Pain Relief

Are your muscles tight all the time?

Maybe it feels like your spine is frozen in place. Or your hips tighten up no matter how much you stretch.

From chronically tight hamstrings to neck stiffness and pain, clients often ask me what causes muscles to tense up in the first place.

While there are many possible answers…

To get to the root of this issue, it’s important to first understand where muscle tension comes from.

Where Does Muscle Tension Come From?

If you Google “what causes muscle tension” you’re going to come up with a list of things like poor posture, overuse, exercise, or injuries.

While all of these can absolutely influence muscle tension, they’re really more of a symptom than a cause.

The reality is…

Muscle tension comes from your nervous system, a.k.a. your brain.

That’s it.

Muscles don’t just get randomly tight all over. They’re not out to get you.

Without some sort of animating force, a muscle is just a lump of tissue. I’ve never seen a steak jump off the plate and run for the door, and you probably haven’t either.

That’s because dead meat has no neural activity.

Cadavers don’t come to get you unless they’re in zombie movies because their brains are dead. There is no signal to tell the muscle to contract.

Which brings me to…

Your Muscle Tension Isn’t Happening To You

Clients often ask me why “it’s” so tight — a neck, a back, a hamstring, a hip.

This is a little bit of an odd question because, well, “it” is…YOU.

And you are not separate from your body.

(You are also not your body, but that’s a different discussion for a different day.)

Your body is an integral aspect of your lived experience. Basically, if you’re alive, you have a body. Period. End of story.

When you say “it just feels so tight,” you’re separating your tension from yourself. You’re giving away your power to influence the state of your body.

Words matter. They simultaneously convey and influence how you see yourself.

Because muscle tension begins in your nervous system, it’s within your power to release the tight muscles, too.

Muscle Tension Isn’t Your Fault

This conversation can be a tricky one. When I first bring a person’s attention to the fact that tension comes from you rather than happening to you, I often encounter resistance.

It’s easy to jump to the conclusion that I’m blaming you for your tension — but I’m not. Promise.

Just like you aren’t consciously carrying around limiting beliefs about yourself, you’re also not waking up and thinking, “Gee, what a beautiful day. I think a little neck tension and pain is in order this morning.”

If you were to work with a therapist and uncover that you’ve been holding onto a belief that you’re a terrible, no-good, unloveable person, your therapist (hopefully) isn’t going to leap out of her chair, point a finger at you and shout, “YOU IDIOT! YOU’RE SO STUPID FOR BELIEVING SUCH A RIDICULOUS THOUGHT!”

Silly, right?

Similarly, the reasons behind why we hold tension in our nervous system are subconscious. They could be related to an accident or injury, or even to an emotional trauma. Some muscle tension is learned and adapted from our caregivers and communities — we move like the people around us to signal belonging.

And, often, muscle tension is related to your thoughts and beliefs.

Sound crazy?

Just try saying these words out loud and pay attention to what happens to your neck, shoulders and breathing: I’m not good enough. I don’t have what it takes. Nobody loves me.

Yuck, right? It doesn’t feel so great.

Well, if you have these thoughts running on some level (and let’s face it, we all have some version of this going on in our heads or imposter syndrome wouldn’t be a thing), your muscles are GOING TO RESPOND.

Muscle tension is the physical manifestation of a thought or belief.

How to Let Go of Tight Muscles

The important thing to realize is that you have the power to release muscle tension — even if you’ve been holding onto it for decades.

How do you do this, you ask?

Great question. The answer is simple: move differently.

When you move in new and varied ways, you rewire your neural pathways. You send more data to your brain telling it that you need to be able to bend and twist in these ways.

And movement can even influence your thoughts – bonus!

The mind-body connection is a two-way street. When you release muscle tension, your body signals your brain to relax, too.

And then you not only move more comfortably with less pain, but you also feel calmer, happier and more centered.

Of course, shaking off habitual movement patterns is easier said than done. While it’s not complicated, it does take practice.

That’s why I created the Posture Rehab system to teach you how to reset your nervous system using intentional movement.

It’s not exercise. It’s not yoga. It’s an entirely new take on life.

Check it out here >>

Arthritis pain is a common diagnosis that you might hear as you age. And with over 100 different types of arthritis and associated conditions, you certainly aren’t suffering alone.

Osteoarthritis is one of the most common forms and involves the breakdown of protective joint cartilage. But there are also autoimmune conditions such as rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis that cause painful symptoms.

Whatever form of arthritis pain you have, it probably limits your activities and enjoyment of life — which is just a no-go if you ask me. Of course, popping an endless stream of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) comes with its own terrifying risks.

Even short term use of ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil) or naproxen (Aleve) can increase your risk of heart attack or stroke. Taking an NSAID for just a couple of weeks will elevate your risk. Longer periods of time and higher doses are worse, though.

While short-term use of NSAIDs at low doses for people who do not have known cardiovascular disease is probably safe, there are a few easy and natural things you can do to relieve arthritis pain if you’d rather skip the meds.

Here are three natural remedies for arthritis pain:

Reduce Inflammation

Systemic inflammation is common among people who eat a diet high in processed foods, refined grains, white sugar and alcohol. All of these will increase inflammation in the body.

And the first place you’ll feel the pain of inflammation is in your arthritic joints.

Reduce common inflammatory foods such as processed meats, sugary drinks, white bread and pasta. To crowd them out, increase your intake of green vegetables, omega-3 containing deep water fish and grass-fed meats.

For more tips on reducing systemic inflammation, click here to check out my ebook Perfect Posture for Life. I go into much greater depth on foods and herbs that lower systemic inflammation and arthritis pain.

Take Magnesium

Magnesium is a naturally occurring mineral found in many healthy foods such as nuts and seeds, green vegetables and dark chocolate. Your body requires it to support over 300 chemical reactions that keep you alive. Magnesium has a natural anti-inflammatory effect on cells.

Unfortunately, most people are deficient in this vital mineral. This is due to diets high in refined grains and the increasing depletion of magnesium in crop soil. Taking magnesium can have a nearly instant calming effect on inflammation, reducing tight muscles and arthritis pain.

For more on how magnesium benefits your body and why I believe it’s the one critical supplement everyone suffering from aches and pains must take, click here to download my FREE No More Tight Muscles Guide.

Move Every Day

Movement benefits arthritis pain by increasing the flow of synovial fluid in joints, which acts like the body’s own WD-40. It also stimulates sensory perception in cells called mechanoreceptors that surround joints.

Mechanoreceptors sense movement and then communicate with the brain, sending signals to your brain that are stronger and faster than those sent by pain-sensing cells, called nociceptors.

Basically, movement “crowds out” sensations of pain and makes your body feel less achy overall. It simultaneously improves joint health by lubricating joint capsules with synovial fluid.

Of course, not just any movement will do. If your joints are stiff and locked up, you need to get them moving again using dynamic mobility practices like those in my Posture Rehab program.

Posture Rehab enables you to fix your posture and move more comfortably so you can continue to do the things you love without pain or restriction for as long as you’re alive.

Unlike other programs that just teach you how to stretch or strengthen your body, the practices inside Posture Rehab go underneath stored tension to dissolve old, bad habits so you can finally stop slouching, heal your body and move with ease — despite old injuries.

Click here for more info on the Posture Rehab program >>

 

Ugh, back pain. It’s no fun when it strikes.

And when you have a case that won’t go away, the first person you probably turn to for back pain relief is your doctor.

That’s a good thing. Back pain has many causes and it’s smart to rule out the scary ones.

But a lot of times your doctor doesn’t know why your back hurts. It’s frustrating, but true.

That’s when people usually come to me — when they’d been through the regular medical system and still don’t have any answers.

But listen…

Back pain is not a normal part of life.

There’s a very good reason that your doctor hasn’t found the cause of your back pain yet — and it’s not entirely her fault.

In fact, here are three reasons your doctor can’t help you get back pain relief:

They’re Trying to Fix Back Pain Only Where It Hurts

When your back hurts, it makes sense that a doctor would image your spine. X-rays and MRIs can highlight things like nerve impingement or arthritis that may be causing pain.

But often images don’t show anything “wrong.” Which begs the question: what is causing your back pain?

Here’s the truth…

If there’s nothing wrong with your spine and yet you still have back pain, it’s likely because the problem isn’t starting in your back.

Why?

Your back does not exist in isolation in your body. It connects and relates to every other part of you.

Modern medical training teaches doctors to look at joints individually within the body. But when any joint is dysfunctional, it affects all the other ones around it.

Tight ankles make your low back work more. Hip flexors can crank down and pull your spine forward, straining back muscles. Tension in your chest muscles yanks on your upper back and neck.

To really address the root cause of your back pain, you’ve gotta take a holistic approach to alignment and posture — and I don’t mean holistic as in “natural,” but rather whole-body.

And this is exactly how I designed my Posture Rehab course.

Insurance Limits What Your Doctor Can Treat for Back Pain Relief

Part of the reason doctors only look at back pain in your back is that insurance companies often restrict what parts of your body can be treated based on the diagnosis.

So, a diagnosis of back pain means treatment must focus on your back. This is totally a function of a very broken system and not the fault of doctors at all.

But, alas, we’re all shaped by the environment within which we function, so doctors and physical therapists who work with insurance often get more or less trained to only look at the site of the complaint rather than taking a whole-body approach.

This is the biggest reason I have never taken insurance in my practice. Often, by the time clients get to me, they’ve had the piece-meal offerings of insurance-based treatment with no results and it’s time for a more comprehensive approach.

If this is you, too, take advantage of my Posture Rehab course which takes a holistic approach for long-lasting back pain relief rather just treating symptoms.

It’s totally digital so you can access it from anywhere in the world. And maybe on Mars. I’m not sure how good the wifi is there yet though.

Doctors Rely On Drugs and Surgery to Provide Back Pain Relief

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying that if you only have a hammer, everything looks like a nail, right?

Well, tools often determine the lens through which you view the body. My tools are hands-on manipulation and movement re-education, so my assessments focus on alignment because that’s what I can affect.

Doctors have very little to no training (in my experience, at least) in postural assessment. They’re looking for something they can mechanically fix (surgery) or, barring that, medicate against.

Unfortunately, if there’s nothing “wrong” with your back and therefore nothing they can operate on, drugs are often the next tool they reach for. But pain pills don’t get to the root cause of your back pain — they only eliminate the symptoms.

And as soon as you stop taking them, the pain comes back.

Surgery, while sometimes necessary and very effective, is invasive and frequently fails to get results. In fact, there’s a whole diagnosis code for “failed back surgery syndrome” — the failure of surgery to fix or correct back pain symptoms.

In my experience, most of my clients would rather take a natural approach to healing back pain and avoid the complications of drugs and surgery.

The Bottom Line for Back Pain Relief

Now, I want to emphasize that I’m not ragging on doctors here. They’re really good at what they do and I have the utmost respect for their work.

But posture and movement therapy just isn’t what they do. They’re not trained to look at the body this way, plain and simple.

Which is why many people never get real back pain relief by going through the traditional medical system.

Sometimes you’ve got to work outside the box a little bit to get what you want. Of course, you can absolutely take pain pills and limit your activity to manage your back pain — that’s totally valid.

But if that’s not the route you want to take, it might be time to try something a little out of the box.

I created the Posture Rehab digital course for people just like you. It’s based on my fifteen years of experience in clinical practice working with clients who want to move more comfortably without drugs or surgery.

Click here to read more and purchase the course >>

Systemic inflammation is at the root of many health disorders. And yet, it’s rarely talked about. Many of my clients have never heard of it. Even fewer know about using proteolytic enzymes for pain and inflammation.

Proteolytic enzymes (also called systemic enzymes) are specially formulated enzyme supplements designed to “clean up” pro-inflammatory molecules in your blood.

What that means is:

Systemic enzymes get rid of all the yucky crud that makes your body ache.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Before we talk about using proteolytic enzymes for pain and inflammation, let’s talk about what systemic inflammation is, and how to know if you have it.

Related:

• Interview with Mike Mahler: Addressing Systemic Inflammation for Pain Relief and Longevity
• 3 Essential Tips to Reduce Arthritis Pain
• No More Tight Muscles! How to eliminate muscle pain safely and naturally

What Is Systemic Inflammation?

Chronic — or systemic — inflammation happens when your immune system becomes overstimulated.

The things that overload your immune system range from stress, lack of sleep and over-exercising to consuming inflammatory foods such as sugar and alcohol.

How would you know if systemic inflammation is contributing to your pain? Good question.

Here are some common symptoms of systemic inflammation:

• Body Pain
• Fatigue
• Insomnia
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Mood disorders
• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Acid Reflux
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
• Weight Gain
• Frequent Infections

If you regularly experience any of the above symptoms, systemic inflammation could be to blame.

Your doctor can administer a blood test to measure inflammatory markers. The most common and affordable option is to test for elevated C-reactive protein.

One thing to know:

While this test does measure inflammation, it won’t specifically tell you whether an elevated level is due to chronic inflammation or a result of recent illness or injury.

But it’s a great place to start.

What Are The Health Risks of Systemic Inflammation?

You might be wondering:

Should I be worried about systemic inflammation?

I mean, if you’ve never heard about this condition before, how scary can it be?

Turns out…

Pretty scary. Systemic inflammation is at the root of many serious or even deadly health conditions.

Chronic inflammation causes your body to produce excess fibrin — a type of tissue that forms a mesh and impedes blood flow. Too much fibrin increases your risk for cardiac arrest and stroke.

Symptoms of too much fibrin in your body include:

• Chronic Fatigue
• Poor Healing
• Inflammation
• Pain
• High Blood Pressure

In addition to causing excessive fibrin production, systemic inflammation is at the root of many autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and lupus.

In short…

Controlling inflammation is the foundation of good health. From a pain management standpoint, no amount of stretching or massage will combat muscle soreness stemming from systemic inflammation.

Which brings me to…

Proteolytic Enzymes for Pain and Inflammation

What are enzymes?

Enzymes are basically just energized protein molecules. Inside your body, enzymes digest food and support metabolic processes.

Your body uses between 50,000 to 70,000 different types of enzymes, all of which are essential to life.

When enzymes are in your stomach or digestive tract, they break down food. But when they’re in your bloodstream, enzymes act as blood cleansers, dissolving pro-inflammatory proteins.

While digestive enzymes are beneficial to aid in breaking down and assimilating food, systemic enzymes—those in your bloodstream—are the ones we’ll focus on here.

Health Benefits of Proteolytic Enzymes

Proteolytic enzymes provide many wonderful benefits to your health. In addition to controlling pain and inflammation, systemic enzymes improve blood flow, dissolve blood clots, and help to alleviate allergy symptoms.

These powerful enzymes also destroy invading bacteria, viruses, yeasts, and fungi by breaking down the protein coating that protects them from your immune system.

They can prevent delayed onset muscle soreness — the achiness you feel after working out — and speed athletic recovery.

But they also dissolve fibrin.

Yes, that nasty mesh of tissue that increases your risk of heart attack and stroke can be defeated by a simple protein-dissolving enzyme.

In breaking down fibrin, proteolytic enzymes also help to disintegrate arterial plaque that can lead to a heart attack.

Yay!

As if that weren’t enough, cancer cells also hide beneath webs of fibrin, making it impossible for the immune system to attack them. So, proteolytic enzymes may be useful in preventing some types of cancer (although to my knowledge there are no definitive studies on this to date).

How to Use Proteolytic Enzymes for Pain and Inflammation

Your body stops producing enzymes as you get older. And by older, I mean that enzyme production dramatically plummets past age 27.

Eek!

So, how do you get more enzymes into your body?

Fresh fruits and vegetables supply some enzymes, but cooking destroys them. Digestive enzyme supplements will aid in breaking down food, but they never make it into your bloodstream.

Supplementation is the only way to introduce high levels of proteolytic enzymes into your body.

Although, in order to reap the benefits of proteolytic enzymes in your body, you have to take specially formulated systemic enzymes. These enzymes are coated in a substance that allows them to survive harsh stomach acid.

Important:

Proteolytic enzyme supplements must be taken on an empty stomach so as not to get tangled up in any food (at which point they just become very expensive digestive enzymes).

Where Do Proteolytic Enzymes Come From?

Enzymes can be derived from either plant or animal sources. In particular, an enzyme called pancreatin is derived from the pancreas of animals.

Some researchers claim that animal-sourced pancreatin stays active in the body longer while others favor plant-based pancreatin derived from fungus.

Ultimately, whether you choose animal or vegetable-based enzymes will depend on personal preference.

Are Proteolytic Enzyme Supplements Safe?

All changes to your supplement routine should be run by your doctor first, just to be sure. But enzymes are generally regarded as safe.

They’ve been in wide use across Europe for more than fifty years. However, proteolytic enzymes can have a blood thinning effect.

As such, they can be contraindicated if you’re taking prescription blood thinners already or have an upcoming surgery.

Where Do I Find The Best Proteolytic Enzymes for Pain and Inflammation?

New enzyme formulas are constantly popping onto the market here in the US as more companies become aware of the power that enzymes have to heal our bodies on nearly every level.

Additionally, research into the field of proteolytic enzymes is constantly evolving. While there are multiple quality products on the market, selecting the right one can be overwhelming.

To take the guesswork out of it, you can find my fave proteolytic enzyme supplement for pain and inflammation in my recommended resources.

I constantly update these products as I discover new and better options.