Hi Mike, you asked a complex question; it deserves an even more complex answer. It all depends on what "TMS definition" you're using. The understanding has evolved through the years as more is observed through the new lens that Dr. Sarno created, and polished. We see health much clearer because of the good doctor's selfless devotion to his patients, and his work.
As you know Dr. Sarno even advanced his own thinking from myositis (muscle) to myoneural (muscle and nerves): then once again to TMS as The Mindbody Syndrome after he observed that it affected many more areas and systems like the immune system, vertigo, gastrointestinal, derma, etc... and states such as swelling. So if you run the concept of swelling through the first TMS-lens then swelling doesn't apply. If you run it through the second TMS-lens it begins to apply. If you run it through the third TMS-lens it easily applies as the images in front of the lens become more in-focus.
Without doubt--the brain can create anything, altering anything that it needs to, when it feels it needs to. It's a mechanism of survival by the survival brain. Of course this is based on the signals that are sent to the cells, as well as, the need for a diversion to escape the current situation. The proof is too overwhelming not to recognize that TMS affects every aspect of health. As I talk to people every day, in many countries, the proof is immense that TMS can be seen in an infinite variety of physical and psychological forms. As our own Tennis Tom likes to remind us, the good doctor stated to his patients, "There are so many things, little and big, that are TMS that I wouldn’t have time to write about all of them."
So if you use the current term of TMS then swelling readily applies. But there is also the term MBS which appears to be a much more conservative approach to the mindbody concepts. It seems to be a significantly narrower view of a mindbody process, with less physical conditions involved in an unconscious process, eg, many diseases. If you read-through the professionals that use the other terms such as PPD or MBS, they appear to be less inclined to believe that many of the body problems are caused by the subconscious, and seem to be more willing to apply the medical techniques to aid in healing. This of course is a difference in opinion between professionals.
TMS is certainly not MBS or PPD, and vice versa(s). The differences widen with time, they aren't converging, they are diverging.
It all comes down to belief, either as a professional, or as a layman. I'm of the group that believes that everything we get is from an unconscious mindbody process unless it falls into the categories of accident, congenital, dietary deficiency, etc... and of course the much rarer occurrence of simply wearing out (through repetition or oxidation). I believe this because I witness sufferers healing from all sorts of symptoms that even some mindbody docs don't believe are mindbody effects.
I fall into the group with Dr. Sarno and Gabor Mate, and Andrew Weil, etc. because I observe people healing. Dr. Mate currently has the best health book out there, besides GPD of course : ) When The Body Says No is the cat's meow. He truly gets it. It's fear and rage of separation that causes our health problems, proceeded by the need to make up for it by being nice, good, imposing great self demands and never being able to say no--that is, until the body finally says no.
A guy healed from stage 4 cancer contacted me to thank me for GPD, and told me that he now fully understands that he gave it to himself. The are many others with MS, and any host of other so-called life threatening disorders who heal once they get their life back into balance. They never needed medical treatment. But every patient needs to be viewed individually. We are all the same, but we aren't.
So it depends on what you believe, or which lens you are using to view your life through. Dr. Sarno's lens to me is much clearer, and being polished every day.
Hope that confuses you some,
SteveO