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kevin t
USA
72 Posts |
 Posted - 11/28/2006 : 14:33:45
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I have a question for those of you with low back pain/sciatica symptoms. I recently started going back to swimming. I find that after being in the hot tub or swimming at the gym relieves my sciatica for a good day or two. Not totally but a good portion of it goes down. Has anyone else experienced this? I know that a 40 minute swim didnt and couldnt "fix" anything. My thinking is that it increases blood flow, so what would it hurt by doing it?
Also, I woke up today and moved around in bed and felt pains go down my leg when I arched in a certain position. When this happens I KNOW its not in my "mind". Its pain due to a certain position. How can anyone help but think its structural? Yes, it can be TMS tightening muscles and those muscles giving flexion in certain positions. Anyone have any thoughts on shooting pains down legs in certain positions?
Oh and by the way, I have a new pulled muscle in a new area of my back so lets see here.......pain down legs, pain in right mid back/ pain in left mid back to the point of affecting my breathing.....is TMS that strong??? If it is I have multiple symptoms that are fighting me bad. Im at a loss of what to do here,because the pain is afecting my movements so how can I just ignore it? Its not like its benign chronic pain. This stuff makes my muscles so tight they pull on my back.
Any thought would be helpfull...THANKS |
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westcoastram
97 Posts |
Posted - 11/28/2006 : 17:43:05
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Kevin,
I noticed that when I began to get back into physical activity again, it was the strongest repudiation of my symptoms. I often felt best the remainder of the day or the next day after said event.
For awhile, I even had a thought that I ]then needed to exercise to keep the pain away but that was wrong thinking.
The pain went away cause when I was exercising and right afterwards I had the strongest feelings/understanding on an unconscious level that my pain couldn't be anything but TMS.
When I sussed this out: I began to have even less pain and now (for the most part) whether I exercise or not - I'm pain free. |
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HilaryN
United Kingdom
879 Posts |
Posted - 11/29/2006 : 10:02:54
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quote:
When this happens I KNOW its not in my "mind". Its pain due to a certain position. How can anyone help but think its structural? Yes, it can be TMS tightening muscles and those muscles giving flexion in certain positions. Anyone have any thoughts on shooting pains down legs in certain positions?
First of all, TMS pain is not “in the mind”, it’s real pain.
Saying pain is due to a certain position and structural is like saying repetitive strain injury is caused by excessive use of the keyboard. I now know in my case that’s not true.
You should, of course, always get checked out by a doctor if you haven’t already. (Apologies, I can’t remember if you’ve mentioned that already.)
Hilary N |
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Newmom
USA
57 Posts |
Posted - 11/29/2006 : 10:06:32
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This is exactly what happens to me. Had back pain (ruptured disc). Then had neck pain (nothing wrong) that became stronger than back pain. Found Dr. Sarno's books. Neck pain almost completely gone. Pain back to back. I am trying very hard to understand and convince myself that I should be healed from back pain and that it is all TMS related. Pain moves around in back within a few inch radius. More painful now than ever - but I can function slightly. Your right, pain is very real - but it keeps moving around and it hurts!! I am trying my hardest to talk to myself and acknowlege that my brain is doing this, but not working yet!! When I get up, move, bend, even when I'm not thinking about this - there it is the sharp pain is back. Not to talk about pain, but by end of day, my muscles are so tight and hurt, I can barely function. THIS IS WHAT PUZZLES ME THE MOST!!
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HilaryN
United Kingdom
879 Posts |
Posted - 11/29/2006 : 10:17:31
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Michelle,
Yes, pain is hard and I know Dr Sarno’s books give the impression that recovery should be immediate. All I can say is that there is light at the end of the tunnel (I know because I got there) – it just takes time for many of us. Don’t beat yourself up because the pain hasn’t disappeared straight away. Be patient...
Hilary N |
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tennis tom
USA
4749 Posts |
Posted - 11/29/2006 : 11:18:54
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quote Newmom:
"...but by end of day, my muscles are so tight and hurt, I can barely function. THIS IS WHAT PUZZLES ME THE MOST!!
Hi Newmom,
A possible answer to this is that your muscles are stiff by the end of the day due to what may be termed "holding". That is your muscles and anatomy are in a fear state that if you move wrong you will further "injure" yourself. Your muscles are working all day and tensed up in an unnecesary invountary attempt to protect the TMS/injury spot. By the end of the day your muscles are in a tight ball with lactic acids build-up, the waste by-product of muscle contraction, due to this "holding" pattern. The best thing for them would be to use them in the manner they were intended flexing, contracting and releasing rather that constatnly being tight. Just my two cents. If it's TMS you have you won't hurt anything by using your muscles.
Good Luck,
tt
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Edited by - tennis tom on 11/29/2006 11:30:55 |
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Newmom
USA
57 Posts |
Posted - 11/29/2006 : 12:28:53
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That explanation makes so much sense to me - you have found my problem 100% that I cannot overcome. My muscles and anatomy are in a constant state of fear of reinjuring myself - I am very much aware of this almost every minute of the day. The "holding" is so right on. As much as I try to stop this, and get myself to stop, this I cannot. My TMS spot is the same as my injury and with every single move I feel a twinge/pain, etc., and go into an extreme panic if I rehurt myself. The only progress I have made recently is that I no longer am sure that I reinjured myself each time, but I still question if I reinjured myself - I know almost the same pattern. And it doesn't really matter which one it is, because I treat both as if I reinjured myself and basically stiffen up and rest because I am afraid to aggravate myself if I did reinjure myself. I know, I am a mess and I go into panic attacks over this every single day. Once I feel the twinge/pain, it is so hard for me not to focus on.
Also, I never heard of the lactic acid building up from the muscles being tense, can you explain this anymore? |
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kevin t
USA
72 Posts |
Posted - 11/29/2006 : 15:45:55
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yeah....its weird stuff.
I myself, about 4 months ago was in a back treatment center with daily massage. I had NOTICEABLE knots on my muscles and the staff there commented on it every day. Some of the knots were sticking out of my calves,they looked like tumors. I also have a HUGE difference in size between my left and right calf.I know about muscle dominance in the body, but this is way beyond that.
They took about a month to get the knots out, they arent they anymore. Nowadays I just have a little pain in the form of "sciatica" which I cant even say is definite, because its not really going down the backs of my legs.
So my question is.... Can TMS cause this in a severe state? Knots in legs that could be seen from 10 feet away? Atrophy of calf muscles? Its hard to think of these things as being from "mild" oxygen deprivation. The atrophy topic also makes me scratch my head. Does anyone have any reference to what Dr Sarno says about that? Why would my muscle atrophy as a "distraction",since it didnt hurt and I never noticed it till my Dr. mentioned it? I dont see muscle atrophy as a benign thing. So was it all TMS? Who the hell knows. |
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tennis tom
USA
4749 Posts |
Posted - 11/29/2006 : 20:47:02
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Newmom and KevinT,
On the subject of atrophy, if a muscle is not used it will atrophy, that is lose muscle size or as the saying goes, "use it or lose it."
Some people on this board have had TMS for years and I would think the effected muscles would atrophy from non-use. The same would happen to muscles not used due to a "legitimate" injury like a broken leg in a cast. I can clearly see the differnce in muscle size in my two legs due to my arthritis in my right hip. I limp and through lack of use, my right calf and thigh and even my foot are visibly less muscualar than the left, which probably has gotten more muscular due to over-compensating.
The lactic acid build-up is the common term for the build-up of chemical waste that occurs during muscular activity such as experienced in sports. A newer view is that it is acidosis but not due to lactic acid. It's why your muscles feel sore after hard use. The chemical reaction in the muscle fibers, using up glycogen and oxygen, in a chemical reaction to produce the energy for the contraction and flexion. This results in the waste by-products. When the muscle is depleted of it's energy source it spasms.
TMS may mimic this chemical reaction in a small way. Dr. Sanro says it doesn't take much oxygen deprivation to create TMS pain. He says that it is harmless but very painful.
KevinT, as for your knots and TMS, I have no idea about that one but it would be interesting to observe that, too bad this site doesn't have photo ability. It would be interesting to see what Dr. Sarno would say about that one.
I'm not a physiologist or a doctor, I just tried to pay attention in high-school biology class about 40 years ago. If there's a doctor in the house or a PhD in phyiology feel free to correct any mistakes I made. |
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Wavy Soul
USA
779 Posts |
Posted - 11/29/2006 : 22:09:41
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Some of you here (like Tennis Tom, obviously) are very athletic. I have been more a "delicate" "sensitive" type - so much fibromyalgia, believed the story that too little or too much exercise both worsen fibro (what a f**g Catch 22 that was).
Anyway I am here to report that since and concurrently with my remarkable healing in the last year I have become a monstrous gym rat, doing all the things I could NEVER do - specifically forward bends in yoga, which my back "problem" (x-rays, bad diagnosis since my teens etc.) made me unable to do without crippling pain and needing lots of adjustments.
Poppycock. I am now bending forward with the best and worst of them.
Hallelulah. So now it's my experience that the way out of pain is to exercise MORE.
Hope this helps
xx
Love is the answer, whatever the question |
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Swimming and TMS experience
