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jdshetterly
USA
9 Posts |
 Posted - 03/11/2008 : 20:54:08
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I've posted twice here before, but wanted pass along some thoughts on my recovery and questions I have about challenging my fears and conditioning with my TMS pain. Sorry for the length of this, but wanted to give some background and build-up to my questions. My major, so-called "back attack" happened the day after this past Xmas '07. After my 2 trips to two different orthopedic specialists, an MRI revealed an L5-S1 herniated disc in my back. Upon finishing 12 days of oral steroids I finally ran across Dr. Sarno's Healing Back Pain book. In addition to the book, I ordered Dr. Sarno's DVD's and started my official TMS treatment on 1/10/08.
After 2 months of journaling, re-reading sections of Healing Back Pain and The Mindbody Prescription, I find myself doing much better and about 85-90% better. I get most of my pain in the morning (conditioning), but am finding more range of motion with things that I couldn't do a couple of months ago, or even a month ago in some cases. I do still have some muscle weakness in my left leg, where I get some pain sometime, either in my calf or my hamstring, or left butt cheek. About 10 days ago, I tried to run and managed to run about 3 miles non-stop. While I didn't feel pain, the numbness in my left leg wasn't very comfortable and I did pain after the run in my left calf, where I hadn't ever felt pain before (a sign that this was TMS clearly, since it was moving around). So, I just back off for a week to let that pain subside and kept on with Sarno's treatment (journaling, reading everyday). What I am finding is that the "fear" Dr. Sarno refers to as the most important factor in perpetuating the TMS symptoms, is really a major inhibitor in recovery. At this point, I'm challenging myself physically, and finding some success, but still have questions. I can bend over and touch my toes with only some stiffness in my left leg, which is been reduced from the old major pain where I couldn't bend my torso more than 30 degrees. Also, there are hamstring stretches I couldn't do 2 months ago that I can do now. These successes build on my confidence, but I wonder about others' experience with challenging conditioning of certain movements that typically bring pain. I'm finding if I do these movements quickly, w/out time to think about the pain, there is less or no pain sometimes. If I do it slowly, as in "babying" the movement, it can bring more pain, since I tend to focus on the "physical" and not just doing it. I think I'm getting to the root of what Dr. Sarno refers to when we says to resume all "normal" and physical activity while trying to ignore the pain/symptoms, but also trying to shift your brain to the emotional issues.
Some questions I have though are this:
1) When people try physical things, whether it's any specific movement (i.e. bending over) that usually brings pain, or a physical sport, do they keep trying and, while trying this motion/activity, shift their thoughts to the emotional issues, or back off and take a break and THEN think of the emotional issues? This is similar to some posts I've read where people talk about "working through a stretch or movement" by thinking about the emotional issues, while feeling pain. I know on Sarno's DVD's he says to back off is something's still bringing you pain, if the programming and conditioning is still in place and don't push it too much. There seems to be a bit of a gray line here on what constitutes challenging the TMS vs. setting yourself back.
2) When people have some muscle weakness (about 70% of my strength in my left leg), have they found success in still trying to be physical with that body part? I lift weights and wonder if people try to still "work" that muscle by lifting weights with it, even though it's not 100%.
Thanks and I hope to hear some good feedback, and I hope to be writing a 100% success story soon. |
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armchairlinguist
USA
1397 Posts |
Posted - 03/12/2008 : 10:34:24
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I think there is a gray area for challenging yourself. I actually did not see a lot of success until I started directly challenging myself to work through the pain. When I did do that, the pain would start up, and then disappear. Sometimes it would come back again afterwards, or after a while of the activity. I basically conquered RSI while working full-time, because I didn't have another option at that point.
I think the main variable is how pushing through pain affects you psychologically. If it brings success and confirms your belief in TMS, then it's helpful; if it reinforces doubt, it's not. It's not so much what you do as how you feel about it. It sounds like your gradual pushing has had good results for you, but if you push too hard, you may find backlash.
I found it more helpful to focus on bloodflow and repeat the basic principles (the pain is coming from the brain) occasionally to myself while working than to actually focus on the psychological at that time, but if you are not busy/active and you think of the symptoms or start monitoring them, that's when to be thinking psychological.
Fred Amir's book can be helpful for how to challenge conditioning. The overall message is to push gradually but persistently, and use rewards (and punishments) that the unconscious mind understands. I had a lot of success with ice cream bars and cleaning the stove. ;)
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It's not 100% belief that's required, but 100% commitment. |
Edited by - armchairlinguist on 03/12/2008 10:40:18 |
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vikki
95 Posts |
Posted - 03/12/2008 : 13:35:54
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Challenging the pain has always worked for me. However, I never did much psychological stuff. I guess I started challenging the pain when I just got sick of it taking over my life. My attitude was, "Okay, I'm just going to do this -- let's see how bad it gets." I guess you could describe it as curiosity. And the pain *would* get really bad the longer I sat or ran or whatever -- but I just kept telling myself, "That's fine -- let's see where this goes." Anytime I did a major challenge like this, it would just about kill me -- but the next day, I would see a major improvement.
As for muscle weakness, could it be that your leg is deconditioned from lack of use, or from your trying to protect it all the time? I definintely found this, after months of very little physical activity. I just built up again slowly by lifting weights, etc. until I had my pre-TMS strength back. |
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AmyAJJ
98 Posts |
Posted - 03/12/2008 : 16:00:54
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When I have the pain in my back, I bend over anyway and as I'm bending over I say one of the following things on my way down:
- It's just TMS.
- It's my repressed anger.
- TMS, TMS, TMS
- It's anger. I'm angry.
So I do challenge myself and it helps me do the mental reminders more frequently during the day because any time I feel the pain, I say something like that to myself and then carry on with my stuff.
When I first heard about TMS it did take a while for me to get up the nerve to challenge myself because I wasn't convinced that I wasn't going to seriously hurt myself or have my back "go out" completely so that I was flat on my back and unable to move.
But eventually I went for it and my back hasn't gone out in that particular way since I've been repeating the TMS reminders as I do the challenging things. |
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jdshetterly
USA
9 Posts |
Posted - 03/18/2008 : 17:18:55
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| Thanks for all the feedback above, it's helpful. I just completed a cross-country move, mixed in with a death in the family, so it's been a stressful time. I ran for about 5 minutes the other day and did have some pain. Interestingly, I have found, twice now, that the usual "workout soreness", like the lactic acid burn occurs more predominantly in my weaker, TMS leg. As opposed to just the usual TMS burn I get, I think my brain takes advantage of my working out to try and place more pain in my leg...does this sound familiar to anyone? |
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Challenging fears and conditioning...any feedback?
