Hi all,
I am new to TMS and to this website. I searched for a thread that related closely to my symptoms/situation, but could not find anyone with exactly what’s been going on with me.
I'll try to do a quick history. Relative to many of you, I found Dr. Sarno's book "Healing Back Pain" fairly soon after my injury. 7 months ago, I was playing hockey with a rib out of place. I simply stretched for a puck and felt a "click". I was layed up and could not walk for nearly a week with severe pain in my lower back that made normal motion impossible. Easily the worst pain I’ve ever felt. Fast forward through the next 7 months, it got better and worse again while seeing 6+ different Dr's (chiropractors, orthopedic surgeons, acupuncturist). I had an MRI done in December that showed a herniated L5/S1. Which all the Dr's obviously pointed to as the cause of my pain and Sciatica. I was not a great candidate for surgery (thankfully!) as my pain was mostly in my lower back and not ONLY in my legs (which I did/do have Sciatica down my right leg into my calf).
I found and finished "Healing Back Pain" two and a half weeks ago and since then have been completely immersed in re-reading it, this forum, YouTube success stories, the daily reminders, Sarno interviews, etc. I can honestly say that I felt my pain moving around like I've never felt. Which has been very encouraging. Since the injury, I have been completely nursing my back and not doing anything I normally would be (snowboarding, playing hockey, working out, running, even sitting at my work desk -as my couch and an ice pack has taken the place of my that). Since every doctor I saw told me my motor skills are great and that "this disk herniation is not that bad and should not be causing you this much pain", I can confidently believe that TMS is the culprit, that I do not have a structural abnormality and there is nothing serious going on back there. Upon finishing the book, I knew I was giving my pain way too much of my energy and attention. I decided to go outside and resume my normal life. I’ve been going to the gym and doing real workouts along with running up to 2 miles at a time. Although I feel the pain, I feel great to be active and breaking a sweat.
One week ago, I awoke to a pain I haven't felt in a while, the pain that told me "be careful or you will really hurt yourself again" (to describe the pain, it was in the center of my lower back and felt like my back might break) a similar pain as to when I initially had my hockey injury. Once again, I read the chapter on resuming physical activity "including the most vigorous". So, to prove to my brain that I would not put up with its games, I did not nurse it and instead, went to the gym to stay on my new routine. That evening, I had excruciating back pain similar to the pain I felt when I first injured myself. However, within a couple days, that pain subsided and continued as the “normal” pain.
Today, I’ve decided I need to post on the forum. I woke up and went outside to see it snowed a few inches. Being the good neighbor I am, and no longer thinking of shoveling as a handicap, I grabbed a shovel and started to clean the steps so my neighbors wouldn’t slip on our steep steps. One of my feet slipped on the step and came down hard on the step below which gave my body a solid jolt and my back/legs an over extension. Immediately the “fresh” pain returned and I could hardly move without severe pain taking over. All day, every simple move I make causes excruciating pain in the same place; the center of the lower back. Sitting, lifting, normal movements add to the pain.
Can this really just be O2 deprivation? My instincts are telling me to be careful right now, but I do not want to give any more sympathy to my "back injury".
Has this happened to anyone in their healing process? I am trying to stay in my good mind set but this pain is very real. Dr. Sarno says not to fear reinjuring yourself when resuming normal activity (i.e. shoveling) but today’s events do not add to my confidence.
I am new to TMS and to this website. I searched for a thread that related closely to my symptoms/situation, but could not find anyone with exactly what’s been going on with me.
I'll try to do a quick history. Relative to many of you, I found Dr. Sarno's book "Healing Back Pain" fairly soon after my injury. 7 months ago, I was playing hockey with a rib out of place. I simply stretched for a puck and felt a "click". I was layed up and could not walk for nearly a week with severe pain in my lower back that made normal motion impossible. Easily the worst pain I’ve ever felt. Fast forward through the next 7 months, it got better and worse again while seeing 6+ different Dr's (chiropractors, orthopedic surgeons, acupuncturist). I had an MRI done in December that showed a herniated L5/S1. Which all the Dr's obviously pointed to as the cause of my pain and Sciatica. I was not a great candidate for surgery (thankfully!) as my pain was mostly in my lower back and not ONLY in my legs (which I did/do have Sciatica down my right leg into my calf).
I found and finished "Healing Back Pain" two and a half weeks ago and since then have been completely immersed in re-reading it, this forum, YouTube success stories, the daily reminders, Sarno interviews, etc. I can honestly say that I felt my pain moving around like I've never felt. Which has been very encouraging. Since the injury, I have been completely nursing my back and not doing anything I normally would be (snowboarding, playing hockey, working out, running, even sitting at my work desk -as my couch and an ice pack has taken the place of my that). Since every doctor I saw told me my motor skills are great and that "this disk herniation is not that bad and should not be causing you this much pain", I can confidently believe that TMS is the culprit, that I do not have a structural abnormality and there is nothing serious going on back there. Upon finishing the book, I knew I was giving my pain way too much of my energy and attention. I decided to go outside and resume my normal life. I’ve been going to the gym and doing real workouts along with running up to 2 miles at a time. Although I feel the pain, I feel great to be active and breaking a sweat.
One week ago, I awoke to a pain I haven't felt in a while, the pain that told me "be careful or you will really hurt yourself again" (to describe the pain, it was in the center of my lower back and felt like my back might break) a similar pain as to when I initially had my hockey injury. Once again, I read the chapter on resuming physical activity "including the most vigorous". So, to prove to my brain that I would not put up with its games, I did not nurse it and instead, went to the gym to stay on my new routine. That evening, I had excruciating back pain similar to the pain I felt when I first injured myself. However, within a couple days, that pain subsided and continued as the “normal” pain.
Today, I’ve decided I need to post on the forum. I woke up and went outside to see it snowed a few inches. Being the good neighbor I am, and no longer thinking of shoveling as a handicap, I grabbed a shovel and started to clean the steps so my neighbors wouldn’t slip on our steep steps. One of my feet slipped on the step and came down hard on the step below which gave my body a solid jolt and my back/legs an over extension. Immediately the “fresh” pain returned and I could hardly move without severe pain taking over. All day, every simple move I make causes excruciating pain in the same place; the center of the lower back. Sitting, lifting, normal movements add to the pain.
Can this really just be O2 deprivation? My instincts are telling me to be careful right now, but I do not want to give any more sympathy to my "back injury".
Has this happened to anyone in their healing process? I am trying to stay in my good mind set but this pain is very real. Dr. Sarno says not to fear reinjuring yourself when resuming normal activity (i.e. shoveling) but today’s events do not add to my confidence.
