Hip, back, tennis elbow pain w/ physical trauma

Jawarrior1

Jawarrior1

Peer Supporter
Hey guys, my step father is the bread winner of our household. The main issue for him is chronic pain but but, he has real physical trauma. 11 years ago he got into a really bad motorcycle accident which broke his hip/hip socket into quite a number of pieces. He has hip appliances inside him which help him stay mobile and walking.

In the recent past he started to get back pain and tennis elbow. He is not a believer in TMS and I doubt he ever will due to his appliances. Lastly, he is a carpenter that works hard physically. I wish TMS would just magically work for him as it did me but I don't know.

Have any of you had physical trauma like this? If so, can you give me advice on how best I can support him?
 
You can offer your Dad some TMS tools to work with, but you can’t force him into becoming a believer. Physical stuff happens, but I think fear surrounding it can make it worse.
If the appliances he has have changed his gait or movement patterns, he may feel some pain, especially adding onto it with any physical muscle tension. You might begin by helping him to simply take time to relax. A massage, introducing mindfulness, meditation or meditative prayer. Quiet alone time. Asking him about his worries, opening up dialog...
 
It's hard to get others interested, especially as anything mind-body feels like it's "new-age-y" and that is a turn off to a lot of people.

You could try using the original Tension Myositis which feels more medical.
If you haven't broached anything with him yet....how about letting him know you came across this interesting old 20/20 episode about back pain.
You'll find out:
1) If he watches it - that will let you know how interested he is in finding some relief.
2) If he watches it -- does he become curious about it and have some interest in learning more or trying it or does he relate more to John Stossel's brother.
3) If he watches it and become eager about it. Hurrah.
4) If he doesn't watch it. Then you can leave him to his own devices. (Literally in this case.)
 
First of all, it looks like your stepfather was pain-free for a while, and also his pain right now is in a different location - that is a clue that the cause of this new pain is unrelated to the past injury. But I understand that this will not convince him, no matter how convincing it is for us.

Besides Sarno's method, there is another "door" into healing from chronic pain for those who had had injuries. Unlike Sarno's method which aims at rewiring the brain through psychoanalytical approach, this one is applying purely neuroscientific approach based on the concept of neuroplasticity. To me, there is no conceptual difference between the two, as both methods are postulating that chronic pain is product of brain and not the result of some physical damage.

However, those with a prior injury may find this method easier to accept. You can read about it here:

https://www.healthrising.org/blog/2019/08/03/rewiring-the-brain-to-get-out-of-pain-the-moskowitz-approach/ (Rewiring the Brain to Get Out of Pain: the Moskowitz Approach - Health Rising)

Dr. Moskowitz is credited for helping a number of patients who suffer injuries (himself included) out of chronic pain.
Disclaimer: I do not know whether neuroplastic approach will help those whose pain stems from a severe psychological trauma unrelated to prior physical injury, but it is worth a try in my, very humble, opinion.
 
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Moskowitz's theories are interesting because you can see how the brain would get into certain patterns.
Brain: I think you should be in pain so here you go.

Like a computer program with a rule. "When wake up in the morning, supply pain."
"When have to go to work, get nauseated."
Rules and patterns.
It makes so much sense.
 
What Dr. Moskowitz discovered is how I’ve seen pain, and the psychological causes or psychological effects of chronic pain: habitual patterns.
Fascinating stuff and most likely more palatable for many!
 
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