Confused about sudden knee pain

[unknownnicole]

Hi everyone, looking for some guidance on this one. I’ve known about TMS for 6 years now and healed my chronic pain and other random symptoms with this work.

I’ve recently been getting more active and finally admitting to myself that I would like to be healthier and lose some weight as someone with a sedentary job. I’ve started a challenge with my husband and I’ve been walking on the treadmill, and doing some low impact workouts.

Well, I’d completed a week feeling really accomplished and good, and then out of nowhere my knee started hurting at the end of my walk. It’s been almost a week now that I’ve decided to rest it, but it hasn’t gotten a whole lot better. I didn’t do anything to twist it or move it funny, it just kind of started hurting. It is interesting that right when it started though I was feeling really annoyed about something.

I’m confused about whether to just keep going, or wait because I don’t want to make an actual injury worse. I do suspect it is TMS, starting from no real physical injury other than maybe overuse. I also think I have a lot of emotion attached to losing weight and exercise and failing and giving up yet again. I know consciously that it makes it a lot easier to give up because of an “injury” than being afraid I’ll fail because of lack of motivation like I have in the past.

So my question is, should I keep going with my exercise now it’s been a week of resting?

 

[Cactusflower]

I am finding that on my own TMS journey, internal issues come up when they are ready to surface.
I suspect you are right on the money with what is going on, and it's been repressed and suppressed - you haven't wanted to think about all the heaviness and associations to your appearance.
You've also started a "Challenge" and there is a LOT of self-pressure in challenges of any kind.
Do the internal work you need to do: eg - journal, meditate, be with the emotions whatever it is you do to process this kind of new awareness of something deep in your emotional world.

and I think this advice is pertinent for you, @Diana-M just posted it - "It just starts with a decision: "I'm done being afraid." Alan Gordon"

Nobody here can give you the permission you are searching for to do the work. The work itself reminds us that we are in power, we are the ones in charge and making decisions for ourselves is how we empower ourselves. You might find you need to go slower, you might find you'll be absolutely OK, you might find it hurts - but it's TMS so completely benign...whatever it is, you find comfort in knowing that YOU control how you are going to proceed. Some days you might be all in, other days, not so much. Watch how you are measuring your success vs. the pressure you put on yourself because that can = stress.


Being healthy in mind and body is always a plus!

 

[JanAtheCPA]

First of all: everything that @Cactusflower is saying.
To answer this specific question:

So my question is, should I keep going with my exercise now it’s been a week of resting?

Well, we can't, as I think Cactus indicated.

Because if this is meant to be a physical question, which is certainly how the average person would interpret it, you have to see a health professional. On here, it's possible that you intended it to be an "I know it's TMS but I'm not sure what to do" question, but in that case, you are the only one who can be brutally honest enough with yourself to examine the emotions that are coming up for you when you think about exercising - and that includes the emotions that came up for you a weel ago when the pain emerged. You know, just in case there was some secret relief sneaking in along with that pain? Because you've received permission from your TMS brain to stay safely at home not taking any risks? (never forget - this is always the goal of your TMS brain, which is literally ONLY worried about your physical survival, and which doesn't give a flying f*** about your mental health). Watch out for this sneaky trick along with examining those other thoughts you're having.

That example popped into my head because that relief is what I would have latched onto back in the day, "before Sarno". These days, even at age 73, when I get a completely random and nonsensical pain, even if it's rather alarmingly intense, my immediate conclusion is that it has to be TMS because nothing else makes sense. I stop and consider the supressed bothersome thoughts that are probably hiding out in the dark corners of the chattering monkey cage which is my conscious and unconscious mind, and I assume that the pain will be gone by the next day, or later the same day, or, if I wake up with the twinge or spasm, that it won't last through my online aerobics and freeweight exercise routine. One of these is almost always the result, and if it is NOT, I have to get out the pen and paper and start writing shit down for a good amount of time in order to let whatever has been building up come to the surface, which is what Nicole Sachs recommends in her JournalSpeak tutorial (which is easy to find online on her new website, breakawake.com if you need a refresher).

 

[Baseball65]

So my question is, should I keep going with my exercise now it’s been a week of resting?

Yes.
In fact, resting tells yourself that something 'bad' is happening that needs to be rested.

If the pain comes back? Keep walking and have a private 'go inside yourself moment' and start inspecting what you are angry about but not aware of yet.

 

[Mr Hip Guy]

I also think I have a lot of emotion attached to losing weight and exercise and failing and giving up yet again. I know consciously that it makes it a lot easier to give up because of an “injury” than being afraid I’ll fail because of lack of motivation like I have in the past.

If "you" know that, then you better believe the subconscious "you" knows that too - and has picked its target and method of delivery very well. Our inner-child/subconscious HATES exercise and rages against it and will throw up all kinds of obstacles in front of you to get you to quit. Exercise represents change (change leads to risk which leads to possibly getting hurt) and involves effort and WORK (both of which involve discomfort) - the inner-child wants absolutely nothing to do with either of those and would rather distract you with this pain. All the better for it to be something you can martyr yourself onto with "well I tried, but my body failed me" attitudes.

It's excellent that you have recognized that already. Good luck!