Hi, after reading Mind Over Back Pain last year, but without much (if any) improvement, I've decided to seriously tackle my TMS using the program here and use this forum as accountability.
I've had lower back pain that began while taking kayak lessons in 2006. It developed into sciatica and then slowly got better without any physical therapy or other treatment. However, there was always some tightness and occasionally my back would go out. When that happened, I'd do some core strength for a few days and be all better for a while. Then about a year and a half ago, I started having really bad back pain that didn't go away using the core strengthening exercises that usually helped.
I've tried physical therapy and chiropractic adjustments. X-rays didn't show anything wrong and I wasn't having enough symptoms for my Dr. to be able to recommend an MRI. The physical therapy improved the pain about 25%, but some of the exercises sometimes seem to make the pain even worse.
One huge piece of counter-evidence occurred when I went to Peru to take part ayahuasca ceremonies. Ayahuasca is a plant medicine used by indigenous healers in South America. It is illegal in the United States and is quite controversial. During one of the ceremonies, I was "told" by ayahuasca the emotional reason for my back pain and then cleansed of the subconscious thoughts and memories associated with that emotion. After that, my pain was significantly reduced for the rest of my trip. I came back home with very little back pain, but then after about 2 weeks it started to come back again.
I think there is a part of me that still believes my problem is caused by a physical issue, especially because I keep associating the pain with sitting and driving, activities that seem to make it worse. Watching the Day 1 video helped me recognized how to counter this belief. I'm hoping that reading other people's stories will help as well.
I've had lower back pain that began while taking kayak lessons in 2006. It developed into sciatica and then slowly got better without any physical therapy or other treatment. However, there was always some tightness and occasionally my back would go out. When that happened, I'd do some core strength for a few days and be all better for a while. Then about a year and a half ago, I started having really bad back pain that didn't go away using the core strengthening exercises that usually helped.
I've tried physical therapy and chiropractic adjustments. X-rays didn't show anything wrong and I wasn't having enough symptoms for my Dr. to be able to recommend an MRI. The physical therapy improved the pain about 25%, but some of the exercises sometimes seem to make the pain even worse.
One huge piece of counter-evidence occurred when I went to Peru to take part ayahuasca ceremonies. Ayahuasca is a plant medicine used by indigenous healers in South America. It is illegal in the United States and is quite controversial. During one of the ceremonies, I was "told" by ayahuasca the emotional reason for my back pain and then cleansed of the subconscious thoughts and memories associated with that emotion. After that, my pain was significantly reduced for the rest of my trip. I came back home with very little back pain, but then after about 2 weeks it started to come back again.
I think there is a part of me that still believes my problem is caused by a physical issue, especially because I keep associating the pain with sitting and driving, activities that seem to make it worse. Watching the Day 1 video helped me recognized how to counter this belief. I'm hoping that reading other people's stories will help as well.
