Day 1

Hi, I recently read Dr. Sarno’s book and it really resonated with me. I developed lower back pain almost 3 months ago which now turned into sciatic nerve pain. I have a herniated disc at L5-S1. I have tried PT, chiropractor, epidural injection, and acupuncture. I read the book a few weeks ago and started to feel positive and then the pain started to get worse and the sciatic nerve pain became unbearable (especially at night and while driving so I haven’t had a good night sleep in weeks). As much as I liked the book, I thought “no there’s something really wrong with me” and continued to go for treatments because I was afraid to stop. Almost 3 weeks ago I had an epidural and it helped a little but not much. After my 2 week follow up my doctor mentioned doing another epidural and consulting with a surgeon in case the 2nd epidural didn’t work. Of course that day my pain felt worse because surgery freaked me out. I decided to give the book another chance, what do I have to loose? I’m feeling more positive and hopeful. I spoke to a friend who had success from this book and he mentioned the SEP which I wish I knew about a few weeks ago. I recently switch PTs and I really like this new PT. She does a lot of soft tissue mobilization. My question is, is it ok to continue? I see it as I lost a lot of range of motion which I’d like to continue to get more Range of motion and then eventually move on to Pilates or yoga in the future (for overall health benefits). I have a 1 year old and a 5 year old. I want to get better for them and ME! I’ve already noticed improvements on my first day. I should add that I’m an occupational therapist who used to work with inpatient rehab patients in a hospital so I have a medical background so it probably will be hard to make the shift to TMS being emotional rather than physical. Especially since my muscles are so tight and range of motion is limited. Thanks for any support you can give!

 

Hi JDR -

Here's how I feel about PT, and all bodywork - AKA, the "laying on of hands":

You can use bodywork IF you do so with the knowledge that it is just a tool which will help you visualize your own self-healing. You can NOT expect the practitioner to be the one that is actually creating the healing. But the work of a good practitioner CAN help you to boost the healing energy of your own body. You can do this by visualizing the healing energy/oxygen/blood flow/strength/or whatever you think your body needs in order to become symptom-free.

When I broke my hip, a surgeon put titanium pins in it. But after the surgery, I felt that it was totally up to me to take care of the incision, to do my physical therapy, and, most importantly, to believe in my body's ability to heal both the incision and the break from that point on, quickly, and with minimal further intervention (and no painkillers other than Ibuprofen - even the day after the surgery). It's a well-known phenomenon (although hard to quantify!) that individuals who believe in their recovery heal better and faster than those who don't.

All that being said, I actually see my favorite PT every three months, just for a "tune-up". It's a good reminder of the ways and places in which I carry stress. He's on board with the mindbody connection, so he's not looking for any pathological reasons why I'm less flexible in a place where I was more flexible three months ago - he gets that it's stress. But it's nice to get a little hands-on bodywork, and to be reassured that I'm really in quite good physical shape - especially for my age.