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WHforster84
USA
4 Posts |
 Posted - 03/07/2012 : 21:35:38
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Hello everyone-
I'm a professional musician whose been dealing with pain issues with my playing for the last 4-5 years. I've tried lots of different things - PT, massage, yoga, tai chi, etc. with no luck. Because I need to make money by playing music, I haven't been able to take any real 'time off' (say, months-years), which means my life has basically revolved around managing the stress of playing with pain.
Recently a friend recommended Sarno's book, which I promptly read and identified with (total perfectionist, super high achiever, stoic type. I'd also just gotten out of a fairly unhappy long-term relationship, which had put an incredible amount of stress on me personally for the past 3-4yrs.) Anyway, Sarno's approach seemed to recommend seeing an MD to eliminate any serious disease or injury issues, which I did (an orthopedist), despite my worries about the cost. This doc saw nothing wrong in a neck xray (no MRI was prescribed), and he also gave a 20-minute office exam. His diagnosis was hypermobility syndrome (that is, really flexible), and recommended PT for strengthening. Which, of course, I had already tried in the past to no avail.
I'm definitely pursuing the Sarno method on a daily basis. I'm seeing a therapist now, and working through Schubiner's book. At the very least, I'm learning a lot about my inner wiring and past issues, which I had never really reflected on. But my symptoms are definitely still there, after about 1 month of working on this approach. I'm being patient, but it's tough some days.
My questions: has anyone heard of hypermobility syndrome, have any experience with it, and is it a real thing?
Also, if there are any musicians who have gone through this and have advice for how to get through it, I would really appreciate it. (especially with DAILY practice and rehearsals, clearly a trigger for pain on my part).
Many thanks,
WHF |
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shari
USA
85 Posts |
Posted - 03/08/2012 : 00:43:21
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| WHF: I would absolutely stay away from strengthening therapy. I know how distressing it can be for a musician to suffer hand pains. I developed severe hand pains many years ago (I play the piano). I consulted a specialist in musician's injuries, and X-rays showed some misalignment in my thumb joints. He directed me to a piano teacher who taught the Taubman Technique, a technique developed by Dorothy Taubman for pianists who suffer hand pains. It taught me to re-learn to use my hands effortlessly so as to avoid putting stress on my joints, muscles or tendons--the very opposite to strengthening therapy. Whether the origin of your pain is TMS or not, you may consider this technique as a complement to your TMS mental workout. |
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tennis tom
USA
4749 Posts |
Posted - 03/08/2012 : 07:39:41
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quote:
Originally posted by WHforster84
Hello everyone-
... been dealing with pain issues with my playing for the last 4-5 years.
... identified with (total perfectionist, super high achiever, stoic type.
...I'd also just gotten out of a fairly unhappy long-term relationship, which had put an incredible amount of stress on me personally for the past 3-4yrs.)
...This doc saw nothing wrong in a neck xray (no MRI was prescribed), and he also gave a 20-minute office exam. His diagnosis was hypermobility syndrome (that is, really flexible)
...I'm definitely pursuing the Sarno method on a daily basis. I'm seeing a therapist now, and working through Schubiner's book. At the very least, I'm learning a lot about my inner wiring and past issues, which I had never really reflected on.
Hi WHF,
Sounds like you're doing everything right. Next step is PATIENCE! I did some TMS therapy sessions with Dr. Don Dubin, who's now deceased, and he said it never took him more than twelve sessions at most to train someone in TMS thinking. You don't have to search way back into the depths of your psyche, you only need to understand the simple theory of how it works. It took your mindbody 30 years plus some womb time to develop your personality and 3-4 years in a bad relationship to fill your TMS subconscious reservoir to overfilling necessitating the creation of TMS benign pain as a protective defense mechanism. Give TMS thinking some time for your mindbody to absorb it on a cellular level. Be careful of future TMS creating relationships. Relationships should help us not get TMS rather then giving it to us, otherwise we're better off on our own.
I've heard of "hyperflexibility" and it's something I've never had to deal with and I've heard of tight muscles but I've never heard anyone saying the range of motion of their joints and muscles was just right.
You got lucky finding a good ortho who took a lot of time with you and didn't lay any heavy nocebos on you. Sounds like you're doing great, rock on!
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DR. SARNO'S 12 DAILY REMINDERS:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0dKBFwGR0g
TAKE THE HOLMES-RAHE STRESS TEST
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holmes_and_Rahe_stress_scale
Some of my favorite excerpts from _THE DIVIDED MIND_ :
http://www.tmshelp.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2605
==================================================
"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." Jiddu Krishnamurti
"Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional." Author Unknown
"Happy People Are Happy Putters." Frank Nobilo, Golf Analyst
"Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint." Mark Twain and Balto
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TMS PRACTITIONERS:
John Sarno, MD
400 E 34th St, New York, NY 10016
(212) 263-6035
Here's the TMS practitioners list from the TMS Help Forum:
http://www.tmshelp.com/links.htm
Here's a list of TMS practitioners from the TMS Wiki:
http://tmswiki.org/page/Find+a+TMS+Doctor+or+Therapist
Here's a map of TMS practitioners from the old Tarpit Yoga site, (click on the map by state for listings).:
http://www.tarpityoga.com/2007_08_01_archive.html |
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WHforster84
USA
4 Posts |
Posted - 03/08/2012 : 11:57:19
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Thanks TT for the reinforcing advice about patience. I definitely know it intellectually, but the fear is tough to deal with since this threatens both my livelihood and my identity. What you say about absorbing it on a cellular level I think is true; I'm still working through it in my mind, but it's not my habit yet.
One positive that has been more immediate is that even though my pain hasn't gone away, my attitude about this situation has improved a lot since encountering Sarno's ideas. I will keep working on it-
Also thanks to shari; I haven't heard of taubman but will look in to it.
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Musician; Hypermobility Syndrome or TMS?
