Day 1

[RuthC]

Hello,

My name is Ruth. I have just started the Structured Education Program. This is my attempt at the "Day 1" post.
I am here principally because I am experiencing significant pain in my right glute and hamstring when I run. I am a very active person and the thought of not being able to move freely is very upsetting to me.

I have previously had tms that started in my hamstring and spread to my glute and to many other parts of my body back in 2020. I spent a year seeing physios and doctors. The pain increased as time went on to the point where sitting or even lying on my back was very painful. When I discovered curable and the tms approach, I was able to resolve all of my symptoms in weeks. In hindsight, I can see how my fear of the pain and my preoccupation with it fuelled the pain and caused it to spiral. Since 2020 I have had some other tms pains come on in various parts of my body but I have been able to resolve the symptoms with the tms approach.

The reason I am having a hard time shifting the symptoms this time around is two-fold. Firstly, the pain in my hamstring is particularly scary to me as I identify as an athlete and this pain previously caused a very upsetting year in my life. Secondly, the pain is behaving exactly like a structural injury. I am struggling to believe that is it actually tms. The pain first came on when running (at the start of January). It always comes on when running (albeit to a varying degree) and gets more painful the longer I run for. Walking and sitting will be sore for a number of days after a long run. I do however believe that the brain is very clever and in 2020 I learned a lot about hamstrings and tendons and how proximal hamstring tendenothapy and other hamstring conditions behave. I wonder whether my brain is just clever, and is able to create a pain pattern that will terrify me the most. I should note that I have seen a physio and they were unable to diagnose me with anything specific. I have no bruising or swelling. Also, the pain first came on around the time my grandfather passed away and I was not doing any faster or longer runs then I had been doing before.

If anyone has any success stories regarding hamstrings or any words of advice I would greatly welcome them.

Hope you are all having a good Wednesday and that your pain is on the healing track.

Ruth

 

[JanAtheCPA]

Hi Ruth, and welcome to the forum!

If anyone has any success stories regarding hamstrings or any words of advice I would greatly welcome them.

Nope. I got nothin' about hamstrings, but that's okay because your hamstrings are completely irrelevant. This is TMS 101, but your brain has tricked you into forgetting it. Dang!

Asking only for hamstring advice is cleverly designed by your TMS brain mechanism for the purpose of guaranteeing failure and disappointment. The way it works is that your brain will convince you that any hamstring information or advice you receive is just not quite relevant to your specific symptoms. I've seen it too many times to have any doubts about this mechanism.

The SEP might be more dated than Curable, but I still think it's a great resource if you take it slowly and mindfully. It does not incorporate the significant advances in neuroscience and pain psychology that have taken place in the last 15 years, but the basic premise of Dr Sarno's theory about repressed negative emotions is still sound.

The number one thing you want to watch out for is when the exercises ask you to make your lists and to choose what you're going to write about. Your brain will actually try to give you excuses to avoid certain topics or memories, by convincing you that they aren't important or they're too embarrassing or shameful or whatever. Those are the things you must force yourself to write down and then look at. It's not comfortable, as I know from personal experience. The day I discovered that my brain was doing this it was a shock and a revelation, and it was also a turning point in my most important recovery.

Also, the pain first came on around the time my grandfather passed away and I was not doing any faster or longer runs then I had been doing before.

The death of a cherished family member brings up a number of deeply personal existential issues that our brains generally want to repress because of the "dangerous" amount of emotional stress associated with them. They are excellent topics for journaling.

The core existential issues that are associated with death are Abandonment, Mortality, and Meaning.

You're in the right place. You just need to pay attention to your brain when it tries to distract you with the wrong questions

 

[RuthC]

Thank you so much for such a thoughtful and considered reply. I’ll definitely bear in mind your advice while working through the program. Can I just ask, what makes you believe my hamstring is just tms and not structural? Thanks a million!

 

[Joulegirl]

I have previously had tms that started in my hamstring and spread to my glute and to many other parts of my body back in 2020.

No one knows for certain if this symptom is TMS. However, you stated that you healed from your tms that presented as hamstring pain in 2020. If you are completely unsure if this is TMS-then you would need to consult a doctor. But I will say that TMS will come back as former symptoms or even creates new symptoms.

 

[JanAtheCPA]

what makes you believe my hamstring is just tms and not structural? Thanks a million!

Hmmm, well I did not actually say this. I am not any kind of medical professional, as we are reminded in the caveat on every page of the wiki and the forum. I certainly have no qualifications for making any kind of medical diagnosis (although as a CPA, I am quite qualified to make a US income tax diagnosis).

I should note that I have seen a physio and they were unable to diagnose me with anything specific. I have no bruising or swelling.

This is pretty clear, and in fact we need to know this before we can proceed to discuss the mindbody alternative with anyone.

You have literally been medically checked out, as the caveat requires. And your next step was to join a community devoted to the mindbody. Why? Presumably because you recognize that you are struggling with an internal conflict. On one side you have your own rational knowledge, your own past experience, and an actual professional opinion. These are three strong arguments for diagnosing yourself with TMS - yet your fearful brain is very skilled at casting an inordinate amount of doubt on what would appear to be the obvious answer!

The good news is that just by being here to ask the questions, you are fighting back.

And that's what I was responding to. When I said that your hamstrings are "irrelevant" I'm just repeating one of the first things that Dr Sarno teaches us.

 

[BloodMoon]

Can I just ask, what makes you believe my hamstring is just tms and not structural?

As @Joulegirl says, no one on these forums can know for certain that your symptoms are mind-body/TMS.

We can only say that your story points strongly to them being mind-body/TMS for these reasons:

You had the same pattern before in 2020 that resolved using mind-body techniques.

A physio has found nothing specifically structural, no bruising/swelling, no trauma.

You had changed nothing about your running routine.

The symptoms started amid grief (grandfather's passing) which is a classic TMS emotional trigger.

Mind-body/TMS indicators:

• Strong fear tied to athlete identity.
  
  
• Your "clever brain" recreating what you learned about structural tendon issues is a typical mind-body/TMS believability tactic.
  
  
• Reliable running trigger + post-run soreness, but no progression/red flags suggests fear conditioning, not damage.

The difference now? In 2020 you exhausted doctors/PTs first for a year before you were able to be fully committed to mind-body/TMS work.

So, maybe this time you also need to see a second medical practitioner for their "all clear" reassurance to fully convince yourself—then you'll be able to shift fully to mind-body/TMS.

 

[Adam Coloretti (coach)]

Hello,

My name is Ruth. I have just started the Structured Education Program. This is my attempt at the "Day 1" post.
I am here principally because I am experiencing significant pain in my right glute and hamstring when I run. I am a very active person and the thought of not being able to move freely is very upsetting to me.

I have previously had tms that started in my hamstring and spread to my glute and to many other parts of my body back in 2020. I spent a year seeing physios and doctors. The pain increased as time went on to the point where sitting or even lying on my back was very painful. When I discovered curable and the tms approach, I was able to resolve all of my symptoms in weeks. In hindsight, I can see how my fear of the pain and my preoccupation with it fuelled the pain and caused it to spiral. Since 2020 I have had some other tms pains come on in various parts of my body but I have been able to resolve the symptoms with the tms approach.

The reason I am having a hard time shifting the symptoms this time around is two-fold. Firstly, the pain in my hamstring is particularly scary to me as I identify as an athlete and this pain previously caused a very upsetting year in my life. Secondly, the pain is behaving exactly like a structural injury. I am struggling to believe that is it actually tms. The pain first came on when running (at the start of January). It always comes on when running (albeit to a varying degree) and gets more painful the longer I run for. Walking and sitting will be sore for a number of days after a long run. I do however believe that the brain is very clever and in 2020 I learned a lot about hamstrings and tendons and how proximal hamstring tendenothapy and other hamstring conditions behave. I wonder whether my brain is just clever, and is able to create a pain pattern that will terrify me the most. I should note that I have seen a physio and they were unable to diagnose me with anything specific. I have no bruising or swelling. Also, the pain first came on around the time my grandfather passed away and I was not doing any faster or longer runs then I had been doing before.

If anyone has any success stories regarding hamstrings or any words of advice I would greatly welcome them.

Hope you are all having a good Wednesday and that your pain is on the healing track.

Ruth

I agree with the other responses in that we can't tell you for sure (perfect summary of the factors by @BloodMoon ) - if, however, you've had the all clear medically/from the physio then I don't see a reason not to treat this the same as you did in 2020. You've already had experience with symptoms in that area being TMS from the sounds of it, so that increases the chances of it being the same story this time around.

For what it's worth, I had pain at the origin of the hamstring (where it attaches to the sit bone), and it was TMS and I recovered