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hsb
149 Posts |
 Posted - 10/19/2008 : 08:14:27
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hi. i am an avid runner and have been struggling with hamstring issues since july. i stopped running from july to the end of september. mri said partial torn hamstring in july. treated it with PT, ART treatments, stretching, been doing yoga 2x a week. pain still persists. i decided to start running beginning of october because i realize there are no treatments left and having not run for over 12 weeks and with the treatments, i should be healed.
i started running and the hamstring pain is pretty bad. it has been very hard for me to remind and persuade my mind that the pain is real but not an injury; if it were an injury, i would be better by now. i struggle running with the pain and the pain afterwards. i can't yet figure out how to convince myself that running is not going to make it worse... my mind says, you have to treat it and NOT run to make it better. is this the fear you guys talk about? it is so difficult to run through pain and think this is the right thing.
any suggestions from the runners out there? thanks |
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altherunner
Canada
511 Posts |
Posted - 10/19/2008 : 10:28:55
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Hello! Along with back pain and neck pain, I had over time: pulled hamstring, pulled groin, shin splints, achilles tendonitis, plantar
fasciitis, sore knees, sore calf, and metatarsalgia. Now I think that they were all tms, and maybe started with some inflammation or irratation that my mind grabbed on to and made much worse. Have you noticed that you concentrate your thoughts on the pain in that area more than anything else? I found www.runningpain.com a good resource.
I still had lingering foot pain after my back and neck were better.
That took a little longer to go away. Sometimes I would be distracted while running, and the pain would go away, or I wouldn't notice it. Did anything happen personally to you in June or July?
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mk6283
USA
272 Posts |
Posted - 10/19/2008 : 20:40:00
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I'm glad you brought this up. Hamstring injuries are tricky and I'm not so sure I'd classify them as TMS either. Hamstring injuries are common "acute" injuries that many athletes encounter and it is common to frequently reinjure them as well if they aren't given the opportunity to heal properly. I know that I have had several hamstring injury experiences from both running and pitching in my softball league that lingered for a couple weeks and were NOT TMS. I find that TMS pain has a unique "feel" to it that I can discriminate from that of organic injury. It is hard to explain, but if the initial injury is to a specific muscle group (e.g., hamstring muscles) and the pain recurs in that same muscle group, particularly during movements that strain that muscle group, then that is less likely to be TMS (in my opinion). Also, if your MRI showed a partial tear of the muscle, then that definitely is NOT TMS. Torn hamstring muscles are NOT (to my knowledge) common wear-and-tear findings that are uncorrelated with pain (as are herniated discs, small rotator cuff tears, meniscal/articular cartilage damage, etc.). I would classify hamstring injuries, ankle sprains, and some other common sports injuries that are annoying and painful with a tendency to recur and linger as just that -- sports injuries -- and NOT TMS. As such, they are probably better treated with ibuprofen, rest, ice, compression, etc. Some of the other things mentioned -- like plantar fasciitis and tendonitis -- are usually clearly due to TMS and can be treated as such. Competitive athletes can clearly be prime targets for TMS as well. Making the right diagnosis is KEY and it is important to remember that TMS is not always the right diagnosis. Good luck!
Best,
MK |
Edited by - mk6283 on 10/19/2008 20:47:09 |
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mk6283
USA
272 Posts |
Posted - 10/19/2008 : 21:35:14
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I would like to make another important distinction that I feel is also relevant here and that deals with the notion of mindbody healing. Curing TMS and mindbody healing/therapy are NOT synonymous. You need to understand that mindbody approaches can be useful for disease entities that are NOT TMS. The best example I can use is the aforementioned case of pain associated with injury. Here the musculoskeletal pain is NOT likely due to emotional repression or unconscious processes (and is not likely TMS), instead it is probably some inflammatory response triggered by an acute injury. As such, one can take pain medication to help reduce the pain and discomfort. However, one can also employ meditative/hypnotic techniques (etc.) to augment these medications as it is well known that these techniques can lead to natural endorphin release that is just as effective as (if not more effective than) the pain medication a doctor prescribes. There are many documented cases of hypnosis succesfully used for anesthetic purposes during surgical procedures. This is a well established phenomenon. On the other hand, TMS pain can also be conquered by psychological approaches, except this time the therapy is targeting the underlying cause and the final result is not that of endorphin release and pain control, but that of a true/complete CURE because the source of the pain has now been eliminated. These are two very different processes and it is important to distinguish them. The latter prospect for a total cure via exclusive psychotherapeutic intervention is only possible if the diagnosis is TMS.
Best,
MK |
Edited by - mk6283 on 10/19/2008 21:43:52 |
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hsb
149 Posts |
Posted - 10/20/2008 : 05:56:03
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thanks mk6283 for responding. a little clarification. i have been running for 20+ years. i have had a million "injuries" that never heal in the "usual" course. every time i get something whether it be hamstring, calf, piriformis, hamstring, it takes me months and months to heal. NONE of these "injuries" have been acute; rather they just develop over time. no one incident has ever caused these "injuries". the usual course is that i get the pain, i stop running for a few weeks and cross train. then i go to the dr. to get an rx for PT, i do the PT 3x a week for 6 weeks as the rx usually prescribes along with anti-inflammatories. i do not get better, then i try ART therapy - all the while resting and NOT running. this pattern has been going on for 20 years. i have never run an entire year without stopping for months and months. a mild hamstring tear (this current injury) which i might add the MRI said was healing has been going on since july. i do not know of anyone who gets running injuries as often and for as long a duration. i just don't heal in the ordinary course....... signal........
it does not take 4 months for tendonitis to heal. nothing is worse than having a PT tell you "i just don't know why you are not healing or getting better". then having the next practitioner say the same thing.
i think there is a pattern here -- i get hurt, stop running, treat it go for different treatment therapies and none of them work. eventually the pain disappears after 5 months or so.
i would agree with you mk6283 if i responded to treatments and rest and meds.
i think that what happens to me is that i get a pain and then my mind runs rampant .... oh no here we go again, another injury, how many more months am i going to have to take off from running; why can't i run like everyone else; why don't i heal like everyone else.
so the pain stays and stays.
does this all make sense to you?
thanks |
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mk6283
USA
272 Posts |
Posted - 10/20/2008 : 13:06:41
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At the end of the day, you know your body better than I do, your doctor does, or any MRI report. I was only describing my experience with a similar injury. As I said, I think a mindbody approach CAN be beneficial regardless of whether your pain was due to true TMS or not. I say go with your gut. I don't think you have anything to lose at this point. Good luck!
Best,
MK
p.s. You might consider taking a break from running for a while. Maybe try taking up swimming? Its probably a better all around workout and it may be good for you to try something else at this point just for the heck of it. You can always revisit running at some later point. Just my 2 cents. |
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hsb
149 Posts |
Posted - 10/20/2008 : 13:29:58
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thanks mk6283.
i took off from running immediately when the hamstring started hurting. that was for a period of over 13-14 weeks of absolutely no running. i swam and had treatments - PT, ART, stretching, strenghtening. so i gave it a pretty long time (MRI said minor tear that is healing and that was back in july). i honestly believe (for most people) that this thing would be healed by 4 months. i started back running the end of september because i got to thinking that if this were a real tear, i would be better by then and that the pain would at least lessen. honestly it would have had to.
isn't a definition of TMS --- an "injury" that doesn'heal in the ordinary course? that a simple pain becomes something a whole lot more --- mostly because of our minds?
this is so difficult because the hamstring hurts whether i run or not but i still have the thought in my mind that running is detrimental. if i didn't run a step for another month ...... i bet the pain would still be there.
thanks |
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hambone
USA
41 Posts |
Posted - 10/26/2008 : 08:34:38
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HSB- My hamstring history is similar to yours. It perfectly mimics injury or strain of an old injury but it makes no sense. The MRI is entirely 100% negative, but the hamstring pain goes away so slowly, as if it's "healing". I have a long history of tms pains all over my body so I have to keep telling myself that this too is tms even though it's camouflaged as injury. This insidiuous disguise just adds to the stress of living with it, trying to figure it out. I tried bulling my way through the pain, which worked with back and foot pain, and it backfired. Only slow and gentle works on this hamstring and I have to have the patience of Job, which I don't.!
STEVEN T HAMBLIN |
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hamstring too
