Day 3 - exercise, pain and the role of expectations

I have been exercising fairly regularly for the past several months. My routine usually consists of some very light weight lifting followed by the exercise bike and then the pool. Occasionally I do the elliptical and/or rowing machine instead of the bike/pool.

Sometimes exercise reduces physical pain and other times it does the opposite. I generally have less pain when I exercise vigorously, which makes very little sense if the pain were to be structural in nature. Oftentimes I will be mostly pain free during exercise only to have a flare up later, such as on the following day.

For a long time I drove myself crazy trying to draw a direct cause and effect relationship between the gym and pain. I ran myself in circles trying to figure out if exercise was good or bad. Were certain exercises helpful and others harmful? What was the correct duration? Intensity? What about stretching? On and on I went, agonizing at every turn, convinced that there must be some hypothetical perfect balance that would lead me out of pain and if I could JUST figure it out...

The answer of course is that the pain operates according to my own expectations, not according to anything directly involving exercise. I was unable to realize this because I was so hell bent on uncovering the physical cause. I couldn’t find the answer because I was asking the wrong question.

TMS pain is a deceptively simple riddle. Like all riddles, it remains a mystery by creating and then capitalizing on a series of false assumptions. TMS uses what we “know” against us - that pain is always caused by something physical. TMS is like a sleight of hand magician with one incredibly convincing trick. But once you know how the trick works, you will cease to be fooled.

Of course it’s easier said than done, especially for someone as prone to fear and doubt as me. I vow to work my ass off until it sinks in though.

 

Hi,wallic. Dr. Sarno says you won't hurt yourself if you resume physical activity
and Steve Ozanich says that he kept playing golf even though it hurt his back.
His total belief in TMS causing the pain healed him.

So don't let pain discourage you from exercising.
Otherwise you condition your mind to expect pain when you exercise.

The answer to the riddle is TMS.

Have a great day.