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art
1903 Posts |
 Posted - 03/04/2007 : 13:26:29
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One thing we don't discuss much around here, I suppose because at first glance it's off topic, is acceptance of genuine illness/injury. And yet I know as a runner and all round athlete type, that many of us are in a constant battle to find some sort of useful balance between weeding out TMS from the occasional legitimate over-use injury..
The good news is that for me anyway, 99 percent of apparent injuries are either tms, or of not tms, then simply a mild to moderate overuse syndrome that does not require rest.
But that's only half the battle, and in many ways the easier half. What's really very difficult.. for me anyway...is losing the fear which seems to require that I open myself up to the possibility, even the inevitability of occasionally being injured. For those of us who are both active and over fifty, it's often goes with the territory.
I'm happy to report that I've made some progress in this area, and it's made life much more enjoyable. I've recently sustained an injury that I know is real, and rather than my usual panic/anxiety/fear/depression, I've been able to tell myself that it's simply my time to be injured. It helps a great deal to both remain positive about the truly amazing healing powers of the human body, as well as to remain grateful for the times when I'm not injured, which thanks to this magnificent body I've been given, is most of the time...
Just thought I'd throw this out there to see if there's was any interest in a little bit of a discussion around the topic of acceptance and living life without fear...I know that for many of us runners,fear is a big issue..
Thanks for listening..
A. |
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ndb
209 Posts |
Posted - 03/04/2007 : 13:42:33
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Art,
Great post, and I feel also that to overcome the fear of injury you have to adopt a kind of positive, or more 'carefree' frame of mind. I've been keeping up with taekwondo since last year in August, and I've found that the more carefree I am about the possibility of injury,
1. the less they actually come to pass
2. the quicker the healing process is
ndb |
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sensei adam rostocki
USA
167 Posts |
Posted - 03/04/2007 : 15:16:44
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This is a great topic and one I have personally struggled with at certain times. I find that pain that defies logic, holds on for too long, or seems exagerated is always TMS. Pain that corresponds to a potential injury and heals completely at the expected rate is physically caused. Sometimes it is just a matter of waiting and going over any potentially causitive psychological issues to determine the answer...
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marytabby
USA
545 Posts |
Posted - 03/05/2007 : 07:13:54
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| Art, good post. The struggle is that we TMS'ers blur the line between what is real injury and what is TMS. This trips me up and I'm not quite over 50 yet (I'm 41), not that it matters but you mentioned being over 50. I struggle with my symptoms. sometimes I know it's TMS. Other times I have no clear answer. Can you help on this one? |
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ndb
209 Posts |
Posted - 03/05/2007 : 08:03:01
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living without fear --
Have you examined if its fear or impatience. If I am really honest, I am confident that if I give an average injury 3 weeks or so, it will either heal up, or by then I will know that there are TMS like causes. My problem is that I am impatient. I don't *want* to be off my feet for 3 weeks. I think the reason is really that I am afraid of falling behind everyone else (for e.g. in taekwondo, missing a testing. At least twice now, I've gone to test, though I was dealing with injuries which took about 2-3 weeks to heal.).
Impatience, and the pain/embarrasment of falling behind applies to every situation, not just sports. |
Edited by - ndb on 03/05/2007 08:04:40 |
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hsb
149 Posts |
Posted - 03/05/2007 : 17:05:12
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I have posted here quite a few times regarding just this -- as a runner/athlete, how does one know if the pain is a legitimate over use injury or TMS. I have yet to really able to get a handle on it. I struggle with the distinction all the time. The issue with me is that I have gotten "hurt" so many times over my running career, it almost goes without saying that it is TMS. I find it hard to believe that anyone could be as injured as me (I am a strong fit woman). Every single time that I have been injured, I have followed the typical course of treatment, i.e. stop running, go to ortho, get NSAIDS, go to PT and follow the protocol. This works 90% of the time for most runners but rarely works(ed) for me. I have tried every treatment on the planet for all these injuries and NONE have worked. Eventually they would fade a bit and I would stop all treatments and start running again. What is very sad is that in 20 years of running, I have been on the sidelines more than running.
The typical running injury and for most people, lasts 6-8 weeks max. Mine always last 3-4 months. True TMS?
I have read many posts on this forum from runners who go through the same doubt and fear. Because runners are very compulsive (generalization), we are petrified of taking time off. The thought process is: "if i stop running for a while, it will heal, but what if it is TMS, then I should run through this". Then I wasted all that time taking off and I lost all that fitness. Circular argument.
I suppose the only thing you can really use as a determining factor is the "chronicity". If the pain lasts longer than 6 weeks, then you can you "assume" it's TMS.
I do think that all of injuries have been TMS. I haven't reached the point that I can stop the pain from coming. From my history, I know that EVENTUALLY the pain will go away., my quest is to make the pains go away faster and not to linger.
Good post Art. I am still trying to figure it all out.
HSB
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tennis tom
USA
4749 Posts |
Posted - 03/05/2007 : 18:04:21
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I've mentioned this alternative to running several times on this board: running in a swimming pool. I played 10 hours of doubles tennis this past weekend, and can't walk without holding onto the walls, but was able to run in the pool for half and hour this morning with no problem and will do another half hour this evening. A couple of days off from tennis and a few sessions running in the pool and I'll be good to go by Wednesday.
We're all gonna' get old someday, might as well start diversifying the exercise opportunities so, if the day comes, that you have to hang-up the Nike trainers, it isn't such a crushing blow to the psyche. I see people pushed to the pool in wheelchairs, lifted in and out by assistants, but in the pool they look like dolfins. |
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Wavy Soul
USA
779 Posts |
Posted - 03/05/2007 : 22:46:17
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Yes on the pool thing. I was a mermaid even when I was a spaz elsewhere. Now I'm a mermaid on dry land!
I also love this topic. There is a balance between the tremendous work required to face the TMS diagnosis, and the complete relaxation and acceptance of what is.
I'm always on the line between, wobbling a bit one way or t'other.
xxx
Love is the answer, whatever the question |
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Felicity
United Kingdom
12 Posts |
Posted - 03/06/2007 : 04:05:13
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Really good topic.
I have struggled with this question for the last 8 months. Developed elbow injuries after going at it too hard in the gym. My own fault but now have tendons that apparently wont heal. The problem is that I cannot get a reliable healing period from anyone, doctors and physio, sports massage etc. all say can take 2 years so I am in limbo. They tell me that to push through pain with tendons can cause permant damage and recommend I baby my elbows until they heal. I dont know if I have TMS (I have had it before in arms but symptoms were very different) so I do know that Sarno works, I was totally pain free for 6 months hence the enthusiasm in the gym. Fear is stopping me using Sarno this time and the more investigations I make on the web etc. more depressing the information I recieve. I once posted an enquiry about tennis elbow on Yahoo email and had 12 replies from people telling me it would never heal. 12 cases of TMS or am I crippled for life.
Have taken up running since the elbow injuries and only exercise from the waist down. No injuries yet and continually tell myself that I wont get one.
There we are. |
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shawnsmith
Czech Republic
2048 Posts |
Posted - 03/06/2007 : 06:32:03
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quote:
Originally posted by Felicity
Developed elbow injuries after going at it too hard in the gym. My own fault but now have tendons that apparently wont heal.
If you keep telling yourself that your pain is due to an injury, then you are esentially telling yourself you have a physical problem. Any psychological work will be undone as a result. Tendon pain, due to an injury, heals within a short period of time whereas TMS pain will continue without abatement.
*************
Sarno-ize it!
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art
1903 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2007 : 09:28:32
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Mary,
My general operating premise is to assume tms, or if not tms, real but unimportant.Either way, I can keep running. The recent NYT's article about the new school of thought among orthopods that overuse injuries, notable tendonities, do better with continued activity. This squares perfectly with my own experience...
I'll stop running if the pain is truly intense, though even then I remain hopeful and try to press carefully ahead. I've yet to regret this...Also, if pain gets substantially and steadily worse over time, that tends to convince me it's time to rest..
I think for those of us who have suffered tms in the past, the default thinking should be along those lines until we're convinced to the contrary...
HS,
You've come a long way in your thinking...You're closer than you think.
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tennis tom
USA
4749 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2007 : 09:51:18
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quote:
Originally posted by Felicity
Really good topic.
I once posted an enquiry about tennis elbow on Yahoo email and had 12 replies from people telling me it would never heal. 12 cases of TMS or am I crippled for life.
Felicity, I can un-equivacly(sp?) tell you that "tennis-elbow", "golfer's-elbow", "little-league elbow" or what-ever they are calling it can be 100% cured. Whether it is be from TMS, over-use, bad technique or a combination of the above.
I have had it on several occassions, being a tennis player all my life and I don't have a twinge of it--all gone. Not to say I won't get it again, but I'm confident, if I do, I can make it go away again.
If I go out on the court today at 2:30, as I'm scheduled to, and hit the ball stupidly with no attention, I can give it to myself by 5:00 pm tonight.
To paraphrase and in defferernce to AustinGary, the founder of this board, if you hit your-self on the elbow 800 times with a hammer, that's not TMS, that's just stupidity. |
Edited by - tennis tom on 03/07/2007 09:57:47 |
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art
1903 Posts |
Posted - 03/07/2007 : 16:36:06
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I'm a golfer and have had countless run-ins with tennis elbow after beating balls at the driving range for days on end....
I promise you, it goes away. |
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Felicity
United Kingdom
12 Posts |
Posted - 03/08/2007 : 15:11:33
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| Thanks guys. The first positive comments I have heard in 8 months! |
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Acceptance
