| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| kdw |
Posted - 02/27/2006 : 16:40:32
I'll try to keep this short and not include a bunch of history, but I need some advice on how quickly I should proceed with escalating phyical activity. I've been slowly resuming "normal activity" for about the past three months, starting with three minutes on a stationary bike and light weight lifting. After I got up to 20 minutes on the bike, I added three minutes of walking on the treadmill and continue (still) to add weight/movements in my lifting routine. I am now up to 30 minutes on the bike, following by 25 minutes of walking on the treadmill, and have increased my speed/intensity on both.
Last week, I decided to start walking outside (on concrete and asphalt) to speed this up a bit (and to get out of the garage/gym). My goal, of course, is to resume running. However, the outside walk resulted in lots of pain, which I have not had (at this level) for months. There is nothing new going on in my life emotionally, and I continue to work with my journaling and emotional issues, so I believe my brain has not reacted well to the change in physical activity.
My question: Is it better to forget running for right now and focus on the things I am improving at - biking, lifting and walking on the treadmill - or should I proceed with walking/running outside to "show" my brain that I am not afraid? Obviously, there is part of me that is afraid. How should I deal with this? Should I back off until, say, I can run on the treadmill or is it essential that I conquer my fear of exercising on harder surfaces?
I would appreciate hearing about others' experiences and any advice anyone is willing to give. |
| 8 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Suz |
Posted - 02/28/2006 : 14:47:38
Great discussion for me. I first discovered Sarno about 18 months ago. It has been a long journey for me but I have been able to resume all activity - my skin problems have near gone away, my sciatica has gone away - sometimes flares up but then goes immediately as i just laugh at it and switch to think about what is bothering me. The last thing I had left to face was running. Sarno's method has worked for me slowly - it really comes down to the "FEAR". Fear perpetuates all of this. I can confidently say that I am 100% without fear. This is why I have had a breakthrough in the last 5 months. If the pain comes on, I really don't care - laugh and igore it. I then broke my foot just as I was about to run again. Now - 4 months later, I decided to give it a go. You see - I don't care if I am in pain. The bottom line is that running does not cause issues - our bodies are designed for all kinds of movement. The fear has gone - completely. This is the secret of Sarno's cure.
So I went running two days ago. My hips started to twinge after 10 minutes - I laughed and ran harder - telling myself with absolute confidence that it is just conditioning and telling off my brain. I managed for 25 minutes as the gym was closing. I did not experience any diziness - that is the other equivalent I used to get. Afterwards, my hip was a little twingey - I just ignored it.
The next day - yesterday - i went running again. This time I wanted to do 30 minutes. My hip pain tried to come on about 10 minutes into it - I flinched and almost stopped - then realized that was ridiculous and laughed. At the same time, I got a stitch in my side which I laughed at as well. I managed the full 30 minutes.
YEAH!!!! This is after 12 years of not being able to even walk fast on a treadmill. I will continue to run for the rest of this week. - You see - we can do what we want - all of this comes from the brain.
To sum up - once the FEAR has gone, you have beaten it. All one can have left is a little conditioning issue - and that goes with time.
THANK YOU SARNO! I feel amazing!
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| kdw |
Posted - 02/28/2006 : 12:17:11
Thanks everyone for the words of wisdom. I actually had an idea earlier today and plan to implement it this week. I figure it has worked for me so far to start everything with only a few minutes and then work up to more time, so I think I'm going to simply add a few minutes of walking outside to my bike/treadmill routine. I'll do five minutes this week, 10 next week and then 15 and so on. This way, I'll continue to confront the fear but hopefully won't overload my brain with too much activity too soon.
I'm curious which surfaces those of you who don't feel good about running on hard surfaces use. Also, I know they say dirt or sand is best, then gravel, then asphalt, etc., but I wonder how this fits in with Sarno. In other words, if running on asphalt has never hurt before and the pain is not caused by physical activity, is running on hard surfaces really bad for us? If we believe this, are we in conflict with Sarno? If we stay on the treadmill or go to great effort to find dirt or gravel for our workouts, are we avoiding "normal activity" out of fear and therefore inviting the pain to continue, or are we simply being smart and extending our athletic lives? |
| electraglideman |
Posted - 02/28/2006 : 08:57:51
Hello KDW,
You didn't say what kind of pain you were experiencing but it doesn't really matter if it is the result of TMS.
If your wanting to escalate your physical activity I would recommend joining a gym near your home. Don't just concentrate on certain activities like running or biking. The gym will have trainers there that will start you out at any level for an overall exercize program.
It will get you out of the house. You will meet new people that will give you words of encouragement.
There are a lot of people who refuse to go to a gym because they think it will be full of nothing but the bodybuilder types. I have found most gyms are filled with people who are out of shape and starting a new lease on life.
Don't try to go it alone. Join a gym and work out with people who have the same interest as you. |
| art |
Posted - 02/28/2006 : 08:00:49
I hate concrete 'cause it feels so unforgiving. I'll run on it when I have no choice though...
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| wrldtrv |
Posted - 02/27/2006 : 23:20:42
KDW--Do you know that your treadmill may have a HARDER surface than asphalt? Maybe even of concrete, because a treadmill surface is metal under than thin strip of rubber. I know the professional treadmills I sometimes us seem harder to me than the roads outside so I only use them when the weather is miserable. I know a woman who was told by her ortho that she was better of running outside than on a treadmill.
If you are going to run outside the best surface is dirt or gravel. After that, asphalt. Concrete is the worst, but so is grass (surprisingly) because it is an uneven surface that tends to irritate the knees.
Just so you'll know I have some credibility on this subject, I've been a runner for 28 years and am currently training for my 12th marathon. |
| vikki |
Posted - 02/27/2006 : 22:08:37
kdw,
Personally, I would keep walking or running on concrete. Bear the pain. So what if you're worried about it? Yes, that means you'll experience more pain. But as long as you can bear it, you're still in control regardless of the worries or anything else. I'm not an expert, and I think different approaches work for different people. But I can tell you that this is the ONLY thing that worked for me. I can't control the worry and fear I have -- and I still *do* worry a lot about running on concrete (like you, I've had a lot of people warn me about this). But I *can* continue to run on concrete and bear whatever pain I may experience. It is empowering to realize this, and *gradually* I find myself thinking less about the dangers of concrete. This doesn't mean you should go out and run 10 miles on concrete all of a sudden -- but I wouldn't let it stop you from increasing your activity.
Good luck!
Vikki |
| kdw |
Posted - 02/27/2006 : 19:49:55
As hard as I try not to, I can't seem to get it out of my head that the concrete and asphalt is "bad" for me. I try to self correct this thinking as soon as it comes up, but it's there. Also, it seems like everyone wants to tell me how horrible hard surfaces are for me, and even though I try to dismiss what they say, I find myself rolling it over in my mind. So, yes, I guess I am afraid of it, and I no doubt do expect pain. Somewhere, in the deep recesses of my mind, I fear I am doing too much, too soon and that I could somehow hurt myself and go backwards after all the hard work I've put into getting better. |
| geeta |
Posted - 02/27/2006 : 17:54:48
I was scared of running on concrete for the past 2 years and would only run on grass, but would still have pain anyway...........
after my last bout of pains in my abs and groin area when i did no running at all for 3 months i read Monte Hueftle's book which gave me the confidence to go out and start running on the concrete again
I think you have to challenege yourself a little bit, and i think the fear of having pain is what is stopping you!
It's hard.........i am know running 2 miles 3x a week and swimming twice a week, but i still have fear about going back to playing soccer which is my sport....yes FEAR of pain is hard
when you are going out on the concrete do you think to yourself that you are going to feel pain?
are you waiting for the pain to happen?
n davies |
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