. This includes the powerful gluteal, or butt, muscles. They attach to the hip joint and if they get tight, they will pull too much across the joint and cause discomfort.
> To stop aggravating the joint. This could mean learning to sleep on your back or other side. It might mean not letting your knee move toward or across your midline.
> Finding a new seat or car seat. Sometimes the outer edge of a seat will press against our hip bone, especially if we have wide bones. That can aggravate the muscles and cause hip pain.
> Getting their legs measured by a doctor, physical therapist or neuromuscular massage therapist who understands how to measure for leg length difference. One out of ten of us has a leg length difference. If we do, and if we get a correct lift for our short leg - get this - it takes the pressure off the hip of the short leg.
Sometimes there has been so much wear on a hip joint - usually from having a short leg - that the joint must be replaced.
Other times, just taking the pressure off the joint and getting some deep muscle massage will take the pain away!
Here are a couple of beneficial things we can do at home, easily, in the comfort of our bed.
> The first is to make the muscles around your hip joint move in multiple directions.
Most of the time, we only move in one or two directions. Moving in various directions will warm your muscles and make them more flexible.
> The second is to strengthen the muscles on the outside of the joint.
To do this, lift your leg to the side. Do this in a way that you can feel your hip muscle - your gluteal (butt) muscles - contract. You want to know that you are using those muscles. Those muscles should be involved in this movement.
If the cause of your discomfort was over-stretched muscles, strengthening in this way will help correct the problem. It will help get you back in balance.
Why do I say "back in balance?"
Because you used to be in balance, when you were a child.
And you can be again.
"Because You Deserve to Feel Better!"
Do you think you need a hip replacement?
Have you paid attention to where the pain in your hip is located?
Is it in the meaty back part, at the outside, or on the bone/at the joint? Is it at the inside or outside of your thigh? Is is mid-thigh on the outside of your leg?
Are there times when your hip pain is worse or not noticeable?
Answering these questions will help you determine what's going on - why you have hip pain or discomfort - and how to get rid of it.
Having the answers to these questions will also help you explain your pain to your doctor in case you decide to talk to him or her about it.
Lately, people, including me, have been complaining about pain at the hip joint.
The hip joint is the bone that you can feel on the outside of your very upper leg. If you drop your hand down at your side, you will feel the bone somewhere around your lower arm or wrist, depending how long your arm is. What you are actually feeling is the head of your thigh bone.
Muscles and tough tissues cross over this joint.
Sometimes the bursa - a little pocket of lubrication for the joint - gets irritated. Your doctor may say you have bursitis. That can go away on its' own, especially if you stop doing whatever was irritating it.
Sometimes the muscles get aggravated. This can be from pressure, like laying on your favorite side in bed all the time. It can also be from an over-stretch, like crossing your leg.
The position that would most likely cause over-stretch is when you move your knee closer or past your midline. The midline is the imaginary line is the line that goes from your nose to belly button, straight down your body.
Lots of times people think they need a hip replacement. Often all they need is...
> Some really good therapeutic massage to release the muscles and tissues which have become tight around the joint. This includes the powerful gluteal, or butt, muscles. They attach to the hip joint and if they get tight, they will pull too much across the joint and cause discomfort.
> To stop aggravating the joint. This could mean learning to sleep on your back or other side. It might mean not letting your knee move toward or across your midline.
> Finding a new seat or car seat. Sometimes the outer edge of a seat will press against our hip bone, especially if we have wide bones. That can aggravate the muscles and cause hip pain.
> Getting their legs measured by a doctor, physical therapist or neuromuscular massage therapist who understands how to measure for leg length difference. One out of ten of us has a leg length difference. If we do, and if we get a correct lift for our short leg - get this - it takes the pressure off the hip of the short leg.
Sometimes there has been so much wear on a hip joint - usually from having a short leg - that the joint must be replaced.
Other times, just taking the pressure off the joint and getting some deep muscle massage will take the pain away!
Here are a couple of beneficial things we can do at home, easily, in the comfort of our bed.
> The first is to make the muscles around your hip joint move in multiple directions.
Most of the time, we only move in one or two directions. Moving in various directions will warm your muscles and make them more flexible.
> The second is to strengthen the muscles on the outside of the joint.
To do this, lift your leg to the side. Do this in a way that you can feel your hip muscle - your gluteal (butt) muscles - contract. You want to know that you are using those muscles. Those muscles should be involved in this movement.
If the cause of your discomfort was over-stretched muscles, strengthening in this way will help correct the problem. It will help get you back in balance.
Why do I say "back in balance?"
Because you used to be in balance, when you were a child.
And you can be again.
"Because You Deserve to Feel Better!"
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Uncommon Migraine Pain Relief Tips
Your head may actually pound. Light hurts your eyes. Every sound is noise and the noise is all too loud. You might even throw up. You feel bad, and you look bad, too.
I really can't think of anything worse than a really bad migraine. A broken leg may keep you from moving, but a migraine headache keeps you from being!
Migraines come in variations. Some are worse than others and some are merely horrible. They affect every system in your body.
Some people believe that headaches and migraines are closely related. I'm one of those people. For years and years, I never had "just a headache." Each time I started with a headache, I ended up with a migraine.
The best way to avoid migraines is to have perfect posture. For those of us who are prone to headaches and migraines, any little strain on the muscles around our neck or head can, and will, cause pain.
Keeping a strong back, including the muscles in the back of your neck, helps hugely.
Learning how to have perfect posture will make a big difference in the frequency and severity of your head pain. It's really important that you have good posture when you sit, when you stand, and you even need your neck and head propped correctly when you sleep.
Avoiding the foods that cause migraine pain for you helps, too. I had a friend who would get instant migraine when she ate an orange. After a while, she started avoiding oranges. Other times, it is not an instant reaction.
A varied and healthy diet with lots of fruits and vegetables helps for many reasons. One of the reasons is that constipation can create conditions for a migraine. It may be the pressure from the packed intestines on the blood vessels in the abdomen that causes a migraine, because migraines are vascular headaches. That means they are related to what is happening with blood vessels.
"Keeping things moving" through your intestines with a good diet helps prevent migraine. You might consider taking additional fiber from a bottle to avoid constipation. Also, many headache and other medicines cause constipation.
Avoiding a migraine in the first place is a much better strategy than trying to get rid of it after you are already hurting.
But, when a migraine sneaks up, or flat out attacks, despite your best efforts, here are a few tips to help ward off or lessen your pain.
* Ice. Ice the base of your skull. Use a cold pack and put yourself in the most comfortable position you can. Use a thin towel between your skin and the cold pack. You can ice and use the next tip at the same time.
* Cold. Place a cold, almost dripping wet, cloth on your forehead and eyes. You can flip it over as it warms up from your heat. You can keep a pan of ice water next to the bed to re-wet and re-chill the cloth. You can use put a plastic bag under a towel behind your head. That will keep your bed dry.
* Compress. Wrap your head in a long towel so that it is like a turban. Cover your eyes and ears with the turban, too. The idea is to compress your head, to squeeze it. This is comforting, blocking out noise and light, and helps reduce the pain.
* Alka Seltzer. Aspirin does not touch a migraine, but...two tablets of Alka Seltzer, if taken at the beginning of a migraine attack, often knocks out the migraine. I suspect that this happens because it is a large dose of aspirin all at once, rather than gradual.
Check out my web site for help to fix your posture. Good posture will help reduce your headaches.
"Because you deserve to feel better!"
I really can't think of anything worse than a really bad migraine. A broken leg may keep you from moving, but a migraine headache keeps you from being!
Migraines come in variations. Some are worse than others and some are merely horrible. They affect every system in your body.
Some people believe that headaches and migraines are closely related. I'm one of those people. For years and years, I never had "just a headache." Each time I started with a headache, I ended up with a migraine.
The best way to avoid migraines is to have perfect posture. For those of us who are prone to headaches and migraines, any little strain on the muscles around our neck or head can, and will, cause pain.
Keeping a strong back, including the muscles in the back of your neck, helps hugely.
Learning how to have perfect posture will make a big difference in the frequency and severity of your head pain. It's really important that you have good posture when you sit, when you stand, and you even need your neck and head propped correctly when you sleep.
Avoiding the foods that cause migraine pain for you helps, too. I had a friend who would get instant migraine when she ate an orange. After a while, she started avoiding oranges. Other times, it is not an instant reaction.
A varied and healthy diet with lots of fruits and vegetables helps for many reasons. One of the reasons is that constipation can create conditions for a migraine. It may be the pressure from the packed intestines on the blood vessels in the abdomen that causes a migraine, because migraines are vascular headaches. That means they are related to what is happening with blood vessels.
"Keeping things moving" through your intestines with a good diet helps prevent migraine. You might consider taking additional fiber from a bottle to avoid constipation. Also, many headache and other medicines cause constipation.
Avoiding a migraine in the first place is a much better strategy than trying to get rid of it after you are already hurting.
But, when a migraine sneaks up, or flat out attacks, despite your best efforts, here are a few tips to help ward off or lessen your pain.
* Ice. Ice the base of your skull. Use a cold pack and put yourself in the most comfortable position you can. Use a thin towel between your skin and the cold pack. You can ice and use the next tip at the same time.
* Cold. Place a cold, almost dripping wet, cloth on your forehead and eyes. You can flip it over as it warms up from your heat. You can keep a pan of ice water next to the bed to re-wet and re-chill the cloth. You can use put a plastic bag under a towel behind your head. That will keep your bed dry.
* Compress. Wrap your head in a long towel so that it is like a turban. Cover your eyes and ears with the turban, too. The idea is to compress your head, to squeeze it. This is comforting, blocking out noise and light, and helps reduce the pain.
* Alka Seltzer. Aspirin does not touch a migraine, but...two tablets of Alka Seltzer, if taken at the beginning of a migraine attack, often knocks out the migraine. I suspect that this happens because it is a large dose of aspirin all at once, rather than gradual.
Check out my web site for help to fix your posture. Good posture will help reduce your headaches.
"Because you deserve to feel better!"
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Does Stress Cause Pain?
Could it be that stress causes pain?
Yes it does. Here is how it works. We each have a central nervous system (CNS.) Our CNS governs everything in our body.
Think of it this way: Your nervous system is a highway. The impulses, or messages, that travel on your CNS are the cars.
Everything is going fine, your cars are all travelling smoothly along the highway.
Ow! Banged my big toe into the table leg. That's okay, all the cars are still moving right along.
Dang! Another notice from the bill collector! All the cars are still moving right along.
What do you mean, you want a divorce?
I have such a cold! Cars are still moving pretty good.
Fender-bender. That's going to cost me plenty. Traffic is getting heavy.
What a headache! Uh-oh. One of the cars just slid into the median.
The dog died. A bunch of other cars are slamming on their brakes to try to avoid a pile up.
Just slammed my hand in the door. I think I broke my finger. Big pile up on your highway. Cars are screeching to a halt, some are smashing into others. Traffic is stopped.
The highway is overloaded, and nothing is moving smoothly now.
We function great when we have no problems. We do pretty well when we have only a few problems. But when a lot of things are going wrong and we feel stressed...
Our CNS - our nervous system highway - begins to show symptoms of overload. We begin to have pain.
If we cannot relieve a lot of the stress, it is possible for our pain to become chronic - we have it all the time.
However, if we can remove any of the stressors in our lives, our pain can diminish and become less. Each stress that we get rid of will lower our pain level.
The more stresses we can get rid of, the more smoothly the cars on our CNS highway will start to travel again.
So, the car gets fixed, we get a new dog, our cold goes away, our toe heals. Our stress level goes down.
To help our CNS highway work better we do some things to straighten out the cars and get them all moving again.
We get a nice massage, take a soak in the tub, get lost in our favorite music to relax by, talk to our favorite friend, sniff some lavender oil or a relaxing blend of aromatherapy oil.
We do some stretching or deep breathing while relaxing. We take a walk. Hum or sing or read or laugh. Watch a kid or a puppy or a cat. Garden or dance.
Anything we can do to eliminate or negate any stresses we have will help us to feel better.
The less stress we have, the less pain.
And, there are basically two types of stress.
1. The jet fighter pilot. You have stress but it is good stress. You are in control.
2. The prisoner of war who has no control.
Good stress can feel energizing and powerful.
Repeat after me: I am the jet fighter pilot!
Yes, you are.
Yes it does. Here is how it works. We each have a central nervous system (CNS.) Our CNS governs everything in our body.
Think of it this way: Your nervous system is a highway. The impulses, or messages, that travel on your CNS are the cars.
Everything is going fine, your cars are all travelling smoothly along the highway.
Ow! Banged my big toe into the table leg. That's okay, all the cars are still moving right along.
Dang! Another notice from the bill collector! All the cars are still moving right along.
What do you mean, you want a divorce?
I have such a cold! Cars are still moving pretty good.
Fender-bender. That's going to cost me plenty. Traffic is getting heavy.
What a headache! Uh-oh. One of the cars just slid into the median.
The dog died. A bunch of other cars are slamming on their brakes to try to avoid a pile up.
Just slammed my hand in the door. I think I broke my finger. Big pile up on your highway. Cars are screeching to a halt, some are smashing into others. Traffic is stopped.
The highway is overloaded, and nothing is moving smoothly now.
We function great when we have no problems. We do pretty well when we have only a few problems. But when a lot of things are going wrong and we feel stressed...
Our CNS - our nervous system highway - begins to show symptoms of overload. We begin to have pain.
If we cannot relieve a lot of the stress, it is possible for our pain to become chronic - we have it all the time.
However, if we can remove any of the stressors in our lives, our pain can diminish and become less. Each stress that we get rid of will lower our pain level.
The more stresses we can get rid of, the more smoothly the cars on our CNS highway will start to travel again.
So, the car gets fixed, we get a new dog, our cold goes away, our toe heals. Our stress level goes down.
To help our CNS highway work better we do some things to straighten out the cars and get them all moving again.
We get a nice massage, take a soak in the tub, get lost in our favorite music to relax by, talk to our favorite friend, sniff some lavender oil or a relaxing blend of aromatherapy oil.
We do some stretching or deep breathing while relaxing. We take a walk. Hum or sing or read or laugh. Watch a kid or a puppy or a cat. Garden or dance.
Anything we can do to eliminate or negate any stresses we have will help us to feel better.
The less stress we have, the less pain.
And, there are basically two types of stress.
1. The jet fighter pilot. You have stress but it is good stress. You are in control.
2. The prisoner of war who has no control.
Good stress can feel energizing and powerful.
Repeat after me: I am the jet fighter pilot!
Yes, you are.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Do Your Feet and Legs Ache?
When our feet and legs ache it is often because we aren't using all of our muscles. I'm going to give you two quick, easy ways to correct that and to feel better fast.
Our ancestors used to run around barefoot. They ran through streams, through cold water and over rough grassy lands. They ran over rocks and pebbles. They probably had to run so they wouldn't get eaten!
But, today we usually don't have to worry about large animals chasing us. We wear nice shoes that protect the soles of our feet from stones and sticks and dewy grass. We don't have to use the muscles of our feet and legs to stabilize us. Our shoes do that for us. Many of us wear shoes all the time, even in our homes.
Here's Simple Pain Relief Tip #1 - The 10-Minute Tip
* Get a tennis ball, preferably, or a golf ball. Naturally, the tennis ball is softer and easier to press against, but the golf ball can get to smaller muscles.
* Stand up and balance yourself by holding the back of a chair or a wall, something sturdy.
*Support all of your weight on one foot.
* Place your other foot on the ball and apply pressure to the ball. Use a fair amount of pressure, enough so that you are aware of the ball.
* Apply pressure in long strokes from your heel to the ball of your foot several times. Keep moving the ball along the length of your foot. Press lengthwise along the outside of your foot, the middle, and the inside of your foot.
* Then move the ball from side to side. Press firmly but gently into the ball of your foot and the bottom of your heel.
* Keep rolling on the tennis ball for five minutes.
When you are done, put your "rolled" foot on the floor. See how much different it feels from the "unrolled" foot.
Now roll the other foot!
Here's Simple Pain Relief Tip #2 - The 2-Minute Tip
I attended a presentation by a podiatrist. He likes people to be barefoot. He even did his presentation barefoot!
He had this quick and easy way to get circulation and movement back into all the muscles of your legs and feet.
Stand up and balance on one foot. To do this, lift one leg and tuck that foot behind your other ankle.
If you need to lightly touch the back of a chair or a wall to keep your balance, until you get used to it, that's okay.
Balance on that one foot for one minute. While you are balancing, you will feel that you are using all of the muscles in your foot. You will feel your toes gripping and the sides of your foot trying to stabilize you.
After one minute, put that foot down. How does your foot and leg feel now?
Then balance on your other foot.
If you have really flat feet, without much of an arch, this will be a little harder than for the average person. Still keep practicing, anyway. It'll be good for you.
Another benefit of this balancing act is that is will help you have stronger legs and be more able to keep your balance as you age.
And, the foot doctor pointed out, if you do this at a party, the conversation will seem much more interesting!
Our ancestors used to run around barefoot. They ran through streams, through cold water and over rough grassy lands. They ran over rocks and pebbles. They probably had to run so they wouldn't get eaten!
But, today we usually don't have to worry about large animals chasing us. We wear nice shoes that protect the soles of our feet from stones and sticks and dewy grass. We don't have to use the muscles of our feet and legs to stabilize us. Our shoes do that for us. Many of us wear shoes all the time, even in our homes.
Here's Simple Pain Relief Tip #1 - The 10-Minute Tip
* Get a tennis ball, preferably, or a golf ball. Naturally, the tennis ball is softer and easier to press against, but the golf ball can get to smaller muscles.
* Stand up and balance yourself by holding the back of a chair or a wall, something sturdy.
*Support all of your weight on one foot.
* Place your other foot on the ball and apply pressure to the ball. Use a fair amount of pressure, enough so that you are aware of the ball.
* Apply pressure in long strokes from your heel to the ball of your foot several times. Keep moving the ball along the length of your foot. Press lengthwise along the outside of your foot, the middle, and the inside of your foot.
* Then move the ball from side to side. Press firmly but gently into the ball of your foot and the bottom of your heel.
* Keep rolling on the tennis ball for five minutes.
When you are done, put your "rolled" foot on the floor. See how much different it feels from the "unrolled" foot.
Now roll the other foot!
Here's Simple Pain Relief Tip #2 - The 2-Minute Tip
I attended a presentation by a podiatrist. He likes people to be barefoot. He even did his presentation barefoot!
He had this quick and easy way to get circulation and movement back into all the muscles of your legs and feet.
Stand up and balance on one foot. To do this, lift one leg and tuck that foot behind your other ankle.
If you need to lightly touch the back of a chair or a wall to keep your balance, until you get used to it, that's okay.
Balance on that one foot for one minute. While you are balancing, you will feel that you are using all of the muscles in your foot. You will feel your toes gripping and the sides of your foot trying to stabilize you.
After one minute, put that foot down. How does your foot and leg feel now?
Then balance on your other foot.
If you have really flat feet, without much of an arch, this will be a little harder than for the average person. Still keep practicing, anyway. It'll be good for you.
Another benefit of this balancing act is that is will help you have stronger legs and be more able to keep your balance as you age.
And, the foot doctor pointed out, if you do this at a party, the conversation will seem much more interesting!
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Choices, Headaches and Vintage People
Choices, choices, choices.
All of our lives we make choices. More than we would like to make. So many!
Some of our choices have been excellent, and some, well...maybe not so good. But we keep on going.
Jerry L. Old MD is a geriatric physician. I figure, with a name like that, how could he be anything else? But, he didn't intend to be a doctor with an elderly patient practice. It just worked out that way.
I loved reading his really cool book called Vintage People. Vintage People are elderly people who have aged well. Dr. Old calls them vintage because they are like fine wine. They are people who have become better over time.
Do they have aches and pains? Lots of them do. It's kind of hard to get older without something twinging somewhere at least occasionally.
Have they made choices? You bet. Were they all good choices? Not necessarily, but they kept on going, correcting the course as they went.
Dr. Old interviewed his vintage patients. Every one of them responded! In many areas, there was no common agreement. For instance, eating habits. They were all over the place! Some people ate very healthy, some not, some ate a very specific diet. But, they had all made choices and they all had opinions about why their eating habits were the best for them.
I found that I kept smiling as I read. Dr. Old told lots of interesting stories, good stories. He shared his own opinions and sometimes tells a joke on himself, too. His chapters cover such things as attitude, humor, religion, marriage. Often these are the words of his wise, vintage patients. You can imagine them talking directly to you.
Choosing to read a good book like this, or any good book that engages your mind, and that makes you smile or laugh is good medicine!
Laughing is like having a massage from the inside out. It creates feel-good hormones. It boosts our immune system!
Compare that to watching the evening news. Do you suppose that boosts your immune system? Did you realize that you can choose to watch the evening news...or not? Even when I had a television, I did not watch the news. I read the Sunday paper selectively, starting with the funnies. I prefer the local newspaper to the big city paper because the local news has good news, not just argumentive, depressing stuff.
Back to the Vintage People. Vintage people are active, as much as they are able. They are young for their age. They have friends of all ages, and even regard acquaintances as friends. They enjoy little pleasures, like the sunset or a flower brushed with dew, sparkling like diamonds. They find ways to help themselves feel better.
When we become absorbed with something beautiful or interesting, we forget about the aches and pain. Sometimes we forget about a great deal of pain. And, often, when we forget to focus on pain, it actually goes away.
My father lived in Missouri. We hadn't seen him in a few years. So, when we were traveling through Missouri, we decided to surprise him. His wife knew we were coming, but he had a migraine. When we walked in the door, my dad was laying in a recliner with a cold cloth over his eyes.
He was so surprised and pleased that we were there, that in about ten minutes he realized that his migraine headache was gone! We altered his vascular system.
Will your migraine or pain go complete away if you have a pleasant surprise? Maybe, or maybe not. But, when we focus on something other than the pain, often the pain does lessen or go completely away.
And sometimes pain goes away when we focus on it. Does that seem to be a contradiction?
Let's use head pain as an example. Sometimes it feels as if our whole head hurts. It's killing us. Where is the pain? Everywhere! It hurts all over.
But what if we pay attention to the pain? What if we direct all of our attention to the pain? Is it here? There? Where is it, really? You may even find that there are very specific areas where it hurts the most. When you pay attention to them, you may even find that the specific areas move. They are not constant. There is some ebb and flow. The most painful area changes location.
So, it's not your whole head, after all.
What if you breath into the pain? Does that change anything? What if you tilt your chin up, or down? What if you take deep breaths, moving your whole chest?
Paying attention is a choice. Breathing into the pain is a choice. Changing position to see if that helps is another choice. Focusing on something other than our pain is also a choice.
In my mind, there is nothing like a migraine headache. Not only does it hurt really bad, it reduces your ability to think. It reduces your ability to interact with others. It can strip away days of your life.
If migraines or bad headaches are a problem for you, there are choices you can make. No one but you can help you. Try the little suggestions above.
Pay attention to your posture. Not only does poor posture cause head pain, it causes us to be old before our time and to look old.
Watch your diet. Do certain foods cause your head to hurt? Do you still eat them? Why?
The more you understand about why you hurt, the more choices you can make to feel better.
We can choose to be Vintage People. Active, happy, healthy.
We can choose well.
All of our lives we make choices. More than we would like to make. So many!
Some of our choices have been excellent, and some, well...maybe not so good. But we keep on going.
Jerry L. Old MD is a geriatric physician. I figure, with a name like that, how could he be anything else? But, he didn't intend to be a doctor with an elderly patient practice. It just worked out that way.
I loved reading his really cool book called Vintage People. Vintage People are elderly people who have aged well. Dr. Old calls them vintage because they are like fine wine. They are people who have become better over time.
Do they have aches and pains? Lots of them do. It's kind of hard to get older without something twinging somewhere at least occasionally.
Have they made choices? You bet. Were they all good choices? Not necessarily, but they kept on going, correcting the course as they went.
Dr. Old interviewed his vintage patients. Every one of them responded! In many areas, there was no common agreement. For instance, eating habits. They were all over the place! Some people ate very healthy, some not, some ate a very specific diet. But, they had all made choices and they all had opinions about why their eating habits were the best for them.
I found that I kept smiling as I read. Dr. Old told lots of interesting stories, good stories. He shared his own opinions and sometimes tells a joke on himself, too. His chapters cover such things as attitude, humor, religion, marriage. Often these are the words of his wise, vintage patients. You can imagine them talking directly to you.
Choosing to read a good book like this, or any good book that engages your mind, and that makes you smile or laugh is good medicine!
Laughing is like having a massage from the inside out. It creates feel-good hormones. It boosts our immune system!
Compare that to watching the evening news. Do you suppose that boosts your immune system? Did you realize that you can choose to watch the evening news...or not? Even when I had a television, I did not watch the news. I read the Sunday paper selectively, starting with the funnies. I prefer the local newspaper to the big city paper because the local news has good news, not just argumentive, depressing stuff.
Back to the Vintage People. Vintage people are active, as much as they are able. They are young for their age. They have friends of all ages, and even regard acquaintances as friends. They enjoy little pleasures, like the sunset or a flower brushed with dew, sparkling like diamonds. They find ways to help themselves feel better.
When we become absorbed with something beautiful or interesting, we forget about the aches and pain. Sometimes we forget about a great deal of pain. And, often, when we forget to focus on pain, it actually goes away.
My father lived in Missouri. We hadn't seen him in a few years. So, when we were traveling through Missouri, we decided to surprise him. His wife knew we were coming, but he had a migraine. When we walked in the door, my dad was laying in a recliner with a cold cloth over his eyes.
He was so surprised and pleased that we were there, that in about ten minutes he realized that his migraine headache was gone! We altered his vascular system.
Will your migraine or pain go complete away if you have a pleasant surprise? Maybe, or maybe not. But, when we focus on something other than the pain, often the pain does lessen or go completely away.
And sometimes pain goes away when we focus on it. Does that seem to be a contradiction?
Let's use head pain as an example. Sometimes it feels as if our whole head hurts. It's killing us. Where is the pain? Everywhere! It hurts all over.
But what if we pay attention to the pain? What if we direct all of our attention to the pain? Is it here? There? Where is it, really? You may even find that there are very specific areas where it hurts the most. When you pay attention to them, you may even find that the specific areas move. They are not constant. There is some ebb and flow. The most painful area changes location.
So, it's not your whole head, after all.
What if you breath into the pain? Does that change anything? What if you tilt your chin up, or down? What if you take deep breaths, moving your whole chest?
Paying attention is a choice. Breathing into the pain is a choice. Changing position to see if that helps is another choice. Focusing on something other than our pain is also a choice.
In my mind, there is nothing like a migraine headache. Not only does it hurt really bad, it reduces your ability to think. It reduces your ability to interact with others. It can strip away days of your life.
If migraines or bad headaches are a problem for you, there are choices you can make. No one but you can help you. Try the little suggestions above.
Pay attention to your posture. Not only does poor posture cause head pain, it causes us to be old before our time and to look old.
Watch your diet. Do certain foods cause your head to hurt? Do you still eat them? Why?
The more you understand about why you hurt, the more choices you can make to feel better.
We can choose to be Vintage People. Active, happy, healthy.
We can choose well.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Are You Taking Care of Yourself?
I recently went to a birthday celebration.
It gave me the opportunity to observe how some people take care of themselves...or don't.
The party was for a sixteen-year old boy. He has chronic headaches.
He has been treated by a neuromuscular massage therapist (not me,) which helped, but did not cure him. He is being treated by a headache pain clinic. The various treatments he receives (some of which are not very pleasant, involving shots in his head, and medicine with side effects) also help only temporarily.
Because I specialize in relieving head pain and correcting posture, I watched him "in motion."
He has been told about the connection between posture and his headaches. Someone told me that when his mother would say, "Sit up straight," he would respond, "You don't." (And she doesn't, but that's another story. And, she doesn't have constant headaches, either.)
So, over the course of several hours I watched the birthday boy. He slouched, he leaned back in his chair with his head pressed forward, he stood with a forward head/casual posture.
The thing is, when we do those things, those of us who are prone to headaches or migraines will get a headache or migraine. And, he does!
Those types of movements aggravate the muscles at the base of our skull and the front and sides of our neck. When those muscles get aggravated, they react by tightening up. They develop trigger points. The trigger points "trigger" pain in our head.
Another thing I noticed was that he was drinking an artificially sweetened drink. Can't be positive, but I'm pretty sure that the headache clinic would have told him that artificial sweetners can cause headaches.
So I wonder: why isn't he being proactive - taking an active role - in helping himself to get rid of his headaches? He already knows the reasons for his head pain.
Right now I am speculating that he doesn't know how to keep his head and body in neutral positions. Perhaps his back muscles and the muscles in back of his neck are too weak to hold him upright in neutral positions. Or, perhaps he thinks it wouldn't be cool to be straight. He is not a tall, lanky boy, so it's not concern that he is "too tall."
People who get headaches and migraines have no choice except to fix their posture. The best way to do that is to get a strong backside, from the base of your skull to the back of your thighs.
The second opportunity I had was to talk with a man who has been seeing various nutritionists and naturopaths. He is looking for advice and products to cure his various health issues, and is going to see a new doctor shortly.
He wants herbal remedies or supplements, or some type of magic, to cure his problems, a lot of which are caused by his diet. He wants a doctor to cure him.
He also wants to continue to eat cookies and goodies and big meals and two servings of birthday cake!
Hmmmph! I guess we can't have our cake and eat it, too, after all.
But, we can take care of ourselves. We can seek out the knowledge that will help us. We can take action. We can change old habits that are not good for us.
Because you deserve to feel better.
It gave me the opportunity to observe how some people take care of themselves...or don't.
The party was for a sixteen-year old boy. He has chronic headaches.
He has been treated by a neuromuscular massage therapist (not me,) which helped, but did not cure him. He is being treated by a headache pain clinic. The various treatments he receives (some of which are not very pleasant, involving shots in his head, and medicine with side effects) also help only temporarily.
Because I specialize in relieving head pain and correcting posture, I watched him "in motion."
He has been told about the connection between posture and his headaches. Someone told me that when his mother would say, "Sit up straight," he would respond, "You don't." (And she doesn't, but that's another story. And, she doesn't have constant headaches, either.)
So, over the course of several hours I watched the birthday boy. He slouched, he leaned back in his chair with his head pressed forward, he stood with a forward head/casual posture.
The thing is, when we do those things, those of us who are prone to headaches or migraines will get a headache or migraine. And, he does!
Those types of movements aggravate the muscles at the base of our skull and the front and sides of our neck. When those muscles get aggravated, they react by tightening up. They develop trigger points. The trigger points "trigger" pain in our head.
Another thing I noticed was that he was drinking an artificially sweetened drink. Can't be positive, but I'm pretty sure that the headache clinic would have told him that artificial sweetners can cause headaches.
So I wonder: why isn't he being proactive - taking an active role - in helping himself to get rid of his headaches? He already knows the reasons for his head pain.
Right now I am speculating that he doesn't know how to keep his head and body in neutral positions. Perhaps his back muscles and the muscles in back of his neck are too weak to hold him upright in neutral positions. Or, perhaps he thinks it wouldn't be cool to be straight. He is not a tall, lanky boy, so it's not concern that he is "too tall."
People who get headaches and migraines have no choice except to fix their posture. The best way to do that is to get a strong backside, from the base of your skull to the back of your thighs.
The second opportunity I had was to talk with a man who has been seeing various nutritionists and naturopaths. He is looking for advice and products to cure his various health issues, and is going to see a new doctor shortly.
He wants herbal remedies or supplements, or some type of magic, to cure his problems, a lot of which are caused by his diet. He wants a doctor to cure him.
He also wants to continue to eat cookies and goodies and big meals and two servings of birthday cake!
Hmmmph! I guess we can't have our cake and eat it, too, after all.
But, we can take care of ourselves. We can seek out the knowledge that will help us. We can take action. We can change old habits that are not good for us.
Because you deserve to feel better.
Monday, October 1, 2007
Got Achy, Breaky Shoulders?
If you have achy, breaky shoulders you are not alone!
Our lives cause us to overstretch our upper back muscles often. We work on a line, at a desk, holding our babies, cooking, or other things. All of them require us to hold our arms and hands in front of us for long periods.
The upper back muscles get overstretched and very often complain. They ache. They hurt. They cause headaches. Ouch!
Try these simple movements to strengthen your shoulders and make them feel better.
Let your breastbone lift by pretending there is a hook attached to it pulling you skyward. That will move your head back over your shoulders where it belongs.
Now lift your shoulders up toward your ears, and then let them roll backward. Move them down toward your waist. Lift, roll, move down. And do it again. Try squeezing your shoulder blades together as you bring your shoulders back and down.
Lifting and rolling our shoulders back and down does many good things:
1. It gets circulation going around our shoulders and neck.
2. It loosens the muscles around our shoulder blades.
3. It strengthens the muscles that hold our shoulder blades toward our spines.
4. It gives our poor, overstretched muscles a break!
If it feels good to you to roll your shoulders in a big circle, front to back or back to front, then do it. But, if it feels uncomfortable when you move your shoulders forward, don't do it. Just lift, roll and lower your shoulders behind you.
Please remember, if you do a movement which your muscles haven't done in a long time, they may get sore from the new movement. So, start slowly, just do a few, two or three. As you muscles start to remember what they used to do, and become used to the movement again, you can start to increase the repetitions.
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Lift, roll, squeeze your shoulder blades toward your spine, drop. Repeat.
Feels so good to get the muscles moving again!
Ahhhh.
And you can find a lot more about natural remedies and causes for shoulder and back pain at http://SimpleBackPainRelief.com
Our lives cause us to overstretch our upper back muscles often. We work on a line, at a desk, holding our babies, cooking, or other things. All of them require us to hold our arms and hands in front of us for long periods.
The upper back muscles get overstretched and very often complain. They ache. They hurt. They cause headaches. Ouch!
Try these simple movements to strengthen your shoulders and make them feel better.
Let your breastbone lift by pretending there is a hook attached to it pulling you skyward. That will move your head back over your shoulders where it belongs.
Now lift your shoulders up toward your ears, and then let them roll backward. Move them down toward your waist. Lift, roll, move down. And do it again. Try squeezing your shoulder blades together as you bring your shoulders back and down.
Lifting and rolling our shoulders back and down does many good things:
1. It gets circulation going around our shoulders and neck.
2. It loosens the muscles around our shoulder blades.
3. It strengthens the muscles that hold our shoulder blades toward our spines.
4. It gives our poor, overstretched muscles a break!
If it feels good to you to roll your shoulders in a big circle, front to back or back to front, then do it. But, if it feels uncomfortable when you move your shoulders forward, don't do it. Just lift, roll and lower your shoulders behind you.
Please remember, if you do a movement which your muscles haven't done in a long time, they may get sore from the new movement. So, start slowly, just do a few, two or three. As you muscles start to remember what they used to do, and become used to the movement again, you can start to increase the repetitions.
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Lift, roll, squeeze your shoulder blades toward your spine, drop. Repeat.
Feels so good to get the muscles moving again!
Ahhhh.
And you can find a lot more about natural remedies and causes for shoulder and back pain at http://SimpleBackPainRelief.com
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Four Stories about Bodies Healing Themselves
Healing Story Number One:
Years ago I worked with a woman who fell asleep reading in bed. She fell asleep with her head propped forward. After several hours, she awoke in pain. She could hardly move one of her arms. Over the next month, she came into work only two half days. You could see the pain in her face. She had to go home.
She had been to a chiropractor and a neurologist, but neither could help her.
One day, her daughter came over and said, Mom, could you watch the new baby for just a few minutes while I go down the street?
Well, the new baby started crying, and the woman tried to reach down to lift the baby from its' seat on the floor with her good arm. As she did that, her neck popped, and her pain went away. She was back to work the next day.
Healing Story Number Two:
A few years ago, a woman had shoulder pain. She went to a physical medicine doctor who sent her to physical therapy, and her shoulder got better.
When her other shoulder started to hurt, she had deep muscle massage and it helped, but still her shoulder hurt. So she went for physical therapy again. By the fourth session, she realized that it was making the shoulder pain worse, so she stopped going.
That weekend, she helped her husband lift a six-foot long counter top. Her pain stopped and her shoulder has not hurt since.
Healing Story Number Three:
A construction worker came home in pain. He had hurt his shoulder. His boss said to go to physical therapy. He went for four sessions, but didn't think it was helping.
Then he came home one day with a big smile. His pain was 90 percent gone! He had lifted something heavy at work, and his shoulder popped and the pain left. Now it is almost completely well.
Healing Story Number Four
A woman tripped on her doorstep. She fell face first into the room. It was a jarring fall, and it hurt. For the next several days, her back hurt and she could barely get comfortable in bed.
One night, she couldn't sleep, so she got up. Her husband came out and asked what she was doing. He said, come back to bed and I will rub your back.
When he pressed on her back, it popped loudly! He jumped back, afraid that he had hurt her. "What was that? Did you hear that?" His wife said, "Yes, I did. I felt it, too. In fact, I think I'm better now." And, she was.
What Do These Stories Mean?
Well, let's see. They could mean that sometimes we get a dislocation. That sometimes we just need a little movement to correct a problem. That bodies want to heal themselves, and be well. That sometimes we need to allow our body to heal in its' own time. That sometimes the correct counter-movement or counter-pressure can get things back to where they were.
They could mean that bodies want to be well, and that sometimes we need a little assistance or a little time to heal.
Physician, heal thyself. You can be your own best physician.
Years ago I worked with a woman who fell asleep reading in bed. She fell asleep with her head propped forward. After several hours, she awoke in pain. She could hardly move one of her arms. Over the next month, she came into work only two half days. You could see the pain in her face. She had to go home.
She had been to a chiropractor and a neurologist, but neither could help her.
One day, her daughter came over and said, Mom, could you watch the new baby for just a few minutes while I go down the street?
Well, the new baby started crying, and the woman tried to reach down to lift the baby from its' seat on the floor with her good arm. As she did that, her neck popped, and her pain went away. She was back to work the next day.
Healing Story Number Two:
A few years ago, a woman had shoulder pain. She went to a physical medicine doctor who sent her to physical therapy, and her shoulder got better.
When her other shoulder started to hurt, she had deep muscle massage and it helped, but still her shoulder hurt. So she went for physical therapy again. By the fourth session, she realized that it was making the shoulder pain worse, so she stopped going.
That weekend, she helped her husband lift a six-foot long counter top. Her pain stopped and her shoulder has not hurt since.
Healing Story Number Three:
A construction worker came home in pain. He had hurt his shoulder. His boss said to go to physical therapy. He went for four sessions, but didn't think it was helping.
Then he came home one day with a big smile. His pain was 90 percent gone! He had lifted something heavy at work, and his shoulder popped and the pain left. Now it is almost completely well.
Healing Story Number Four
A woman tripped on her doorstep. She fell face first into the room. It was a jarring fall, and it hurt. For the next several days, her back hurt and she could barely get comfortable in bed.
One night, she couldn't sleep, so she got up. Her husband came out and asked what she was doing. He said, come back to bed and I will rub your back.
When he pressed on her back, it popped loudly! He jumped back, afraid that he had hurt her. "What was that? Did you hear that?" His wife said, "Yes, I did. I felt it, too. In fact, I think I'm better now." And, she was.
What Do These Stories Mean?
Well, let's see. They could mean that sometimes we get a dislocation. That sometimes we just need a little movement to correct a problem. That bodies want to heal themselves, and be well. That sometimes we need to allow our body to heal in its' own time. That sometimes the correct counter-movement or counter-pressure can get things back to where they were.
They could mean that bodies want to be well, and that sometimes we need a little assistance or a little time to heal.
Physician, heal thyself. You can be your own best physician.
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