Here are some ideas for you:

1.  Hold in your stomach muscles (that’s the best and easiest way to strengthen them.)

2.  Lift your chest (strengthens your back.)

3.  Create a small hollow behind your waist if you don’t have one (you should.)

4.  Try to use ALL of your muscles around your whole body–front, back and sides.

5.  Practice flexing your spine forward and backward, forward and backward.  This improves the circulation around your spine and strengthens your torso.

6.  Roll your shoulders back (strengthens your back muscles.)

7.  Use a lumbar cushion behind your waist when you are seated.  (You can fold a hand towel to the right size for you.)

8.  Stick your tailbone ALL the way back into your seat.  Or if the length of the seat is longer than your thighs, place a large pillow behind your back.

9.  No slouching allowed!  If you catch yourself slouching, just straighten up again.  And again.  And again. 

Whew!  That a LOT of stuff to remember.  And there is even more at http://SimpleBackPainRelief.com!  (<–click here.)

Yes, it is a lot but the more little changes you make the easier it will be to keep back pain from getting worse.

You will find lots more articles about natural pain relief at

http://www.SimpleBackPainRelief.com  for Back Pain

http://www.SimpleStrengthening.com  to Get Straighter & Stronger Posture

http://www.SimplePainRelief.com   for many types of aches & pains

http://www.CarpalTunnelPainRelief.com   for hand, wrist, arm & carpal tunnel pain

Click on over and get lots of great information to help you get out of your pain!

“Because You Deserve to Feel Better!”

Being straight and having a strong backside puts the pressure of being upright on your bones, where it belongs. That lets your bones become strong.

And you can read about preventing osteoporosis with good posture (which you can create with the SimpleStrengthening exercises.)

I’m here to testify…

I kind of hate to admit it, but from time to time, I trip.

I had a lovely “trip” just a few days ago. A five-point landing. No one applauded, but I’m quite sure it was very impressive.

And, once again, I did not break any bones.

And, I am grateful.

How do I keep my bones strong and healthy?

Let me count the ways:

1. Plenty of sunshine (creates vitamin D.) Bones need vitamin D to absorb calcium from your food. (D3 is the best type.)

Most people in the northern United States are deficient in Vitamin D. This happens because you don’t get enough sunshine on your skin for one reason or another. Your doctor can do a blood test to check if you are deficient, if you want.

A good time to get sunshine is while you are…

2. Walking. Walking is weight-bearing exercise. So is being on your feet while you watch TV.

Instead of sitting, stand and do side-swaying movements or lunges or toe raises and calf stretches. Just do something while you are on your feet rather than on your seat.

3. A good quality multi-vitamin and mineral supplement.

4. Lots of green, leafy vegetables (they contain calcium.)

5. A varied diet with all kinds of wholesome foods (this means not highly processed and sold in a box.)

6. And, always fight gravity! Gravity is a very powerful force. It is always trying to pull your head forward and down. Stretching to open up and relax your chest and front muscles is a necessity. So is strengthening the muscles on the backside of your body.

By the way, walking also strengthens your arms and upper body.

How?

When you walk, you swing your arms. Your arms have weight. This is weight-bearing exercise for your upper body. The muscles in your arms pull on the bones all around your shoulders, and this makes your bones stronger.

So, that’s my secret. This is how I keep bouncing instead of breaking.

And, one more thing.

The people who are most injured, and who take longer to recover from a fall or accident, are the ones who are most “out of balance” before the accident.

So, recovering faster and having less injury is another big benefit of being as straight, strong and flexible as you can be. When you are learning to have a strong backside (from the back of your thighs to the back of your neck,) you will also be learning how to move your shoulder blades and your joints into neutral positions.

Your bones and muscles will be healthier and stronger, and you, too, can bounce instead of break.

(Although I hope you never trip.)

For more help, go to http://www.SimpleStrengthening.com, http://www.SimplePainRelief.com and http://www.CarpalTunnelPainReliefNow.com.

So, I’m going to tell you about the most common cause of osteoporosis.

It’s really common to see people with their heads in front of their bodies.  Sometimes their heads are really far ahead of their bodies.  Not good.

We were built so that all of our bones stack up, one on top of the other.  When our posture is perfect (like it was when we were young children) then our bones support our bodies.

When we start to fall into a collapsed posture–when we get a forward head–then we start using muscles to support our body.  Our muscles are not designed to support us; that’s what our bones are for.

Using the Simple Strengthening program (everything you need to know is here) for easily making your back side strong will correct your posture.

When your posture is once again nice and straight, your bones will be supporting your whole body as they used to.

When your bones are supporting your body, they are “working.”  When they do the job they were designed to do, there is correct pressure on your bones.  This pressure helps your bones to stay and become dense and strong.

Skeletons need to be stacked up properly so your bones will work to support you, and so they will be strong.

When bones are not “working” to support you, they become weak.  So osteoporosis is caused by not letting your bones do their job.  If we take the pressure off the bones, they can’t rebuild themselves as they should.

When your skeleton is stacked in “neutral,” as it should be, inappropriate pressure is taken off your muscles.  Now, your muscles can easily do what they are supposed to do: their job is to let you move.

And, so, since muscles move bones, getting strong muscles on your back side will help move your bones back into the neutral position they need to be and avoid osteoporosis.

And, that’s a good thing.  For more help, go to http://www.SimpleStrengthening.com, http://www.CarpalTunnelPainReliefNow.com and  http://www.SimplePainRelief.com

“Because You Deserve To Feel Better!”

I remembered working with a man who had severe damage to both knees.  He told me he could walk without pain, even on stairs, as long as he kept the muscles around his knees strong.  He did this with machine weight training.

I thought about him, and decided maybe I could strengthen my legs by walking.

So I began my “serious” walking program, and I have noticed lots of benefits already.  Several are benefits that I wasn’t quite expecting and am very pleased with.

I would have said before that I “walked,” but really, it was more like strolling, stopping to smell the flowers on the way.

So I decided I had better get serious.

I started walking as fast as I could while still able to breathe and talk.  In time, I could walk even farther and faster, with fewer breaks.

I already knew how to let my arms swing from my shoulders (thumbs forward, like shaking hands) and to hold my chest high.  I knew how to “roll” my foot from heel to toe.

So, off I went.

When I started just three weeks ago I had several reasons for walking.

• I’m going on a hiking trip and wanted to be able to easily keep up.
• I wanted to strengthen my heart with aerobic activity, but I hate bouncing around.
• My doctor asks me, “What are you doing for aerobic exercise?”  I always tell her I do massage all day long, but she doesn’t buy it.
• I wanted to drop a few pounds.

But, most importantly,

• I wanted my knees to have less discomfort.  I noticed they were starting to be painful and creaky when moving to a standing position from a seat.
• One day I realized my knees weren’t quite “working right” when I wanted to get up from the floor.  I wanted to; they didn’t.  I didn’t like that, either.

Here are the benefits I have already received from my walking program.

• My legs feel stronger (and they were already strong.)
• My knees have no discomfort.  It is much easier to stand from a seated position.  In fact, it’s just plain easy again.
• My back is stronger and straighter.  (I didn’t expect this benefit.  I am sure that it was caused by the proper arm movement during walking.)  This is a big benefit when sitting, standing and working.
• Stairs are easier, too.
• Of course, I also feel more energetic.

I know there are a lot of different causes for knee pain.  I also know that, most of the time, pain in the legs and knees is caused by a muscular imbalance.

Walking can help correct your muscular imbalance.

And, if overweight is part of the cause for your knee (hip and ankle) pain, then walking will be doubly beneficial for you.

Here’s an example.

I met a woman in her thirties who had lost a couple of hundred pounds by walking.  She told me she did not change her diet at all!  When she first began walking, she could go only 6 houses down the street.  Eventually she could go around the block, then farther and farther.  By the time I met her, she was normal weight and race-walking.

So there you have it, and I have faith in you that you can do it.  If you’d like a free report I wrote about walking without pain and being a happy walker, please go to http://WalkingSmart.com

We were built for movement and when we don’t move enough – when we spend too much time in a chair or car – our leg muscles get out of balance and lose strength.  Balance and strength occur when we use our legs. When we use our legs, and they are strong, we feel stable instead of weak.

When your legs are out of balance – some muscles are weaker than others – then you get aches and pains in your legs.  When your muscles are out of balance, they pull on the bones in a different way than they are supposed to.  This causes arthritis.

Some savvy doctors recommend that their older patients take tai chi classes.  Tai chi (pronounced ti-chee) is done standing, and the people who practice it develop strong legs and good balance.

Here’s a simple strengthening movement that you can do at home or anywhere.

Stand near a piece of furniture, like the back of a chair.  Stand close enough so that you can use the chair back as a support for one hand, if you need it.  (And you will probably need it until your balance improves.)

Lift one foot off the ground, and tuck it behind your other calf.

Let go of the chair and try to balance on the foot that is still on the floor.

Keep your hand very close to the chair back in case you need to support yourself.

While you are balancing on one foot, you are using all of the muscles in that foot and leg.  You will notice that the pressure in your foot moves from front to back and side to side.  Your body is trying to keep its’ balance.

Standing on one foot and balancing like this actually relaxes all of the muscles in your foot and leg, because all of the muscles are being used.  You are creating and achieving muscular balance!

Try to balance for one minute.  When you start to become better at balancing, you can do two minutes or more.

When you are done with your first leg, then practice balancing on your other foot.

An interesting side effect occurs, and it is a good one!  Your legs will be less achey.  They will feel refreshed.  Why?  Because you are using all of your leg muscles, and your body likes that.

Use this new skill to strengthen your legs and get rid of weak and achey legs.

If you click here –> http://KathrynMerrow.com you will find links to all of my natural pain relief websites.

And if you want to get a free report about walking please click here –> http://WalkingSmart.com   Walking is a great way to get stronger legs and feel better all over.  Get the report because even if your legs feel weak or ache, walking can help!

We often fall into the habit of having a weak, collapsed forward posture.  This simple strengthening tip will help you get tall, straight and strong.

You can do this sitting and do this on your back in bed or on the floor.

• Lift your arms over your head, stretching as far as you can.
• Inhale.
• Exhale, and stretch even farther.
• Relax a little, but keep your arms up.
• Inhale, exhale, stretch a little farther again.

As you stretch up, the muscles around your ribs, abdomen and back are getting stronger.  When they are stronger, they will help you stand tall and proud, not slumped forward.

It’s much healthier for your whole body to be straight.  Being straight avoids a lot of pain and problems.

When you do this sitting down, it takes your legs out of the mix, in case they are throwing your posture off.

When you do this in bed or on the floor, it takes gravity out of the mix.  Now gravity is working with you, instead of against you.

In addition, re-learning how to keep your shoulder blades tucked in closer to your spine will help.  You can read about that in one of my other articles.

If this is difficult for you to do sitting, then start off on your back in bed.

A strong, straight, painfree body is a thing of beauty, and I believe you’ll get there.  Find more help at http://www.Simple Strengthening.com and  http://www.SimplePainRelief.com

“Because You Deserve To Feel Better!”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Always pay attention to your body and move thoughtfully.

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

That would be very good.  For more help, go to http://www.SimpleStrengthening.com and http://www.SimplePainRelief.com

“Because You Deserve To Feel Better!”

Would you tell me the cause was stress? Overwork? Old age? Arthritis? Or from your nerves or bones?

Would you be surprised if I told you that the cause was most likely…in most cases…muscles?

But not any old muscles.

Overstretched muscles cause most back pain, especially pain between the shoulder blades.

Pain between your shoulder blades and spine can be on both sides or just one side, depending on how you use your body. Some people only get pain on the dominant side, which means if they are right-handed, the right side of their back will hurt.

When our muscles are continually overstretched, like our back muscles are when we have “forward head” posture, they have to react. If they did not react, the muscles would tear and we would be unable to function.

So, instead of tearing, the muscles “splint” themselves.

They become taut and protect themselves from being damaged or ripping off the bone. (Although that can happen in extreme cases.)

When your muscles become taut (think of a rope being pulled from both ends that can’t relax because no one will let go) they become less able to function fully.

They also become crabby.

The overstretched muscles are working way too hard. They are not working the way they were designed to work. Muscles are supposed to help us move. They let us flex and bend and stretch.

Bones are supposed to support us. We are not supposed to use our muscles as bones.

You can stop your muscles from being overstretched!

You can get your muscles back to being the way they used to be, but it will take some time and effort and you’re the only one who can do it. Well, you could get some help to loosen up from a knowledgeable massage therapist, but basically you are in charge.

(The reason I said a knowledgeable massage therapist is because many of them only work where it hurts–your back, in this situation–and your back pain is the symptom, not the cause. He or she will also need to loosen the muscles in front of your body.)

• You need to eliminate your forward head or forward arm posture to stop overstretching your back muscles.
• You need to strengthen your back.
• You will have to practice lifting your shoulder blades and rolling them backward, so they will become more movable.
• Practice squeezing your shoulder blades toward your spine.
• Read the rest of the simple strengthening articles here.

The purpose of this article and this site is to help you become pain-free.  You will find lots of additional articles about natural ways to get rid of the pain between your shoulder blades at http://SimpleBackPainRelief.com

Well, maybe.  Maybe not.

We all have changes in our bones and joints that show up on x-rays.  Do we all have pain?

No.

But when a doctor can see something that could be the cause of pain, they usually figure that it is the cause.

“Oh, you just have arthritis.  You will have to live with it.”

Well, maybe.  Maybe not.

Large powerful muscles pass over our hip joint.  These muscles allow us to move our leg.  The hip joint occurs where our thigh bones connect to our pelvic bones.

Those large muscles can get overstretched from crossed-leg positions, overstressed from pressure like sleeping on our sides or car seats pressing on them, or tight from overuse or overstretch.

Your plan is to get back into balance and out of pain.

There are four sides to your hip joint.  Front of your leg, back of your leg, inside of your thigh and outer side of your thigh.  The outside of your thigh–your hip joint–is likely where you feel your pain.

Here’s the plan of attack.

Please note:  Do and observe these moves thoughtfully, being aware of how your muscles are feeling.  Pay attention to how you feel afterward, too.

1.  Standing in a secure position, lift your leg, with your knee bent, in front of you.  Does that cause you pain in your hip joint?  If so, your gluteal muscles (butt) may be tight.  Those large, powerful muscles need stretching or therapeutic massage to release them.

2.  Same position, lift your leg behind you.  Does that cause pain?  Your front thigh muscles are probably tight.  You may need to spend more time stretching your leg back like this, in a gentle and controlled manner, like a dancer.

3.  Lift your leg out to the side.  Did that movement cause pain?  The outside thigh muscles may need strengthening.  Just lift in the same way or lay in bed on your other side and lift your bent knee toward the ceiling–just a few inches.  You will feel those muscles contract and strengthen.

4.  Move your leg across the mid-line of your body.  Any pain?  Well, then, don’t do it and if you’re in the habit of crossing your leg, try to eliminate that habit.  You have probably overstretched your hip muscles.

5.  Lay on your back and let your bent knee slowly drop off to the side, away from your body.  What is the sensation in your upper inside thigh?  Is there tightness?  You may feel a direct relationship between the pain in your hip and your inner thigh muscles.  If you do, this is a move for you which will help release that hip pain. Use gentle, controlled stretches for just two seconds, back to neutral, and then another two second stretch.  Repeat several times.

Moves #3 and #5 are often the cure for hip pain.  It may take only several days of movement to relieve your hip pain.  Try and see!

Walking or moving with resistance from water in a swimming pool can also be good medicine for hip pain.

Being your own doctor and physical therapist takes some work, but is well worth it.

You can avoid pain medicines and sometimes surgeries by not simply accepting the diagnosis of “arthritis.”

Find more help about walking without pain at http://WalkingSmart.com  or find all of my natural pain relief websites by clicking here:  http://KathrynMerrow.com