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Daniel L. Can I still stretch, get massages, etc?
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I love this question.

As you may already know, there are many different beliefs regarding this particular issue. Sarno believes that anything you do to send a message to your unconscious that it is a structural issue can be a problem. He argues that even the slightest bit of reinforcement to your brain can hold you back. If the exercise provides some relief (albeit temporary), then part of your brain associates the exercise with a structural problem.

Here’s an anology: My neighbor. Matt, has a fancy new car with a touch screen on the dashboard that tells him all about the cars’ fuel consumption. Two months ago he noticed that his car was going through gas at an extremely rapid rate. He kept filling up the tank, but the gas levels kept dropping. For a long time, he thought that it was the type of gas that he was putting in the car that was the problem: “Regular doesn’t work, so Supreme will fix this…”

After weeks of aggravating confusion, Matt finally took his car to the mechanic. It turns out that the computer system inside the car was malfunctioning and sending the wrong message to the engine. The computer was telling the engine to use the maximum amount of gas, when that wasn’t necessary. If my neighbor continued filling up his car, in theory the car would still run and he and the car could function that way for quite some time. But it wouldn’t fix the problem – and he’d run out of money pretty quickly.

Just like the computer in the car, your brain is sending the wrong signals to your body. Somewhere along the way it malfunctioned, and stretching (like putting more gas in the car) has provided enough relief to keep you going, but it hasn’t fixed the problem.

Here’s my personal belief: You can’t drive the car to the mechanic if there isn’t any gas in it. You have to fill it up to give you that extra push (even if it is for a short time/distance) for the time being. Similarly, stretching, while not the solution to your problem, may make you feel better in the moment, and give you the mental space to continue to work on the reasons why your body is manifesting this TMS pain. But stretching won’t cure your pain. Exercise is an important way to keep your mind and your body healthy, but when it comes time to fix the malfunctioning part of your brain, exercise won’t do anything.

In short, it is completely “safe” for you to continue stretching; this is not a structural problem, therefore it is not possible to exacerbate imagined structural damage. And if stretching is part of your normal health routine, then by all means, continue. But don’t think for a moment that stretching (putting gas in the car) is going to solve the problem with the brain (the computer). If you start thinking that way, then you’ll spend an awful lot of time and money on the wrong solution.


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