Are physical health practitioners a placebo?

Hi all
I was wondering does anyone have an opinion on whether osteopaths, chiropractors, physical therapists et al, have a role to play in the treatment of acute or chronic pain issues? I've heard of people having dislocated joints popped back into place using high velocity thrusts. And injured athletes having their recovery time speeded up with prescribed rehab programs. I ask this because I know myself that none of these worked for me. I discovered Dr Sarno a few months back with great results so far.

 

Hi there,

Physical therapies can only work on physical issues. By definition TMS is generated by our personality and no chiropractor can pop that back into place. What they can do ranges from the placebo through to helping us realise how to relax. For example, a masseur can reduce physical tension in the muscles and we love how lose and free that feels as we learn to use our body as feedback and we learn to honour the sensations it has and what they are telling us. No masseur can change the way we think, or process stress, or deal with our relationships.

Some people, and I include myself here, do well with body-oriented methods such as massage, yoga and such because they access the body-mind via the body but the insights are clearly registered as a whole. Others fare better by accessing the body-mind via the mind, so practices like mindfulness prevail for them. The means matter less than the ends which are you recognise how TMS has manifested in your life and your body, and you see how to remedy that.

So do physical therapists have a role?
They can do but it's not necessarily the role they think. They are really catalysts to personal insights that lead to change and then to healing. They are passive. You are dynamic, but it seems to be the other way around at first glance.

 

Thank you Plum for your thoughtful explanation. I've been caught up in Dr Sarno's recommendation that I stop all treatments and stretching routines.
Sometimes I'm just dying to massage my traps when they get tight and worry that if I do then I'm not focusing on the emotional cause of my pain.
I feel relieved that it's okay to do it sometimes and not feel guilty about it.

 

Just always keep in mind that such treatments as massage are not addressing the CAUSE of your pain. The cause is all in the mind. The pain will continue to return even if you get temporary relief until there is change at the level of the mind. It can sometimes be difficult to keep this distinction in mind, especially at the beginning of treatment for TMS. Those of us with TMS personalities don't do very well with ambiguity or nuance. That's why I think Sarno recommends stopping all physical treatments.

 

Thank you Ellen. I'm absolutely astonished at the whole interaction between my subconscious mind and my body's symptoms. Sometimes I can talk the pain away only to get other pains in areas I never had before. I have had pretty constant low back pain/ stomach indigestion for 30 years and went thru all the usual modalities. Until I began to get elbow, toe, neck, shoulder, ankle pain in addition to my original issues I finally decided to google psychological possibilities. Soon enough I stumbled across Dr Sarno and was so impressed by him I bought mind body prescription and there I was all over the book. I'm making steady progress ( 4 months) and I will post my story when I have tamed the beast !

 

If you feel guilty about wanting a massage, you are feeding the beast! I am getting a massage tomorrow because it is relaxing. It helps, it is self-care.
I pretty much can track any recurring trapezius pain directly to an immediate stressor (usually related to absorbing other peoples anxiety.) My concerns have shifted to my gut which is probably TMS. However, bunion pain has an obvious physical deformity.
The main thing I am trying to change is building a life out of medical appointments--which is what my dad did. I'm seeing a podiatrist tomorrow, am overdue for the dentist, and just got a notice that it's time for a mammogram.
The major change for me in the past year or more is that I am less inclined to panic over pain. Sometimes it gets the best of me, but the trajectory is good