Facet pain, foot numbness, sciatica

[Chloe]

Hello,
I've had back pain on and off since I was in my twenties. I'm now mid forties. About 7 years ago I experienced pain like I've never had, knocked me off my feet and in a bed for a solid week - took another 5 to recover fully. Dr., chiropractors, PT, etc. I found Dr. Sarno's books which have helped me to progress and over the years have been fine. Once in a while I get a twinge of pain but other than that, have been fine. I am unable to jog because I do beleive that structurally, it's not the right exercise for my body, which is hard to let go of. Three weeks ago, I was jogging and trying to "ignore" the muscle pain, etc. I did what my chiropractor called "collapsed a facet bone". He said will heal - could take weeks or months, but it WILL heal. The pain is very frustrating and hard to accept on days. I struggle through work and homelife and am distracted from it, not to mention it's causing me anxiety. I did get an xray and it was "fine" normal degenerative stuff for my age. So it was getting better, but suddenly yesterday it felt like it relapsed. I'm back to lidocaine patches and advil. When I walk my spine is pins and needles (lower back) my foot is window paned with numbness, my buttocks and legs are in pain. I'm now worried about things like chronic pain, needles in my back, etc. I was told this was a structural problem - I do believe I am in pain - I also am very aware that will stress and worry it gets worse, yet I can't seem to overcome the "structural" thing. I won't jog again. I just won't. But I do want to find what works for me.

 

[Forest]

Hi Chloe - I am sorry to hear that you are in so much pain. When you have a whole bunch a various symptoms it can be very discouraging. Like you I had a variety of chronic pain symptoms for about 18 years. It can be difficult to believe that you will ever be pain free again. But if you follow the TMS approach and accept the diagnosis you will recover. From my own experience I know, that when you see a whole bunch of practitioners and try a lot of different healing modalities and none of them work, you begin to think you will never get better and that you are broken. But there is a fundamental difference between TMS and all other modalities that you have tried. The TMS approach is the only one that will treat the root cause of your symptoms. Because of this, it will work.

I'm not too familiar with a "collapsed facet bone," but if you were told it will heal in a few weeks then it could be a strucutral issue that will heal on its own. Of course, with TMS can still turn an actual injury into chronic pain. It is actually one of the most common formulations of TMS.

One thing to keep in mind is that the constant questioning of is it TMS or a structural issue is the TMS distraction at work. Also, if you think something is structural or that you can't do something then you will have TMS pain in that location or when you do that activity. You mentioned that you can't jog because "it is not the right exercise for my body." I can't say if it is or is not right for you, but I do know that if you think you are fragile or can't do something then you won't be able to do it. Accepting the diagnosis invovles fully believing and understanding that you are not fragile and that you can run and exercise.

From reading your post, it sounds like you are really focused on your symptoms, which is only preventing you from recovering. I would encourage you to read the Success Stories and the post on www.thankyoudrsarno.org. Also, check out Is it TMS or a Real Structural Issue and start the Structured Program. Also, read Dr. Sarno's books until the message sinks in and you no longer doubt the cause of your symptoms. The first step you need to take to recover is to find a way to remove your doubts and accept the diagnosis.