| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Special One |
Posted - 01/27/2006 : 23:42:12
I really want my knee pain to be due to TMS because then I have a chance at healing it. It recently started grinding every time I squat or sit and aches below the knee cap. Not only that, but a series of other pains came on one after another all following a serious bout of dental work. The tooth pain before fillings/root canal caused a few panic attacks. It seemed that my muscles changed and became hot and fragile, prone to cramps and pains. The pains came in approx. this order, teeth, left knee, left hip, right neck, right knee (compensating for left knee?), right shoulder, right elbow, upper right back, right jaw-temple, left thumb, right ankle, front of pubic bone, muscles attatched to tail bone (strain?). Some resolve, some remain at varying levels, some are recurring from the past, none are excruciating (I hate that word). I am trying hard to approach it with TMS mentality but the knee grinding seems structural. The doctor says it may be something torn a bit or a floating particle. PT says it may be off track. Chiro says it will go away when the sacrum is lined up correctly. I am prone to anxiety and am very willing to work on the mind/body connection. I obviously dwell on the physical. My fear is that I will not be able to take care of my kids, the youngest of which is 1 1/2 and 30 lbs. I constantly have to crouch and bend and I am rather tall. I want to believe in healing and the capability of my body, which appears to be healthy. I went swimming, to try the "no fear" of excercise and my knee made funky sounds and ached afterward so now I am pool shy. I just want to be myself again, and not an invalid. How do I know what is TMS and what is not? I write to you because everyone in my family is tired of hearing about my pains (and so am I but they are real). Can anyone relate and advise? |
| 3 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Special One |
Posted - 01/29/2006 : 13:40:23
Thanks for the responses, I am starting to feel better already. I think it builds confidence to hear that I'm not alone in this and that there is hope for recovery. I realize that a fear I have about my knee is "what if" something is a bit torn inside and I am doing it wrong by regular use. It's that feeling that something could go wrong at any time because pains come on for no apparent reason. I need to rid myself of these fears. It is no way to live. Thanks for taking the time to write to me. I'm commited to this healing mission. |
| salamander |
Posted - 01/28/2006 : 17:11:30
I can relate. I hope this helps you...
I had a bike accident 20 years ago and injured my right knee. 2 months later I had surgery because of ongoing pain. The doctor could find no damage with the possible exception of softened/rough cartilage behind my kneecap (this is the articular cartilage that is on the back of the kneecap to help it glide - the condition is called chonromalacia). At any rate the doctor debrided (removed) the "damaged" cartilage amounting to over 50%.
To make a long story short...I had the worst ongoing severe pain for over a year. Bounced from one doctor to the next. Eventually saw Dr. Steadman (one of the best knee doctors in the country). He simply said that the surgery did not do me any favors and that I had the kneecap of an 80 year old (I was 23). Knee replacement I was told was an option or simply live with the pain.
When I went down stairs in was very loud with the telltale grinding each step I took. It was unsettling. I envisioned my arthritic deranged knee as a hopeless cause. The pain intensified.
Except....my other "good" knee made the same noise?? Around this time I learned about Sarno. He claims in his book MIND/Body that knee pain: Chondromalacia, knee cap off track, tendons, etc... are all TMS equivalents. It was a leap of faith to me, but was certainly better than facing knee replacement for an active athlete. I devoted myself totally to Sarno's beliefs because that was my last resort. I might add as I discussed in other posts that I have had numerous TMS syndromes throughout my body.
I won't go into detail about my recovery which simply involved doing everthing that Sarno suggested...including reading his book about a dozen times.
The end result: I'm now 40 and have been knee pain free for almost 20 years now. I cannot tell the difference between my right and left knee. I still get the "grinding" sound, but it does not bother me at all. I am not limited in activity, playing competative tennis for several years and engaging in long bicycle rides (100 mile tours). This last summer I road on average 25 to 30 miles per day in an effort to get in great shape. I'm not telling this to you to brag, but rather to indicate that my "80 year old" knee held up pretty good. I had NO pain before, during, or after.
My advice is to ignore the "sounds". They mean nothing...everyone in my family has them, as do my friends. As Sarno says, the human body is pretty darn resiliant and strong with a great capacity to heal. Do not obsess on the physical, pay attention to what is happening in you're mind. If you continue to go to various health practitioners I will promise you that you will get any many different dianosis and suggestions. This will feed into TMS. It is a downward spiral that you don't want to get caught up in.
Regards,
Doug
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| HilaryN |
Posted - 01/28/2006 : 04:33:01
quote:
I really want my knee pain to be due to TMS because then I have a chance at healing it.
quote:
I just want to be myself again, and not an invalid.
Yes, I can relate to that! I think many of us turn to the TMS approach because it’s our only hope.
quote:
I want to believe in healing and the capability of my body, which appears to be healthy.
Believe it!
quote:
How do I know what is TMS and what is not?
In order to avoid being overwhelmed by trying to tackle too many things at once you might want to try tackling just one or a couple of things – unless the pain is moving around, which it seems to be in your case. That is typical of TMS.
Once I’d got rid of my biggest ailment, RSI, I then started successfully tackling other smaller conditions which had an apparently “physical” cause (e.g. diet).
quote:
I obviously dwell on the physical.
quote:
I write to you because everyone in my family is tired of hearing about my pains (and so am I but they are real).
Of course the pain is real – the fact that it may be caused by the mind doesn’t mean it isn’t real.
It’s hard to ignore the physical when you’re in pain. But getting better through the mindbody approach does mean you have to put more emphasis on the mind. As a suggestion, whenever you get pain, don’t focus on it too much. It might be best to stop talking about it to your family because by talking about it you’re increasing your focus on the physical.
Instead, try and observe it in a detached way and say to yourself “Hmm, I wonder what’s going on in my mind which could be causing that?”
Also, do have a good read through past posts on this forum, because there’s lots of good advice.
All the best,
Hilary N |
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