Are you tired of chronic aches and pains that interfere with your workouts and block fatloss and fitness results? Chronic pain affects nearly everybody at some point and is most often caused by injuries, postural imbalances, and stress. When you're struggling to stay lean and fit because of pain, the most important thing you can do is get busy with natural pain relief techniques.

Natural pain relief technique #1: Roll Away the Tension
One of the best ways to get relief for neck shoulder pain and to finally get some knee and leg pain relief is to roll away the pain. You can use foam rollers, the Miracle Ball Method, or the Yamuna Body Rolling Technique. All these techniques require that you lay on a foam roller or therapy balls and that you roll over areas that are tight and tense. It’s a great technique for people of all ages and fitness levels that reduces muscular tension and is similar to a trigger point massage. The only downside to this technique is that it can be tricky to maneuver your body over the roller or balls if you have limited mobility but the relief you get from this technique is definitely worth the trouble.

Natural pain relief technique #2: Tape Up Your Trouble Zones
Therapeutic Tape or Acupressure Tape is one of the best hip, knee, shoulder, neck, and back pain relief products around. The tape is made from an elastic cotton fiber that is latex free and is applied directly on the skin at or around the site of pain. It works by providing support for joints and muscles, and can be used to lengthen tight muscles and to promote lymph tissue drainage. It’s also a great biofeedback tool that can assist with correcting postural imbalances. Watch the video to see the KT tape application that I used just recently. You can also read about my taping adventures in the forums.

Natural pain relief technique #3: Relax With Self Massage& Imagery
If you’ve tried massage then you already know that it can be one of the best pain relief techniques around. The problem with massage is that it’s expensive, time consuming, and it doesn’t teach your muscles how to stay relaxed. A better massage technique is something called dynamic alignment through imagery. This technique also known as The Franklin Method is very easy to learn and teaches you effective imagery that you focus on while you self massage or apply pressure where you feel pain. It works by re-enforcing a mind body connection that promotes a relaxed tense free body.

Not sure what technique will work for you? I wasn't either so I tried them all while recovering from painful injuries and found that they all work in different ways. The technique that gets you the fastest relief is the foam roller but it's not the easiest solution for those with limited mobility. The easiest technique is the therapeutic tape but it’s also not a long term solution so it works best when combined with other techniques. The technique that works best long term is the dynamic alignment through imagery but it’s also the hardest to focus on when you’re in pain. Be sure to experiment with various techniques to find one or two that work for you.

Roll away the pain on a foam roller that's soft and comfortable. Try the OPTP Pro-Roller Soft - Pink Marble. You can combine rolling with Therapeutic Tape or Acupressure Tape for even faster relief.