NicoleB34
Well known member
I'm curious if there is a real difference between the two, and if Alan Gordon could chime in? For those who dont know what CS is, there is plenty of info online about it, but in a nutshell, CS is the emerging theory by neurologists that the central nervous system is jacking up the sensitivity of nerves, so that you "feel" more (sometimes even smell more, taste more, hear more, etc.) basically turning up the volume knob of your senses, and this usually happens after repeated stresses on tissue, particularly an injury, surgery, infections, etc. There's a lot more medical terminology that explains it more deeply that i dont quite understand, but that's the short explanation.
Central sensitization seems more grim of a diagnosis though, doctors act like once these changes happen in the brain/spinal cord level, it is more or less permanent. But at the same time, they do say that some relief can be obtained if you can "calm down the nervous system". I am glad however, that they are (meaning, regular doctors) at least coming to conclusions that this type of chronic pain is BRAIN BASED, and that probably most chronic pain is CS.
Dr. Shubiner has said in a blurb he thinks that TMS and CS are the same. I think that they most certainly overlap, though, traditional doctors sort of scoff at the idea that CS has a psychological component. Many doctors havent even caught up to the CS theory yet, and they're still trying to mess with the painful tissue, chasing a problem that isnt there.
The more i read about CS, the more it seems to resonate with me, since my pain came from repeated trauma, but at the same time, i HAVE made some strides using mind-body approaches. I seem to have a mix of CS and TMS. In my case, my baseline pain is the same, but my flares/spikes have reduced. In other words, my pain still hovers around a 5-6 like it always has, almost like my brain has adjusted to pain being the "new normal" (which is the problem that CS creates) but the flareups that my brain was creating whenever my brain feared an activity, has been drastically reduced. I just cant seem to bring down that daily 5-6 pain. That's what i'm really stuck on. I dont want to get too stuck on the idea that i have the dreaded incurable central sensitization pain that i've read about. Does anyone know anything about this?
Central sensitization seems more grim of a diagnosis though, doctors act like once these changes happen in the brain/spinal cord level, it is more or less permanent. But at the same time, they do say that some relief can be obtained if you can "calm down the nervous system". I am glad however, that they are (meaning, regular doctors) at least coming to conclusions that this type of chronic pain is BRAIN BASED, and that probably most chronic pain is CS.
Dr. Shubiner has said in a blurb he thinks that TMS and CS are the same. I think that they most certainly overlap, though, traditional doctors sort of scoff at the idea that CS has a psychological component. Many doctors havent even caught up to the CS theory yet, and they're still trying to mess with the painful tissue, chasing a problem that isnt there.
The more i read about CS, the more it seems to resonate with me, since my pain came from repeated trauma, but at the same time, i HAVE made some strides using mind-body approaches. I seem to have a mix of CS and TMS. In my case, my baseline pain is the same, but my flares/spikes have reduced. In other words, my pain still hovers around a 5-6 like it always has, almost like my brain has adjusted to pain being the "new normal" (which is the problem that CS creates) but the flareups that my brain was creating whenever my brain feared an activity, has been drastically reduced. I just cant seem to bring down that daily 5-6 pain. That's what i'm really stuck on. I dont want to get too stuck on the idea that i have the dreaded incurable central sensitization pain that i've read about. Does anyone know anything about this?
