| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| AnthonEE |
Posted - 10/25/2007 : 13:49:01
This is the big TMS dilemma for me: (a) assume it's not a real injury but TMS instead. If wrong then risk chronic or aggravated injury and disability... (b) assume it is a real injury and rest. If wrong then become paralyzed by the fear again and again and again because when does this road ever end?
Recently, I fear going for a walk that's too long or too fast (never mind a run or hike or marathon with my 40 year old best friend) because if it's not TMS then I'll aggravate the chronic leg muscle injury/pain, and then I'll be unable to even walk. I've been there before and boy does it ever put a damper on quality of life. I have been truly paralyzed by fear.
My girlfriend and I watched a documentary about FDR last week about his struggle with polio. I was very taken by the boldness with which this man attacked his physical limitations each and every day, to the very end of his life. I said to her, "well if I were in his position I'd be bold too because what would I have to lose? Clearly I'm different because today I can walk, whereas if I screw up and take that extra risk, then tomorrow maybe I cannot walk. FDR on the other hand was crippled and had little to lose by taking risks and trying."
To that she said "Well, smartypants, you actually are crippled, because you've made yourself so. How are you not crippled with this fear? What have you really got to lose? If you screw up, how will it be so different???" And to that I thought, "hmmm.... Is this why we men have women in our lives, to speak reason to us?"
So anyway I really thought about this many times now. I've learned enough about TMS/AOS over the last two months. And I have reached a one hundred percent commitment to get up and start moving again, within reason. I won't be running a marathon any time soon, but last sunday I did go for a short run. First time in a year! And I didn't die... at least not yet 
Anyway, this FDR documentary and my girlfriend's comments really gave me something to think about. What I came to was, what is the risk/reward equation? After honestly thinking about facing the pain to do a walk, run, bike, hike, marathon, whatever, first ask myself what is the upside and what is the downside? What really is the risk I am taking? What are the positive versus negative outcomes? What are they REALLY? Then weight that in the context of where I am today, and what I now know about TMS and psychosomatic disability.
So after two months of reading, posting, journaling, thinking... off I go, pain be damned. Please wish me luck! To close, I suppose I need to offer the obligatory:
quote:
Originally posted by Franklin Delano Roosevelt
... So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself -- nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance...
Words some of us "paralyzed" folks would do well to remember, and endeavor each day to live by... |
| 10 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| armchairlinguist |
Posted - 10/26/2007 : 15:43:57
The ability of the body to cope with normal activity should not be underestimated, in my opinion.
Deconditioning affects athletic endeavor and strenuous activity. I don't think it really affects the day to day life of most people in developed nations.
Starting gradually makes sense, but don't underestimate the ability of your body to come up to speed quickly as you ask more of it!
--
It's not 100% belief that's required, but 100% commitment. |
| AnthonEE |
Posted - 10/26/2007 : 09:39:23
quote:
Originally posted by mcone
...For occupational computer use and more aggressive athletic activities, I probably need to come up with a plan to build up endurance gradually. (I think this is the general conservative approach suggested by Sarno, Amir and Nate McNamara - someone correct me if I'm wrong. Of course, I read that (some) others have just jumped back into everything full tilt and have also done well.) ...
Generally, I try to think to myself, that short of doing something extreme (like trying to bicycle 65 miles like I did last year) I'm probably not aggravating or prolonging any injuries and I'm much more likely pushing my bodymind/nervous system through a necessary deconditioning process that will eventually normalize all these things.
...
From a conventional physical (non TMS) viewpoint, I really like the NYT article recently posted by Vikki. It says that gradual return to activity is better than rest for healing an injury more optimally. It's what I observed to be the case for my own recent back injury, and I suspect there is a lot of wisdom to this advice for other non back related problems too.
From a purely psychosomatic viewpoint, one could question the very existence of certain injuries or overuse issues right from the very beginning. Or, one could question a chronic problem after a legitimate strain ache or pain has had enough time to heal normally. From this psychological viewpoint, the treatment ALSO involves gradual return to activity as well.
Whether you choose to look at it in the context of TMS, or in the context of more progressive conventional treatment (assuming there is no pathological deformity, disease, or serious injury) then the return to physical activity just seems like the healthy approach. Both physically and psychologically. And setbacks are something to be careful about in either case too.
The power of positive feedback and good emotional energy that results from returning to activity cannot be underestimated. I also think it's part of why we need to tread lightly and return gradually to avoid setbacks. The negative energy caused by a setback is extremely damaging to the recovery process, and the pressure to perform is not healthy either. I think this is where knowledge of TMS and psychosomatic disorders is so promising to me, it's a tool that allows me to diffuse the negative energy, sense of panic, and anxiety over pain that is so toxic to the mind and body.
Also, the ability of the body to physically decondition itself while "resting" due to an injury also should not be underestimated. It can cause a snowball effect. You "hurt" yourself, then "rest" because you think you're hurt, then later return to activity just to "hurt" something else that has become deconditioned. Not good. The only thing that should become deconditioned is the mind's one track record of pain and injury.
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| mamaboulet |
Posted - 10/26/2007 : 08:26:26
I lived with the fear that something I would do would reinjure something. I wouldn't take any pain pills (not even tylenol) because I was afraid it would cause me to overdo and then would mask the injury. What a load of crap. I'm now doing anything I want, with the knowledge that if I push my out of shape body I will feel normal soreness. Normal soreness is a good thing. It means you are actually using your body. |
| ralphyde |
Posted - 10/25/2007 : 21:08:54
"One has to confront TMS, fight it, or the symptoms will continue. Losing one's fear and resuming normal physical activity is possibly the most important part of the therapeutic process."
Dr. Sarno, Healing Back Pain, p. 81.
Best,
Ralph |
| armchairlinguist |
Posted - 10/25/2007 : 20:35:16
AnthonEE, that's terrific. You are living my sig! You've committed. Remember, if you've been checked out and diagnosed with no particular serious condition (chronic, variously sourced or sourceless soft tissue pain is not a serious condition :) then it's extraordinarily unlikely you can hurt yourself by becoming active again.
Lidge -- the pain can return on activity in early stages, especially if you are still fearful (and who wouldn't be?). Sarno recommends charting a cautious course because the setbacks can be hard to handle. Working on mental reconditioning (just changing how you think about pain, and reinforcing the TMS connections in your mind) might be the right way to go at first.
mcone -- there is no injury and you don't need to recondition, execpt, like you said, by starting with normal stuff and then moving on to real athletic endeavor (which anyone would have to do, pain or no). The conservative apporach is to avoid triggering conditioning that causes you to relapse, which can set back your recovery efforts.
--
It's not 100% belief that's required, but 100% commitment. |
| mcone |
Posted - 10/25/2007 : 20:26:32
quote:
Originally posted by AnthonEE
This is the big TMS dilemma for me: (a) assume it's not a real injury but TMS instead. If wrong then risk chronic or aggravated injury and disability... (b) assume it is a real injury and rest. If wrong then become paralyzed by the fear again and again and again because when does this road ever end?
It's basically the exact same dilemma for me.
My mind still associates the painful [insert body part here] with memory of use/overuse. And in some instances, it *seems* like what made it worse - or what pushed it into a chronic stage early on - was the trying to work through it - instead of resting - in the intial phases (albeit long before knowledge of TMS of course).
So where exactly is the dividing line between deconditioning (i.e. bebunking, unmasking) a TMS-induced pain and re-injuring? (which of course begs the questions: Was there ever even an injury to begin with? If so, has it healed to the point where only TMS-pain is left? And this whole line of thought amounts to thinking physical again)
For now (and for me), the best path I can think of is to recognize that normal every day activies will not in any way harm me. Once I've committed to any activity - at least with my wrist, I try my best to avoid any further doubt or equivocation (even if I experience moderate levels of pain) and I do my best to "talk back" and keep going.
For occupational computer use and more aggressive athletic activities, I probably need to come up with a plan to build up endurance gradually. (I think this is the general conservative approach suggested by Sarno, Amir and Nate McNamara - someone correct me if I'm wrong. Of course, I read that (some) others have just jumped back into everything full tilt and have also done well.)
Generally, I try to think to myself, that short of doing something extreme (like trying to bicycle 65 miles like I did last year) I'm probably not aggravating or prolonging any injuries and I'm much more likely pushing my bodymind/nervous system through a necessary deconditioning process that will eventually normalize all these things.
I'm definitely open for more experienced members to share other ideas... |
| JohnD |
Posted - 10/25/2007 : 16:09:41
I see what you're saying. I missed that the first read. Good point. |
| AnthonEE |
Posted - 10/25/2007 : 15:26:57
quote:
Originally posted by lidge
... however FDR did have the benefit of knowing the source of his pain and therefore what would make it better or worse (at least according to the treatment of his era). If he believed swimming in Hot Springs (I think) would make him better than he could do it with confidence. I think for many of us, its the not knowing that truly paralyzes us. But yes, at some point, you do have to say, what I've done hasn't worked and its time to do something different.
That's true, it's often the not knowing that enables the fear. If I knew what was wrong (physically) then I could just go along and deal with that for what it was. It's the not knowing that produces the question "well what if I did [insert activity here] then what will happen to my [insert issue here]"
quote:
Originally posted by JohnD
There are more options than those 2. Those would be the 2 extreme options with many options somewhere in between.
Fair enough. If by two options you mean either (a) or (b) that I described, then yes, it's going to be somewhere in between. I think what I'd like to emphasize is the need to move forward despite the fear, informed by what we've learned, especially when there may not be a huge downside after surveying the real situation. Better to have tried and failed than not to have ever tried. |
| JohnD |
Posted - 10/25/2007 : 14:57:52
There are more options than those 2. Those would be the 2 extreme options with many options somewhere in between. |
| lidge |
Posted - 10/25/2007 : 14:15:44
Anthonyee-Sounds like you got your head in the right place and let me wish you luck.
I too have been paralyzed by this pain. I tried this week to go food shopping for the first time in many weeks and wound up crying in pain when I got home. It seemed to me that this should not happen- that somehow if you believe, the pain will dissipate as you become more active. After that I retreated again because the negative experience was too much to want to repeat.
I totally agree with and understand your post- however FDR did have the benefit of knowing the source of his pain and therefore what would make it better or worse (at least according to the treatment of his era). If he believed swimming in Hot Springs (I think) would make him better than he could do it with confidence. I think for many of us, its the not knowing that truly paralyzes us. But yes, at some point, you do have to say, what I've done hasn't worked and its time to do something different. |
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