| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| phyllis |
Posted - 01/28/2007 : 05:37:18
I have worn orthotics for years because of flat feet.
My legs have been playing up again since Christmas with VERY sore shins and tenderness. My podiatrist may get my orthotics tweaked as my feet have actually improved and I now have a slight arch. Three cheers for Phyllis's arches everyone!
Some days my pain is not bad, others it is horrid like today.
I never seen shin splints on the forum,. Has anyone else got over this. I have given in today and for the first time taken Ibuprofen.
I have read Sarno and had acupuncture.
I keep saying to my legs 'Stop hurting'. They don't hurt when I sit down, just when I walk. I am dying to start cycling again.
Advice anyone? My back has settled down and do you think it has moved to my legs out of a sort of spite?
Phyllis |
| 12 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| tennis tom |
Posted - 01/29/2007 : 13:52:08
Phyllis, in the TMS spirit of returning to normal activity and staying fit, I would reccommend running in a swimming pool or using an AquaJogger or one of those noodle pool floatation things for no impact deep-water running.
Good Luck |
| art |
Posted - 01/29/2007 : 11:50:09
YOu're right Nor. But even many injuries that are structurally induced....tendonitis to pick the biggest one in terms of overuse...are now being shown to heal more quickly not with rest, but with continued activity, even the very activity that led to the trouble in the first place...
So you see, either way... |
| Nor |
Posted - 01/29/2007 : 09:43:55
Hi All,
Phyllis, I misread you post so I guess TMS is likely in your case.
My question was not specifically directed towards Phyllis's issue - just used her as an example. I was trying to get an idea if my image of TMS - a physical problem that lasts a long time w/no lasting consistent response to treatment - was that of others' image. I still have to watch that I don't throw everything into the TMS pail. Our bodies are fantastic, resilient machines, yes. But machines to break down and parts need repair from time to time. At times, its hard to draw a fine line. There's always grey areas. TMSers don't like grey! Nor |
| art |
Posted - 01/29/2007 : 08:09:04
I've always assumed my shin splints, to the minor extent I've had them are structural. In the worst case, they go away after a few days rest. If I had them for 9 years, I'd definitely consider TMS...Very few things in the way of over use syndromes should last more than a month or two..
I agree with TT...nobody here can tell you what's going on with you, but to those of us who've been around for a while, you sure sound like a good candidate for TMS... |
| phyllis |
Posted - 01/29/2007 : 07:47:31
Hey, I have had this problem for years and have been using orthotics for about ten years. I got 'shin splints' in approximately 1997 when I was a long distance runner.
I have not had them for just a month. I am sorry I misled you all. If I take the orthotics out now the pain is much worse.
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| tennis tom |
Posted - 01/29/2007 : 06:28:53
Hi Nor,
I would have no way of knowing for SURE if Phyllis' "shin splints" are legitimate or not. I am not a doctor and I can't see or feel her muscles over the internet to see if they are swollen. But everything in her post cries out TMS, including her acupuncturist.
(By the way, acupuncture has been proven to be a placebo, so save your money and do something else for soothing).
I've run 13 marathons and on occassion did 4 road races a weekend and never got shin splints. I've worn different types of orthodtics, including the $150 kind that chiros reccommend to supplement their incomes with (ka-ching, ka-ching) as well as the $500-$1000 kind that really cool running podiatrists sell you. I didn't feel any difference wearing them or not, except sometimes they hurt alot, but only when I was loseing a match. I don't wear them anymore and don't feel any different. I remember a guy in our running club who ran everyhthing barefoot and never had any problems.
The body, including the legs, is much stronger than we give it credit for--the problem is the mind. The mind gives up before the body does. In my running days before I'd ever heard of TMS I always suspected that shin-splints and stess-fractures were TMS. The people who got them, in retrospect, fitted the TMS profile. |
| Nor |
Posted - 01/29/2007 : 05:29:55
TT,
I've always appreciated your no-nonsense approach that keeps us all focused on the real deal but I've got a legitimate question for you and the group here - something I've been wondering about for months. Aren't we assuming that there are SOME physical problems that can occur in our bodies by physical causes? Phyllis said she's had these shin pains only since Christmas. That was just one month ago. My impression was that physical pain can morph into TMS. When pain does not subside after a reasonable period of time/treatment, we should become suspicious and begin looking a psycholocical causes. If Phyllis actually fractured her tibia, it would show on an X ray and we'd all assume: Physical. Shin splints are trauma to the muscle rather than bone. They cause swelling and pain which cannot be detected on a film. Anyway, if she's only had the problem for a month, it seems prudent to me that she should at least try physical means first. The stories I hear that ring true for TMS are the ones where people describe diagnoses that have not responded to long periods and several attempts at physical treatment.
Nor |
| tennis tom |
Posted - 01/28/2007 : 21:07:49
Page 337 TDM Marc Sopher, M.D.
"Many have already had many types of treatment, with no response to some and only temporary response to others (placebo). These treatments have included oral medications, injections, massage, surgery, orthotic devices, and so on. They do not have longterm success because the treatments are based on erroneous diagnoses. Treating a psychologically caused symptom with a physical modality like those noted above is bound to fail." |
| Nor |
Posted - 01/28/2007 : 19:49:56
Okay, my advice may not be popular on this forum but I will tell you that my shin splints (microtrauma to the muscle that attaches to the front of the tibia or shinbone) went away after a 2 week rest period from my power-walks and constant icing. Btw, biking is not a typical cause of shin splints b/c its not high impact but it can exacerbate them. That said - for the record, I'm a believer in TMS but I also think that symptom relief is important. Life is short. If you're careful, you can still do the work of TMS if you are using physical means of relief. IMHO.
Nor |
| art |
Posted - 01/28/2007 : 17:45:33
quote:
Originally posted by phyllis
I have been wearing orthotics for many years, long before I heard of Sarno. If I take them out now, pain becomes much worse!
So I am stuck between a rock and a hard place!
P
No rock, no hard place. I wore orthotics for over ten years and then simply stopped. No pain, no repercussions, no nothing, but freedom from having to buy 300 dollar inserts evry few years...
That said, I'd probably wean from them a bit more slowly than I did, especially if you're a runner...Sounds like you've got a long way to go re TMS, but posting here is a good beginning step.
By the way, I'm not sure why biking would aggravate/cause shin splints, which I always thought were caused by repeated micro-trauma from impact activities like running, basketball, dancing etc.
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| phyllis |
Posted - 01/28/2007 : 14:59:14
I have been wearing orthotics for many years, long before I heard of Sarno. If I take them out now, pain becomes much worse!
So I am stuck between a rock and a hard place!
P |
| Dave |
Posted - 01/28/2007 : 07:33:03
I have flat feet too. Never wore orthotics.
Seems you fall into the category or reading Dr. Sarno but not following the program. Step 1 is repudiating the structural diagnosis and stopping all physical treatments, yet you go to a podiatrist and acupuncurist and wear orthotics.
You acknowledge the very things Sarno talks about (conditioning and symptom substitution) yet don't accept that it is TMS.
If you want to treat the leg pain as TMS then you have more work to do. |
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