| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| jade |
Posted - 06/04/2004 : 13:29:46
I need help! I get severe muscle spasms in my right lower back. The middle of my back doesn't hurt. I have had pain there (right lower back) off and on for years but not the spasms like I have gotten for the past two years. It is excruiating. As soon as the pain eases, which sometimes can take days, I get another attack. My right side of my body is slightly rotated -one hip and shoulder higher and more forward than the other side. So is this a TMS thing or something else since my body is not perfectly aligned. What do you all think? Thanks so much. |
| 9 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| austingary |
Posted - 06/05/2004 : 18:05:04
I have gotten the Pain Free book and I have been doing for exercises for hip pain for 5 days with no relief. The foot pain that has plagued me for so long went away about 99% immediately after I did the foot exercises.
Anytime you get any "immediate" relief from doing anything like this, that is unusual, I think. Normally, if you have a chronic problem that has persisted for years, it is going to take a long time for it to go away, even if you are no longer doing anything to make it worse. Most often there is no quick fix.
From the time that it was pointed out to me that I was holding my pelvis rigidly when I stood and walked, it probably took me a month to really feel what I was doing and then to be able to relax those muscles. Still longer to change that habit and learn to move around with my abs relaxed and pelvis dropped into neutral. Even longer for the chronic soreness to fade away. |
| Sadiesue |
Posted - 06/05/2004 : 14:35:58
I know austingary will protest to the "TMS purist" response, but I know that I have tried about 800 different exercise programs and they rarely help for long. My advice: really try to do the TMS work and see if you have any improvement. Do it like a scientific experiment and eliminate any variables that could take credit for the TMS improvement. And then, if you seem stuck or don't get any better, you can always go back to trying new physical-exercise answers that seem to apply to you. |
| jade |
Posted - 06/05/2004 : 12:49:06
Thanks so much everybody. I really appreciate your replies.
Austingary, on your advice to others I have gotten the Pain Free book and I have been doing for exercises for hip pain for 5 days with no relief. On the fourth day the back spasm happened. The foot pain that has plagued me for so long went away about 99% immediately after I did the foot exercises. And I didn't even do them completely correctly because I was reading the book on a plane and didn't lay down to do them; just did them sitting in the seat. My foot had gradually been getting better way before I did the foot exercises so I don't know whether to attribute the lessening of the foot pain as just TMS that got better or if the foot exercise did the trick. My foot was all but normal. I couldn't believe it. It felt better than it has for over a year. In fact I wore regular shoes yesterday for the first time in months and months. There were about 3 pain free days. Today, my foot burns and stings and hurts. Not as bad as before but there is definitely something there again.
I just don't know what to do.
Any advice with the above in mind would greatly be appreciated.
Thanks again. |
| austingary |
Posted - 06/05/2004 : 10:44:40
You are getting the usual "TMS only" advice that is normally handed out here and if you do only have TMS, then it is good advice. Unfortunately, many people have TMS laid over other muscular problems which they need to address. That was certainly the case with me.
The hip and shoulder being higher on one side is almost certainly because your muscles are pulling them higher -- not because of bones out of place. This is undoubtedly something you are doing unconsciously. But if you could stop doing it, your muscles would relax, then, over time, the trigger point knots and attendant pain would stop.
I learned from an exercise therapist that I had been walking around for years with my abs and pelvis-area muscles held tightly, which caused chronic soreness. It took me at least a month just to be able to feel what I was doing and begin to release the tension.
In the past two years, I have not only done the anti-TMS psychological work for that part of my pain but also I have worked on relaxing my abs, muscles around my hip bones & lower back when sitting. I sit, stand, walk and run differently than I did 2-3 years ago. (And the butt and leg pain I was suffering with so much a couple of years ago is gone.)
A great resource I found a couple of months ago is the book "Pain Free" by Pete Egoscue. I do the 20-minutes of gentle daily exercises at the end of his book. Just doing them for a couple of weeks eliminated the hamstring pain and stiffness while running that I had dealt with for years. So, I recommend this book to you highly. |
| Sadiesue |
Posted - 06/05/2004 : 09:21:06
You know what I have been noticing? That it is so easy for me to see TMS in other people. My dad has also had some really bad back spasms lately and the connection between a stressful event and his pain seems like a no-brainer. But when it comes to myself I can never see that connection right away. I wonder if it is because it is because we automatically repress those "bad" emotions and can't make the conscious connection? Or maybe the idea that pain always has a physical cause is so ingrained and in a lot of ways easier to believe?
So, my advice is to just ignore your spasms as much as you can (maybe take some pain medicine and realize there is nothing wrong with your back and you will not hurt it by moving around, try to stay active by walking and going about your normal routine) and once you get enough distance from the stressful emotional events causing your current pain, the connection will be as clear to you as it seems to us.
You might also try watching Dr. Sarno's videos. There is a study guide included with the videos that I have been using to list all the stressors in my life (work, family, childhood experiences) that may be adding to the RAGE that is causing my pain. |
| jade |
Posted - 06/05/2004 : 09:11:13
My right side of my body is slightly rotated -one hip and shoulder higher and more forward than the other side.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Who told you that? A chiropractor? Forget it."
No, actually it is so obvious that I can see it in the mirror myself. So do you still think this is TMS?
Thanks
|
| alamogirl |
Posted - 06/04/2004 : 17:18:44
Forgot all about the body out of alignment stuff -- it's a bunch of nonsense. By all means, read Sarno's books (The MindBody Prescription is my favorite). I have had three severe lower right back spasms over the past 11 years (and completely recovered between "attacks." Each one followed a protracted period of severe stress. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out -- although an orthopedic surgeon I saw after the first episode couldn't wait to open me up and start cutting away! Thankfully, I had the good sense to pass on that suggestion. I was told I have scoliosis, my hip is rotated, one leg is shorter than the other, I have a herniated disc . . . well, you know what, so do loads of other people who are symptom free. Started thinking psychological, Jade. I am positive you will see yourself immediately in Sarno's books. Good luck. |
| Dave |
Posted - 06/04/2004 : 15:06:59
quote:
Originally posted by jade
My right side of my body is slightly rotated -one hip and shoulder higher and more forward than the other side.
Who told you that? A chiropractor? Forget it.
Think about what has changed in your life since the pain started getting worse. There may be some unresolved emotional conflicts. Back spasms are usually TMS, especially when they come on for no (physical) reason. |
| Susie |
Posted - 06/04/2004 : 13:47:30
Read the book! You are concentrating on the pain instead of the cause of the pain. It will not stop until you deal with the causes. You must understand this and be able to get past the fear. |
