Help

[keyboardplaya]

Hello all,

I have been working my way through a long TMS journey and am stuck. I have had symptoms in many places but there is only one that still bugs me...knees. They don't appear swollen or red or hot but are clicky/grindy (maybe they always were?). I've also been checked out by a tms doc and non-tms doc who both said my symptoms were psychological, not physical. I still get pain in other body parts but I dismiss it as tms and it passes quickly. I just can't seem to do this with my knees. I will say that the symptoms seem to move between knees, sometimes they both hurt, etc, or neither hurts much (rare).

I do my workouts (which I love, and use for stress relief/strength). I find that reverse lunges are one of the triggers, although there are others. I've checked my form a lot and it seems to be more or less sound. It makes me think that it's conditioning, that it's the belief that reverse lunges cause knee pain is what's causing my knee pain. Does anyone agree this is probably conditioning at work? I am scared of the pain and the idea that I am damaging myself. I also should add that I used to do this exercise all the time without thinking about how I was doing it and never had any issues. I'd love to hear what y'all think! I'll mention too that I've been super stressed during the lockdown. I am a pianist and because of the lockdown I've lost my work, my livelihood, can't see my friends, etc.

 

[Northwood]

Hello all,

I have been working my way through a long TMS journey and am stuck. I have had symptoms in many places but there is only one that still bugs me...knees. They don't appear swollen or red or hot but are clicky/grindy (maybe they always were?). I've also been checked out by a tms doc and non-tms doc who both said my symptoms were psychological, not physical. I still get pain in other body parts but I dismiss it as tms and it passes quickly. I just can't seem to do this with my knees. I will say that the symptoms seem to move between knees, sometimes they both hurt, etc, or neither hurts much (rare).

I do my workouts (which I love, and use for stress relief/strength). I find that reverse lunges are one of the triggers, although there are others. I've checked my form a lot and it seems to be more or less sound. It makes me think that it's conditioning, that it's the belief that reverse lunges cause knee pain is what's causing my knee pain. Does anyone agree this is probably conditioning at work? I am scared of the pain and the idea that I am damaging myself. I also should add that I used to do this exercise all the time without thinking about how I was doing it and never had any issues. I'd love to hear what y'all think! I'll mention too that I've been super stressed during the lockdown. I am a pianist and because of the lockdown I've lost my work, my livelihood, can't see my friends, etc.

Hi, Keyboardplaya,
I'm a fairly new member. Based on what I've learned about TMS and what you describe, it sounds to me as though you're experiencing TMS symptoms. Through a TMS lens you are being "driven to your knees." If I were in your situation with two docs' input and an awareness of my stress and triggers, I'd review whatever TMS literature speaks clearest to me for support and then get myself in a frame of mind that I was going to have me a good workout regardless of how my knees felt (pain be damned). If the pain was considerable, I might do fewer reps while focusing on what my brain was up to and gradually nudge the reps up over a period of time. I'd focus on staying in the present moment, the present workout, the present rep--and let worries that come in pass through, not attach to them, not beat myself up for having a worry or doubt pop in. I can appreciate the stressors you're experiencing, given the lockdown and its impact on your livelihood. Have you got effective ways to pay attention to (and channel) all the subtle feelings that come up around these understandable frustrations? I wish you well!