Pain

[paul078]

Pain pain go away come back other day i have horrible pain chronic neck and back pain now i have chronic headaches 😣😭 naproxen isnt helping and co codamol are useless ....

[LeighBlyth]

Pain can come from poor posture. Something gets sore, you adjust to avoid the pain but the pain spreads as more and more muscles get sore and tense, and your posture gets worse. Back pain ... neck pain ... headaches are often due to misusage of muscles and increased stress on the body.

Ask yourself:

How is your physical condition?

Is your posture (the positioning of your body) good?

Is your body free of tension?

Does it feel balanced and comfortable? Or is your body stiff and tense ?

Do you move well? Or can you feel areas that are restricted?

Working with the "5 main muscles of movement" was my way out of decades of pain. If you are interested in learning to use your body better, focus on these muscles starting from Base-Line:

1. Pelvic floor the "Base" of the body.

2. Rectus abdominis "Line". From pelvis to chest, these muscles should be active and extended supporting the rest of the body.

Practice "breathing with your Base-Line", as you breathe in through your nostrils think of activating your pelvic floor and rectus abdominis muscles - extending your midline at the front of your abdomen with every breath. Move as feels natural and relax the rest of your body. If you look at the image below you can see how the rectus abdominis connects the pelvis to the chest. If these muscles are not active it puts a lot of strain on the lower back.

3.Gluteus maximus - big ass muscles. Hands on buttocks feel them contract.

4. Rectus femoris - like strong poles down the front of each thigh, aligning the hip and knee joints when fully active.

5. Trapezius. The trapezius muscles connect the upper body to Base-Line support. Extending from midback to the back of the skull, shoulder to shoulder. These muscles should be free to extend, supporting the head and arms through a full range of movement.

The upper body can carry a lot of tension and restrictions causing a lot of pain in the neck, head and arms. By focusing on the trapezius muscles this can be worked through and released over time. Movement of the upper body should start from the lower trapezius - think of lifting your shoulder blades up from below, starting at midback and moving upwards and outwards.

I'm more than happy to answer questions - give the anatomy a bit of consideration. Focus on activating your Base-Line and see what you can feel.

5 main muscles of movement. The key to better posture and less pain.

[Eddie49 in reply to LeighBlyth]

I have really bad mid and upper back pain which I believe is caused by bad posture. The pain can be severe to manageable. Trouble is I am now 71 years old and feel sometimes that I am too long in the tooth to make any permanent changes. I am on Apixaban for Atrial Fibrillation so cannot take Ibruprofen etc. I have tried many exercises on You Tube and those given by physical therapists. I would be grateful if you could suggest anything online that I could try to help in the areas you outline above. Thanks. Mike

[LeighBlyth in reply to Eddie49]

Hi Eddie.

What sort of exercises have you been doing/told to do?

I'm not a fan of set exercises as such but they are a source of inspiration for movement. If you are not using the right muscles to do exercises then they add to the strain on the body. (I used to struggle to do things because I'd been told they would help - but they just made things worse for me.)

Learning the anatomy of the main muscles of movement (finding them on your body rather than learning all the details) and feeling for their condition and state of balanced will guide you in movements to improve your posture.

Everything starts from Base-Line:

Pelvic floor - the Base of the body. A basket of muscles that should be tight and secure. Kegel exercises work with the pelvic floor so reading up about them is a good start. The pelvic floor contains the anal and urethral sphincters on midline so trying to activate them is one way to connect with the pelvic floor.

Rectus abdominis - the body's central Line. The rectus abdominis extends from the pubic symphysis of the pelvis to the lower ribs. Think of each section of muscle activating and extending from pelvis to chest as your breathe in (through your nostrils).

baselinehealing.com/techniq...

I find it useful to use my hands to tap up the front of my abdomen as I breath in, feeling my midline extend and thinking of each pair of panels of muscles of the rectus abdominis activating in turn. Stronger and longer with every in breath.

Working with your Base-Line is the first step to feeling how to move to improve your posture. Move the rest of your body as feels natural - from wiggling your fingers, stretching your toes. Swinging your arms, bending your knees .... whatever feels right whilst activating your Base-Line muscles. Think of them as the body's 'core pillar of strength' from where the rest of the body extends.

I can only add one image to a post. Part two will follow!

Base-Line - pelvic floor and rectus abdominis muscles from pelvis to chest.

[LeighBlyth in reply to Eddie49]

The trapezius muscles are the key muscles to focus on for the upper body.

The trapezii extend from mid back (level with the last rib/last thoracic vertebra) all the way up to the back of the skull, extending out towards each shoulder attaching to the shoulder blade and collar bone.

Feel for the midline bump at the back of your skull - the external occipital protuberance - and the ridge either side to find the top of the muscles.

As you breathe with your Base-Line and extend your abdomen, think of shrugging your shoulders with the movement starting at the lower trapezius - lifting your shoulders up from below rather than pulling them up from above. Use the muscles to lift, then let your shoulders drop as you relax and see how that feels. It can take time to activate the right muscles if you are not used to using them so keep trying.

Think of your arms as including the scapula rather than starting from the shoulder. Like wings spreading wide starting from mid back, connected to Base-Line support.

The trapezius muscles. Movement should start from the lower trapezius.

[LeighBlyth in reply to Eddie49]

Breathe with your Base-Line.

Start to activate your lower trapezius muscles.

Move your body as feels natural and see what you experience. I could feel how badly my head was positioned to my body, how much tension and restricted tissues my upper body carried, rounded shoulders fixed in place, head tilted etc. Little by little improvements are made guided by your body.

Finding a connection to your midline anatomy via these muscles (the linea alba between the rectus abdominis and the nuchal and supraspinous ligaments between the trapezius) will help you move and adjust to improve your posture.

I'm more than happy to answer questions and explain more if you'd like.

Base-Line and trapezius muscles.

[Eddie49 in reply to LeighBlyth]

Leigh, thank you very much for these posts. I will go through the information and see what I can do. At first glance it looks complicated, though it's probably not. Wish I could see and follow a video of the sequences to make sure I am following correctly. Thanks again, I am very grateful. Mike

[LeighBlyth in reply to Eddie49]

Hi,

It isn't that complicated I promise! The anatomy can seem off-putting if you are not familiar with it and I use a lot of words (trying to make it easy to understand but I'm not sure I manage that). I'm very camera shy (and don't have the facilities to make a video at the moment) but it is something I will do one day.

Until then ... keep "breathing with your Base-Line". Think stronger and longer with every in breath.

Activate pelvic floor. (It takes practice to activate the right muscles.)

Picture your rectus abdominis muscles up the front of your abdomen and think of the sections of muscle activating and extending in sequence from pelvis to chest.

Use your hands to guide you - move them from midline at the front of the pelvis (pubic symphysis) to belly-button to breastbone as you breathe in.

With each breath feel your midline lengthen.

Keep practicing and see how you feel.

I'll stop there for now, let me know when you are ready for more!

Rectus abdominis muscles, pelvis to chest. Two strips made up of panels of muscle.

[LeighBlyth in reply to Eddie49]

Just another picture to illustrate how central the rectus abdominis muscles are to the body. Our 'core pillar of strength' from where the rest of the body extends. When they are fully activated and extended the body is on it's way to being more balanced and aligned.

The trapezius muscles are the key muscles to focus on for the upper body. They should be free to extend in all directions, supporting the head and arms through a full range of natural movement.

Good posture with the main muscles of movement.

[Eddie49 in reply to LeighBlyth]

Thank you Leigh.

[crashclown]

I get it paul078,i have bad chronic pain in neck,back n alot more places.I can't even sleep,eat n etc.Hang in there my friend,we can get thru this.Almost forgot..distraction with tv,music,etc.Make sure u have positive support around u also,that's huge.And being on here where others get it does help.Best to u.