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ennio
28 Posts |
 Posted - 08/07/2011 : 12:29:48
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Anyone have some suggestions for dealing with pain during exercise?
I've forced myself to get back to, in small doses, some of the activities I used to do before I shut it all down years ago. Pain always happened during or after exercise.
Even though I believe I have TMS, if I encounter pain during exercise, I have a lot of trouble convincing myself that it is conditioning, and what to say to my brain to get through it. Instead, the old fears creep into my thoughts despite daily ruminations about TMS and reading passages in Sarno's/Brady's/Amir's books.
Even though conditioning makes perfect sense when reading the books, it's exercise that makes me fearful again and I can't seem to shake the old thoughts at those moments.
I've read some contradictory things about "ignoring" the pain. TMS says to ignore it and not worry about physical harm, whereas the "old" guard has said to "push through it" as well. Perhaps my confidence level in TMS gets shaky when I start thinking about this during exercise, and I'm not 100% on board. Thus the pain cycle starting up again.
I'm frustrated with myself that one day I'm throughly convinced of TMS, but as soon as I start exercise I had abandoned because of physical pain, the physical fears start taunting me again.
Perhaps I need to be more patient with re-programming, but I do need help dealing with the pain during exercise.
Suggestions welcome!
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Edited by - ennio on 08/07/2011 12:31:35 |
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art
1903 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2011 : 15:32:11
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There's no trick unfortunately. It's simply a leap of faith that requires some courage. For many this is a process. It can take time to identify TMS with some confidence. The standard advice is to get possible injuries checked out by a physician first, but practically speaking that's a bit of a cop-out. If you see a doctor complaining of shoulder pain and he can't find anything, he'll usually call it tendonitis or bursitis. And then where are you?
I'm a runner, and will generally assume possible injuries are TMS. The exceptions are hamstrings given the downside...
Once you've made up your mind something is TMS (and let's face it, if you fit the profile most things are), then proceed slowly. Forge ahead as you're able...
The more you can reduce your fear levels the more success you'll have. |
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Javizy
United Kingdom
76 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2011 : 15:45:42
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| Try reading a bit about your preferred exercise, as well (assuming you haven't already). I read a good book on running, for example, that explains how your body works during a run, and how you can condition it to perform better and avoid injury. Professionals do more than put on a pair of running shoes to get as good as they are. You might be able to find some interesting information on what you're doing, which might even give you some insight into recurring injuries. Knowing the proper mechanics should give you renewed confidence in the safety of what you're doing, which should help to counter the TMS. |
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Back2-It
USA
438 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2011 : 17:32:23
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I hardly qualify as a runner. I'm more of a jogger. However, I used to run, and am picking up speed.
I have found that trying to focus on a reason for the pain while running is self-defeating. Instead I have focused on the goal of doing something while running. I will try to get my time in, or go for a certain point and back again. To mix it up I will alternate speeds, fast and slow.
In April/May and earlier my arms and sides hurt like hell when I ran. My back never did. I just gritted my teeth and finished -- most times. The time when I didn't finish I just felt like crying. I probably did. I was dying by not running. Stupid TMS.
Keep at it, keep at it,keep at it. You will notice a decrease in pain because your body is getting used to moving again and your mind will have to go along for the run (pun intended).
Last November I never thought I'd jog again in my life, or ride my bike or anything. Then I said I'd rather die or have my spine collapse in a pile of worthless bones than live live like that.
Keep at it. Set a goal for your exercise. It might help. And run until you are panting and breathless -- no time to think then.
"Bridges Freeze Before Roads" |
Edited by - Back2-It on 08/08/2011 17:35:42 |
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ennio
28 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2011 : 17:34:57
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quote:
Originally posted by art
There's no trick unfortunately. It's simply a leap of faith that requires some courage. For many this is a process. It can take time to identify TMS with some confidence. The standard advice is to get possible injuries checked out by a physician first, but practically speaking that's a bit of a cop-out. If you see a doctor complaining of shoulder pain and he can't find anything, he'll usually call it tendonitis or bursitis. And then where are you?
I'm a runner, and will generally assume possible injuries are TMS. The exceptions are hamstrings given the downside...
Once you've made up your mind something is TMS (and let's face it, if you fit the profile most things are), then proceed slowly. Forge ahead as you're able...
The more you can reduce your fear levels the more success you'll have.
Thanks for the advice.
I fit the TMS personality types to a T, and have had all testing by umpteen doctors in umpteen specialties show nothing is physically wrong. I have every reason to believe it's TMS, yet have trouble shutting off the faucet of old thinking during exercise.
I really need more work on battling fear and doubt more than anything else.
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balto
839 Posts |
Posted - 08/08/2011 : 20:49:24
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quote:
I really need more work on battling fear and doubt more than anything else.
There are only 3 ways to end fear:
- Remove the source of that fear (remove the cause of that pain symptom)
- Make up your mind not to fear it anymore (some people here call it a leap of faith)
- Replace that fear thought with some thing else more positive. Human are incapable of thinking more than 1 thing at a time. So fill your mind with some other positive, peaceful thoughts all time then eventually the fear thought will leave. Or meditate and meditate deeply on a single thought then your mind is not allow to think of that fear thougth. |
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art
1903 Posts |
Posted - 08/09/2011 : 18:37:35
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ennio,
Don't despair. You'll get there. The more evidence you can find that something's TMS, the easier it gets...
Some random things that might help...
Does "x" injury makes sense in context? The answer is often "no." A concrete example is a recent flare-up of ball of the foot pain. I hadn't increased mileage or speed recently, was wearing new shoes, and there was just no good reason for my foot to go haywire. This made it easy to run with, and sure enough the pain disappeared completely over the next few days...
Another thing to look for...Does the pain increase during moments of stress? A concrete example: The phone rings and I see from caller ID it's the nursing home where my mother's a resident. Instant anxiety accompanied by aching knee. Pay attention to these things. It's very good evidence of TMS..
A third thing. Is the pain constant, or does it come and go? A genuine structural injury would likely hurt all the time...
I'll add more as I think of them. There are a bunch. |
Edited by - art on 08/09/2011 18:39:26 |
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golden_girl
United Kingdom
128 Posts |
Posted - 08/09/2011 : 19:10:07
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I think everyone's said some great things here (having never been a runner, and have actively eschewed all kinds of exercise - to my detriment) I have nothing really to add!
Balto - I think your posts are great, thank you for sharing them.
I wonder what you mean by this:
- Remove the source of that fear (remove the cause of that pain symptom)
"F.E.A.R.
Forgive Everyone And Remember
For Everything A Reason"
Ian Brown |
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ennio
28 Posts |
Posted - 08/09/2011 : 21:54:26
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quote:
Originally posted by art
ennio,
Don't despair. You'll get there. The more evidence you can find that something's TMS, the easier it gets...
Some random things that might help...
Does "x" injury makes sense in context? The answer is often "no." A concrete example is a recent flare-up of ball of the foot pain. I hadn't increased mileage or speed recently, was wearing new shoes, and there was just no good reason for my foot to go haywire. This made it easy to run with, and sure enough the pain disappeared completely over the next few days...
art, the groin pain I'm dealing with now does have context from a fear perspective. In the distant past, the pain flared up when lifting weights, even light ones (we're talking 5-7 lbs).
A few months ago I worked up the courage for tennis for the first time in years and had an onset of groin pain when I lunged for a ball. The pain has been there since. This is typical for me in that area: avoid activities for a long time that bother it (tennis, weights), every few years start resuming the activity and soon enough, the pain hits and stays for months. I shut it down, then it fades.
Over the past several weeks, I resumed lifting light weights a few times a week. And this is precisely when the fear crept in despite being convinced of TMS. The area became sore, but I continued the weights, trying to push through the pain. However, the fear during the activity was there. And this week the pain really escalated. So until I get a better handle on the fear, I'm going to give the weights a rest for a few days.
But before resuming weights, the pain in that area was minimal.
quote:
Another thing to look for...Does the pain increase during moments of stress? A concrete example: The phone rings and I see from caller ID it's the nursing home where my mother's a resident. Instant anxiety accompanied by aching knee. Pay attention to these things. It's very good evidence of TMS..
Thanks, I'm trying hard to pay attention to current stress levels. My back pain definitely gets worse when I get angry or impatient.
quote:
A third thing. Is the pain constant, or does it come and go? A genuine structural injury would likely hurt all the time...
The pain is largely gone when I'm not engaged in running, biking, tennis or weights. If I resume any of those (I tried tennis for the first time in years a few months ago), the groin pain comes and remains constant for quite a while, then slowly fades.
I believe this is a conditioned response. Something about the physical activity is making me fearful when moments prior I was "all in" on TMS. I really need to saturate myself with TMS thinking. I do it every day, read passages from the books and review my stressor list, but probably need more time devoted to it.
quote:
I'll add more as I think of them. There are a bunch.
Thanks again for all the support! I am working hard on ignoring severe pain when it is there, but it is very difficult. I need to remind myself that I have had so many tests and injections and medications for 15 years and that none of it worked at all. Nothing wrong was ever found.
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Edited by - ennio on 08/09/2011 22:00:12 |
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balto
839 Posts |
Posted - 08/10/2011 : 05:31:57
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quote:
I wonder what you mean by this:
- Remove the source of that fear (remove the cause of that pain symptom)
The simplest example I can think of is: when a needle is stuck in your hand you will be in pain, when it is removed the pain will be gone in a short time.
Here is what I think how we got tms, anxiety, mindbody symdromes:
- Some negative events happened.
- Stress chemical flooded our body. Our body become tensed and anxious. Our breathing is faster, our heart beat faster and we have some low level stress symtoms like sweating, insomnia, lethargic... At this point, if those negative events go away or removed, you will recover and be back to your normal self again.
- But If those negative events is prolong -> and after those minor stress symptoms is prolong for maybe a week, 2, 3 weeks, our body will became more anxious, our muscle became more tensed and constricted in some places hence restriced the flow of blood -> less blood = less oxygen = pain. (maybe that's why when we apply heat pad or take a hot bath we feel the pain is lessen. The heat relaxed our muscle and allowed the blood flow to increase a little - less pain. If the pain was caused by trauma or have a structural cause it usually don't lessen with heat pad or hot bath)
- If you're lucky and found Sarno right at this point and applied his method you will normally "cure" yourself in a shortime with no more recurence symptoms. But most of us don't know about Sarno till months, years, in my case more than 10 years, we will suffered and feel hopeless. For long time tms sufferers, even after you found Sarno and over come an existing pain symptom, usually other pain symptoms will come, why, because of conditioning. At this point even if we don't have any stress, even if we have solve all our problems, we still suffer. Why?
Our mind trick us. We've been suffering for so long, there are many things that would trigger our pains and panic. We spend weeks looking for some stressful cause in our life but there are none. It is all conditioning and wrong thought. How to over come this? Identified the TRIGGERS.
- coffee would make us breath faster, our heart beat faster. We thought there is something wrong with our body again - the cycle of anxious, panic, and pain start again. Any thing make our breathing faster, our heart beat faster tend to fool a tms "patient" into thinking there is something "wrong" - so the body respond with pain symptoms or panic symptoms. There are many triggers I have to identify and "explain" to my brain that is is just normal body reaction. Triggers like: drinking coffee, alcohol. Eat to much spicy foods. Any sport, any physical activity that would raise my blood pressure, my breathing...
You need to expose yourself to those "triggers" and "talk" to your brain, explain to your brain that it is just normal bodily function. Nothing to be affraid of. I use to sit in the porch in the morning with my cup of coffee and talk to my brain. "hey you. listen! I'm drinking a good cup of coffee now. This coffee will raise my blood lever, will make my breathing faster... which is normal. Don't be fool, don't be scare ok. Do this for all the other trigger you can identified and do it often enough you will desensitize your body to those trigger.
Here is a short list of my triggers:
- coffee, alcohol. Going over high bridge, going thru a tunnel. Play sport, doing anything strenuous. Bright light. Too hot or too cold weather. Crowded places. flying. baby's crying. Sad, depressed movies. ....
sorry this is too long. Just want to share. Goodluck |
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head2toe
United Kingdom
37 Posts |
Posted - 08/16/2011 : 05:11:33
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| This is not too long Balto and is very useful. |
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Craig Clark
6 Posts |
Posted - 08/24/2011 : 11:52:35
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| You are dealing with the hump that all of us have to go through. What I decided was when I felt good enough I would go up to the gym and get myself on an exercise bike. Yes it is stable but it was important for me to make my body move in a way that is physical. I found myself at first a bit uncomfortable but I used the short time to start the process of movement in natural ways. Oh..before I got on I visualized the time I would be on the bike from start to finish as being completely successful and that this would be no problem for me. I told myself all I needed to do was stay on for 5 minutes. Well as I visualized, breathed, pushed the OXYGEN into the areas, and told myself that there is no reason I shouldn't be able to do this and this was the way it was going to be well I did it! No it isn't where I want to be but I will tell you that I soon will be. I will next time go and get on for 10 and then 15. Before you know it will get on a bike and take off but my body will be conditioned in the right way to respond in the right way. That is how I see it happening. I am not a runner so I won't force myself to do some thing I didn't do in the past. How about speed walking? Would that be a logical step for the runner? Maybe. I go back to one of my favorite movies (What About Bob) and say babysteps. Moving forward in small ways is still moving forward. It isn't staying the same and it isn't moving backwards. Celebrate even the smallest things. It adds up. Just wait. |
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Question on conditioning when pain is there
