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hazerfazer
USA
19 Posts |
 Posted - 12/28/2009 : 19:09:33
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I've been very reluctant to think that a back problem I have been having is TMS. I have recovered from TMS previously when it manifested as RSI symptoms and low back/hip pain, but this time seemed different. I hurt my back weightlifting in September of 2008.
I was doing a dumbbell row with my left arm and twisted my body in an attempt to get a rep all the way up. I can't remember exactly, but I'm pretty sure I knew right then that I had done something to my back. After that I would feel a sensation of a pulled muscle, or a knot, and sometimes a tingling feeling on the left side of my mid-back, from time to time. Sometimes when I was in certain positions or doing certain exercises, sometimes seemingly for no reason.
This continued, and I didn't really change anything because of it. I kept weight lifting, thinking it would subside. I didn't tell anyone about it. Then this summer, it really started to bother me when I would play guitar. I was practicing for several hours per day, and I would feel the sensation of tightness almost constantly. One of my index fingers also started to twitch sometimes, so I wondered if I was aggravating a nerve. I finally told my parents about it and have now been going to a chiropractor since September. I took a part time job in October doing produce at a grocery store, but that only lasted a few weeks because my back was really bothering me.
I think I have made some progress with the chiropractor, but not anywhere near what I want. I am wondering if continuing to weight lift for a long time (I stopped weightlifting back in May or June) and not doing anything about my back sustained this "injury" for so long.
Or....is this really not anything physical at all? I have a strong history with TMS and can see how my circumstances would have made me a prime candidate for TMS in this case. When I first injured it I had just started college, which I realized almost immediately that I hated. I was one of the top students in my high school class and got a full tuition scholarship to one of the best schools in my state, but I did not feel at all like I wanted to be at that college. I felt extremely unsure of myself and unhappy.
So I did leave after about a month, and went out to live with my mom for a few months (I have lived with my dad during the school year and lived with my mom for the summer and holidays in the past). I then started going to county college (living with my dad) and have hated that too, but I have felt like I haven't had any other option.
I pushed the possibility of TMS out of my mind for a long time, but recently truly considered it. My back "sensation" seems to come randomly lately. Sometimes I can barely touch a guitar without feeling my back, but I just played for 20 minutes and didn't feel it at all. I just don't want it to be physical and think it's TMS and then aggravate it more. A big concern is that my chiropractor has done several scans of my back with some type of heat or tension type sensor and it clearly shows the left side of my back is out of whack. Any opinions on my situation? |
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Gibbon
United Kingdom
138 Posts |
Posted - 12/29/2009 : 01:57:08
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hiya
I think it's definitely worth trying the whole TMS strategy. You've given it over a year. The fact that you've already had TMS would certainly seem to increase the probability that it is TMS again. As long as you keep your progress goals gradual then there shouldn't be any danger of doing further damage, so it's a no-loss situation. Try it 100% - if it works, brilliant, if not, you're no worse off.
Re my own RSI, the reason that i clung to the belief that it was physical for such a long time was the fact that the was a definite "moment" during a particularly heavy session of typing where something just seemed to go, leading to a very prolonged period of pain. It was also a pretty stressful time, and the injury allowed me (unconsciously) to avoid some pretty important life decisions - it was i suppose an agent for the status quo. Now, whether i did some actual physical damage or whether it was completely non-physical, i don't know, but onset that seems to be the result of specific physical injury appears common....
set yourself a goal to start doing reps again, in a week, in a month... - even if it's just a couple, even if it's at a really lame weight! Just to get used to the idea of doing them again. See how you feel....maybe it won't be as bad as you think....
and start journalling again!
good luck
Andrew
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scd1833
USA
124 Posts |
Posted - 12/29/2009 : 11:18:57
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it's obviously TMS, from the way you describe it coming and going. The best thing you can do is to stop going to the chiropractor.
I always used to go to them, and there are some good ones, but the whole concept of chiropractic, is contradictory to TMS theory. you can't have it both ways. you need to believe in one or the other.
I haven't seen a chiro in over 12 years, as there is no REAL reason to see one, it's a placebo. |
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scd1833
USA
124 Posts |
Posted - 12/29/2009 : 11:22:55
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| it sounds as if you really need to deal with all the emotional/stress issues in your life, just from your one paragraph you really unload a ton of stuff. you could probably benefit from some kind of therapy where you can examine the issues that are bugging you |
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TMS Again??
