Day 1 TMS round 2... osteo arthritis and plantar fascitis

I'm a 56 year old man, 35 years in high tech doing architecture and project management, intense type A personality. I'm no athlete, but I've been physically active (hyperactive?) my whole life.

About 23 years ago I had digestion problems, migraines, Fibromyalgia, chronic pain in the feet, and went through many therapies and a lot of money before I heard about TMS. Most of my symptoms went away in a single weekend of reading The Mind Body Prescription. Since then, I've had minor bouts of pain and have worked with them successfully.

About 8 years ago, I started having knee problems. I could no longer ride my bike without pain under my left kneecap. My doctor diagnosed Patellar Chondrosis, degradation of the tissue underneath the kneecap. I stopped riding my bike entirely, but continued hiking and other activities with no knee pain. I assumed at the time that this was a structural issue, and not TMS, since the symptoms seemed to go away. I was sad not to be able to ride any more, but it wasn't too big a deal.

I have also had plantar fascitis on and off for many years, and was told I had flat feet, and thinning pads, and it's just a consequence of age. So I've been very careful not to walk barefoot, and to only wear supportive shoes. Again, did not associate with TMS, since the shoes solved the problem, and I continued hiking, etc.

Last February, I retired from my job, moved into a van with my wife, and hit the road. After a few weeks of walking barefoot on beaches, and cooking barefoot in the van, my PF returned with a vengeance. I've been unable to hike, walk for long distances, or stand for more than 30 minutes without pain. To work around this, I took up cycling again using an electric bike, and my knee started acting up, swelling, pain, even though I was being pretty careful.

So now I'm living in a van, and unable to walk far or ride. I'm not totally certain my knee and foot are 100% TMS, but I'm sure it's a strong contributor. I looked on the forums for other's experience on osteoarthritis and PF, and see that some have had good success.

So I'm restarting the TMS program, this time following the 6 week structured program. Very grateful this resource exists!

 

For some anecdotal evidence, I had both PF from running and knee pain from cycling, and both are TMS. They don't bother me now. Good luck!