Acute back spasms won't stop

Hi all,
I thought I had TMS on the run when my back pain of 4 years starting waning and then was gone for a week, only to be replaced by hamstring pain and anxiety. But then that got better and now I keep having these terrible back spasms when I bend! I am a fitness instructor and I am thinking I'm going to have to quit because I can't trust my body any more! I am really feeling blue...I've taught fitness for 30 years and this is NOT what I want to do, but I also don't want to have a bad spasm in front of 25 people! Please help me--can anybody relate to these spasms and is it a good sign? I went to a TMS physician and they looked at MRI, did exam, etc. everything was considered to be normal but Why out of the blue does this keep happening? I guess I'm just looking for someone who's had these low back spasms that take your breath away and you got well from it. Thank you.

 

You will be alright, especially if you have been cleared by a doctor. It seems you are scaring yourself about losing your job, your stuck on the fear cycle. Your body is strong, it's just the phase your in. Accept the pain and move on, keep living life.

As the great doctor said if one is preoccupied with the body the symptoms will persists. Shift your focus, you will come out of this a warrier. We are what we believe.

Ryan

 

Thanks for the response, Ryan. I'm really nervous about class tonight because I'm in pain and bending is part of the routine. I did take a flexeril but it is still happening and I don't know why. Does anybody here have experience with this and if so, how did they overcome it? Help, please!!!

 

try your best to find out what is happening in the short period before a spasm occurs. I've heard some astonishing tales from Dr Dave Clarke on how something can trigger an episode of pain onset. its pretty spooky stuff but it might help you out.

 

Irish,
Where did you hear of these "tales?" I'd like to check them out.

 

My back spasm went away recently from exercises prescribed by my Dr. No drugs. Don't be afraid. Many times these things are short lived.

 

My first round with TMS, I had very bad back spasms. When I read Healing Back Pain, I totally related to Sarno's words when he talked about how the spasms could cause the "trunk to become contorted." My waist literally dramatically curved to one side during these spasms, making the right side of my waist curve WAY in and the left side of my waist to be straight as a ruler. It was odd and frightening. This happened to me while I was in NYC for work and the spasms were so bad that I could barely put one foot in front of the other, and even attempting to stretch was out of the question because everything was so tight and painful. I suffered through an absolutely terrifying and miserable morning of work and flight home, and then freaked out once I got home as to what was happening with my body. (This was before I knew about TMS, so I thought something very very abnormal and scary was happening to me.) The spasms stopped after a few days, but I was left with the back and piriformis pain off and on for months, until I finally learned about TMS. Once I learned about TMS, I healed and was left with no back pain at all. My first time with TMS, I got over it in about a month, and I stayed TMS-free for about three months. I did the reading, the journaling, the SEP, and the "getting back to living my life."
I am currently in the throes of a relapse of the tricky and deceiving TMS, and this time it's in a whole different location, with a whole different type of pain. I will tell you that what got me over it the first time, and what I need to work on this time, is not obsessing over the pain and working on outcome independence. My personality is such that (big surprise) I freak out over ANY pain whatsoever, making me a perfect TMS candidate. After getting through TMS the last time relatively quickly (in my opinion), I thought this time would be just as fast. However, we all know that when we set expectations on our unconscious brain, it rebels. This time around, I've gotten frustrated because it's just not going away! I have realized over the past couple of days that I am feeding it with my constant fear, obsession, and monitoring. I literally journal, and think to myself, "maybe this journal entry will make the pain stop." Nope, it's still there. I now know that I need to stop putting deadlines on my pain, go about living my life as much as possible, and try not to give so much focus, and therefore power, to my pain.
You CAN get through this. We both have done it before. Our unconscious brains are just being stubborn, just like the Id (which I have been learning about in Steve O's book). At one point the first time around, I was literally laughing at the pain, because I would see what it was trying to do. I'm hoping I can get to that point this time around and I'm hoping you can too. When you think about it, it does seem a little absurd that our brains can create such acute pain with the intention of helping us, but the reality is that it makes us even more miserable!

 

Hi, stayfit65.

I'm going to see if there are any videos on Youtube about back spasms.

 

Yes, I found several and watched them. You might find something there to help you.
But also keep believing the spasms are from TMS, no matter what suggestions the videos have.

 

Walt, where can I locate those videos?

 

Hey there, do you have a link to these interviews? Thanks

 

nope I was about to request Forrest or the guys at RUMUR because I dug through their blog. it was part of the Kickstarter updates but I can't locate it.

Dave Clarke mentions a patient whose sister had been gunned down. can anyone help with this ??

Forrest? perhaps Caroline from RUMUR?