Do you have knots in your shoulders? Do you have headaches? Did you know they can definitely be related?
Here’s a question from a reader:
I’ve been suffering with awful headaches for years now. I have what i call “knots” in my neck, upper back, shoulder blade area, and shoulders. All of this is on my right side. I’ve been to many doctors, I’m in physical therapy right now, and nothing has helped. I’m looking for exercises that I can do to break up these “knots”. The Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: do knots cause migraines, Kathryn Merrow, migranes muscle knots, muscle knots cause headaches, muscle knots upper back neck migraines
What’s the most common cause of upper back pain? Is it herniated disks? Is it neck bones that are out of place? Is it your neighbors or your job?
Not likely any of those. It’s muscles! (Well, maybe your job is contributing, too.)
A recent commenter said the knots in her upper back are caused by a herniated disk. But that’s taking things out of sequence. (And that‘s really, really common in the medical field.)
You see, disks cannot move on their own. Neither can bones. So how do they move?
You got it: Muscles! Muscles move bones and disks. That’s their job.
So how do disks get herniated? (We will assume there is not a whiplash or other serious tossing-around injury.)
When muscles get out of balance they don’t hold the bones in a neutral position anymore. Instead the muscles pull or push the bones and disks out of alignment. They can actually push a disk out of place!
“Out of balance” means muscles on one side are too short or tight. On the other side they are too loose or weak.
This means pain in your upper back and neck.
What’s the solution?
In a nutshell, strengthen the muscles on the back side of your body. Stretch and lengthen the muscles on the front side.
And don’t forget you also have muscles on the sides of your body. They probably need lengthening and stretching, too!
Other things such as nutrition can also play a big part in how happy your muscles are. If you eat healthy and exercise and get plenty of water into your body your muscles will be nicer to you in return.
And posture plays a huge role in upper back pain. I created a self-help program for upper back pain and knots and in that program I actually have a video that will help you get straighter and stronger in a simple, easy way.
If you’d like to know more about the upper back pain relief program, please click here: http://KnotsInYourBack.com
Tags: cause knots upper back, cause of herniated disk, cause of upper back pain, cause upper back muscle pain, Kathryn Merrow
What causes pain in your low back? And how can you get rid of it naturally?
I recorded a teleseminar about this very thing. There is no cost and you don’t have to sign up for anything. It’s kind of lengthy but it does share lots of helpful information.
You will discover the causes of pain in your back (and other parts of your body, too.) Click this green link –> Lower Back Pain Recording and start learning how to get rid of the pain in your low back naturally.
Tags: causes of lower back pain, get rid of pain in your lower back naturally, how to get rid of pain in low back, Kathryn Merrow, natural remedy for low back pain
Got knots in your upper back? An occupational therapist sent me the following email: 
> Dear Kathryn, 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 appreciate Katie writing and sharing her story. She started out by chasing symptoms. She ended up by attacking the CAUSE of her upper back spasms. And that’s how she got rid of her symptoms.
So, you see? Read the articles here and take action. Look for the cause of your pain.
You CAN have natural relief of the knots in your upper back.
Tags: how to get rid of knots in your upper back, how to get rid of muscle spasm upper back, Kathryn Merrow, knots in shoulder blades, knots in shoulders
Your upper back pain is being caused by something and sometimes that something is as far away as your feet!
Flat feet or ‘fallen arches’ can cause the ‘foundation’ of your body to be faulty. Instead of standing up with nice posture, people without arches in their feet tend to fall forward posture-wise.
Here’s how to demonstrate this:
Stand normally. Now make an Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: flat feet back pain, flat feet cause upper back pain, Kathryn Merrow, neck pain caused by flat feet
Did you know that pain in your lower back is almost always caused by muscles. Why is this?
Well, muscles move the bones, joints and disks in your spine. Muscles are the prime movers of your body! You can only move because you have muscles.
Yay, muscles!!
On the other hand, when your muscles get out of balance–too strong on one side of your body and too weak on the other then we don’t say, “Yay, muscles!”
We say, “Ouch!”
Dang muscles. 
Well, it’s not their fault. They wouldn’t be unhappy and complaining if we did everything perfectly in all of our movements.
But we don’t.
But we can change. Here’s how:
You can add movements that balance your low back muscles better. You can Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: back pain low back natural cure, cause of pain in lower back, how to get rid of pain in your low back naturally, Kathryn Merrow, natural remedy low back muscle pain
Got muscle knots in your shoulders? You need someone to help you figure out WHY you are getting these knots.
The answer is not to attack only the area where it hurts because those are just symptoms. The answer is to get to the cause of your pain. Figure out the cause of your knots and get rid of it.
It could be posture-related. Do you slouch or slump?
It could be that you always lean into the same corner of the couch.
It could be your heavy book bag that causes you to lean forward.
It definitely is something and that something needs to be changed so you will stop getting these knots.
And did you knw that muscles need minerals to function their best? Do you eat a good diet that supplies lots of vitamins and minerals or do you eat mostly pre-packaged, highly processed foods and fast foods? They cannot supply what your muscles need.
You cannot fool your muscles with fake foods.
One more thing: The knots in your back may be caused because of tight muscles in the front of your body. Most of the time we have our hands and heads in front of our body and this shortens the muscles in the fronts of our chests, abdomen, arms and neck. And maybe you slouch.
That means the muscles in the front of the body need to be stretched. They are most often the culprit!
If you can give your body movement, nutrition, stretching in the right directions and good posture you can get rid of your knots. Click here –>to get your free report about the five most common causes of those miserable knots in your shoulders and discover how to get rid of them naturally.
Tags: cause of shoulder knots, get rid of shoulder knots naturally, Kathryn Merrow, knots in your shoulders, muscle knots in upper back
Are you confused about your scoliosis? You aren’t alone. Most doctors don’t understand what causes it or know much about it, either.
In fact, they often say it is idiopathic. That means ‘no known cause.’
Well, maybe. Sometimes.
Here are some thoughts:
1. Everything has a cause. It just requires digging to find the root of the problem.
2. Pain medicines will not help you get rid of the curvature in your spine.
3. If you do not get rid of the original causes of your scoliosis your curves will continue to Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: cause of scoliosis, causes of scoliosis, Kathryn Merrow, natural cure for scoliosis, natural remedy for scoliosis
Do you have burning in your back between your shoulder blade and spine? That area has a muscle called the rhomboid.
It gets blamed for pain all the time but it is usually NOT the muscle at fault! Poor rhomboid.
Rhomboid area pain is typically caused by that area being over-stretched. The burning is a symptom. You have to figure out the cause and get rid of it.
Your neck could be involved if the scalene muscles on the side of your neck are causing you to have a ‘knot’ in your back. The scalene muscles in your neck can have trigger points Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: burning rhomboid, how to get rid of rhomboid, Kathryn Merrow, knot in rhomboid, pain in rhomboid
How can you get rid of the knots in your back naturally?
The first thing is to figure out WHY you are getting these knots. I’m not being silly here.
There are always reasons why you have pain. Usually the reasons involve muscles.
Muscles move bones. Muscles can press on nerves. Muscles are usually overlooked as being causes of pain.
So the answer is not to attack only the area where it hurts because those are just symptoms.
The answer is to get to the root cause of your knot. Figure Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: cause of back muscle knots, Kathryn Merrow, knots in your back, natural remedy back knots, pain relief coach
