foraminal impingment

OK, Doc. Sarno essentially says there is no such thing as a pinched nerve. But when your PT and doctor say the MRI shows a severe impingement which is progressive.....who do you believe?????

 

You need to take a good look at your symptoms on this one. Also not sure what you mean by progressive? As a PT I know that most "pinched nerves" as shown on MRI really are asymptomatic "normal abnormalities." A truly compressed nerve would show specific symptoms in a particular pattern. So it really depends on the pattern and frequency of your symptoms. For the record I have a compressed nerve root on imaging that is completely asymptomatic since I found TMS healing! Many of us on these forums have the same thing...terrible looking MRI but able to fully heal with TMS strategies.

 

Hi Mindbody: as I stated in my thread on alcohol easing my symptoms: on occasion my forearms get a bit wonky and
it feels like I have wooden thumbs with lousy fine motor skill. My head feels like there is a steel band around it, there is even a bit of spasm in my left calve.
I swam in my pool and did a lot of breast stroke the other day. PT says I may have exacerbated symptoms because with that stroke you keep your head way up.
We had a sit down talk about that c5 c6 extreme impingement and moderate stenosis and that is when he mentioned it is progressive.
It gets pretty bad down my left arm (tingles) to fingers when I tilt my head back and to the left. After a couple of drinks? No problem.
Driving me nuts
Derek

 

Yeah that's so frustrating! But the symptoms going away when you drink/are relaxed is a huge clue to the fact that this is TMS. If it wasn't you can be assured the symptoms would be constant and unrelenting, drinks or not. If you want to commit to TMS healing unfortunately you have to give up the structural explanation. Read others success stories who had similar MRIs. Read more TMS books. Plenty of us have terrible MRIs! Remember how smart TMS is at giving you symptoms in the area you're most fearful of.

 

Thanks for the support: I have more reading to do and look forward to checking out those success stories.
I tried a little deep relaxation technique (close to meditation) and that helped a bit as well.
Stay strong.....Derek

 

Speaking of success stories it would be nice to see recent success stories..not retread stories everyday that are years old. Some of these success stories are from thank you's to Dr. Sarno ! So to the administrators I would like to see success stories that are current. Thank you.

 

I have a L3 foramina nerve root compression plus pain on that side that is difficult to get out of my head...any suggestions when you obviously have structural anomalies seen on MRI ? I try and tell my brain to ignore this but it still seeps back with fear. I acknowledge the fear...feel it..and explain to myself it hasn't caused anything but pain.

 

There are lots of things you can do to strengthen your belief. Depends how you connect with TMS theory, on what level. There is research and studies that show poor correlation of spinal abnormalities like yours with pain and symptom, in respected medical journals. There are lots of success stories wher people fully kicked their TMS symptoms with similar MRI results. Make an evidence list and know that for true nerve compression it would be like when your arm falls asleep...recall Sarno discussing this in his books. A true nerve root compression would cause extremely specific symptoms in a predictable pattern that does not change or fluctuate without other issues and often without pain. Science just doesn't currently understand chronic pain well and certainly does not realize that it does not correlate to MRI findings that were likely there before the pain even started.

 

So are you saying that if the pain stays in one area of your back it isn't TMS ? The pain has to fluctuate around ?

 

Nope that's not true either. It definitely could be on one side. The fact that you had an MRI and it showed that specific side may be driving the pain stay on that side, in fact.

The truth is that 99% of chronic back pain without severe other symptoms (and sometimes with!) is TMS. Impingement, stenosis, disc herniations, and many others are truly asymptomatic in many people. Their presence on an MRI does not explain chronic back pain. I suggest you keep reading to better understand and strengthen you belief!

 

Thank you....sometimes for instance my pain is more on the right hip then left side or right in the middle near the coccyx. I must admit I had surgery (didn't help infact made it worse), but was diagnosed with TMS. I feel like I am getting better by reading as much as I can and also following Alan's program.

 

You're welcome! Yeah lots of people experience that with surgery, i've worked with people in that situation come for PT. The coccyx and hip aren't really even near L3, so tell yourself that...anatomically it just doesn't work out. I really connected with TMS via logic and my knowledge of anatomy and neuroscience given my background, some other science-minded folks do the same.

 

not even with a radiculopathy ?

 

Nope not really. I also had radiculopathy, as did many on this site. Usually it's TMS. As a PT I've seen very rarely true radiculopathy which is often not painful and just results in loss of function and sensation (mostly have seen this from traumatic accidents).

 

Hi MindBodyPT, I just wanted to ask if there's multiple findings in a person's lumbar imaging, is there then a lesser chance of sucessfully reducing or eliminating pain through the Mindbody process? Age in particular has been a question I've touched on several times in the forum and others have kindly replied, telling me they are concerned about it's effects as well..
Now that I'm over 50, I am very worried matters may be less within my control in terms of pain management and that produces major anxiety which elevates pain and its just such a vicious cycle... The impingement discussion here scares me too! ( Hypochondriac, anyone??) Aghhh! Frankly fear sucks!

 

Hi Click... I too have an L3/4 "borderline stenosis"... Central spinal stenosis and it scares the living #@=%: out of me too.... TERRIFIED it will progress to the point where I lose my mobility altogether... It's bad enough to deal with symptoms now, but to be in pain and unable to move either is just UNACCEPTABLE to me, I'm only 51. I cry every single day and have nightmares over my MRI and all the findings on it even though the spine specialist told me "normal wear amd tear"... Nothing seems to be reassuring me at this point.
Some very compassionate, kind amd suportive replies have been left when I question it.. Mindbody PT is a super valuable source of comfort and info since she sees patients (as a PT) all day every day and is an expert. I just wish I could GET over my fear of pain, activity and the progression of stenosis.. SCARY AS HELL!!

 

Nope again not true! Lots of people have multiple abnormalities on MRI with age and again this doesn't correlate well to pain. Recall older people on this forum who kicked their TMS pain, and multiple success stories of others. I've worked with plenty of people whose MRI has all kinds of stenosis but they only have mild pain (that is really TMS). Trust Sarno, it is so rare for abnormalities on MRI to cause chronic pain. I know aging is scary but these things are so normal. Same for arthritis of any joint. I've had people with terrible "real" issues like stroke and spinal cord injury with no pain, also.

 

Thanks MindBodyPT... Your responses always comfort me so much. I just wish the spine dr who reviewed my imaging had taken the time to explain (or maybe better that he didn't.. Since I'm so terrified) My mistake was picking up a copy of the report and interpreting it myself with no training on the subject. Those damn reports make it sound like the human spine is fragile, prone to injury from little to no provocation and it's just SO disheartening...
The funny thing is, just a couple of yrs ago I was almost limitless in activity, working with kids all day, walked a ton everyday... No major issues... How can "borderline lumbar stenosis" progress so fast in just 2 yrs? From what I've read it's a very slow development and doesn't typically present itself until one's 60s..​