How to recognize symptom imperative

Hi all,

I was recently thinking about how I was at what felt like rock-bottom this time last year. I read Healing Back Pain last July and then many other books and joined this wiki. I started meditating and doing yoga and thinking psychologically. Then I did what my TMS doctor said I'd have to do to recover, I started to run a bit again. (I used to be devoted to running.)

I know it's not a miracle (it's the way of TMS,) but I am, in less than a year, probably 90% better, and that feels like a miracle. Just as I was marveling at how my life has returned to me, I pulled a muscle in my leg on a fairly short run. Being back in runner mode (sort of,) I taped it and bought a compression sleeve, and stopped running until it healed. It doesn't seem to be getting any better though.

The other day I was explaining my limp to a colleague and the words, "It's always something with my body!" came out of my mouth. Then a little bell went off in my head. That sounds an awful lot like TMS. Am I falling for it again?

The injury is not "bad" enough for a doctor visit. If it's a strained muscle, I just need to lay low until it's better. If it's TMS, it seems like it will only get better when I get back on it and stop taping it. Short of traveling into the city (an all-day endeavor from where I live,) how do I know whether to treat an "injury" as an injury or as TMS?

Thank you for your wisdom and on-going support!

 

Someone on this Forum can probably tell you how long it takes a pulled muscle to heal on average. If you are past that, then assume it is TMS.

I now assume everything I get is TMS first. If it persists and gets worse or doesn't move around, etc., then I see a doctor to rule something physical out. I often have symptoms flare up when I talk about having "cured" my TMS. I am very prone to TMS, so I have come to accept that and don't get upset when new symptoms appear. Just go back to the basics of TMS healing and remind yourself that you know what to do, as you've been successful in the past in recovering. TMS relapses don't last too long for me anymore.

 

spiritual beings having a physical experience... we paint the walls with scary things and wonder why we are afraid. We rely on human reasoning and wonder why we're stuck

 

Hi Cara,

I usually give muscle strains a couple weeks to heal. Shouldn't take too long with laying low and giving the running a rest temporarily. If it hurts consistently, in the exact same spot and mostly hurts when you move the limb but not at rest, its probably a muscle spasm. Recall that muscles can get strained or spasm for physical reasons or could even be TMS caused! But even a muscle that goes into spasm due to TMS could take a week or 2 to relax out of the spasm. So be easy on yourself, it should heal up in no time either way.