I am hesitant to begin exercising because I still fear the pain will be made worse

I have made a commitment to begin exercising on Monday August 11. I am fearful that my pain symptoms will be made worse by exercising my neck and shoulders. Does anybody have experience with exercising through the pain with the intention of reducing pain? Thank you.

 

Yea, that was the last 2 years of my TMS journey. You'll have more pain exercising. You continue pushing yourself and doing any other work you were doing. It's going to feel bad when you get higher levels of pain because you'll think you're not getting better but you can measure your pain levels with exercise. And after a very long time you'll be exercising without pain.

 

Thank you John, I appreciate the feedback.

 

Expect the pain but don't freak out. Chances are the pain will get worse. I don't know how long you have refrained from exercising but it's natural that returning to exercise will cause some soreness in your muscles. Its normal.

You probably will feel it more in your neck & shoulders because you are expecting it, fearing it. It's because you are fearful of it that the brain will try to protect you by giving you pain so that you stop. So stop fearing & practice outcome independence.

If you have been checked out by the drs & there is nothing wrong with you then you should feel 'safe' about exercising.

If it hurts, then take a painkiller. Its a 'safe' way to reduce pain & its better than stewing in fear.

Create a 'safe' environment for yourself, maybe start slow.

Expect the levels of pain to go up & down. Know that you are 'safe'.

Many here have done this, its what Sarno insists we do to get better.

Maintain that 'safe' frame of mind.

Good luck.

 

That’s wonderful, Ronnie. You should be proud of yourself for taking this step! As Mala mentioned, practice outcome independence; this is your friend. Some soreness is expected especially after not working a muscle for a bit. But know that this means your body is healthy, strong, and working as intended. Be kind to yourself and if you have to take a step back, that is totally okay!

 

Thank you!!

 

Thank you!!

 

Or...Not. Even well meaning people Nocebo us all the time. Every response on here sounds like the belief in whiplash in a car accident.
"You might not hurt now, but wait until tomorrow!". The Nocebo is the reverse of a Placebo. It is expecting Pain ....and then it comes!!!

NOT. Wrong. Punt. Let them have the ball.

The medical world has been advertising in your head for a long time.....You'd better start advertising yourself. "I will be fine......Fuck TMS..... there is Nothing wrong with me.....I am strong.......I am the spearhead of God's ever advancing creation...."

Yes...there is times I have a teeny bit pain. But I have been 99.99 % pain free over the last 26 years or so. And when it does occasionally get my attention? I do the exercise on Pg 77 of Healing Back Pain...turning my attention to a recurrent source of rage.....and then I Fight like HELL!

And when I catch FEAR moving in? Fear that is far more important than any symptom? I expose it, put it on trial and mock it, defy it.
"I will be fine.....I will not be stopped...there is nothing wrong with me and I will recover 100%."

Sarno said this is a battle of will of sorts...You vs. The TMS. You will win.

 

Excellent advice, thank you.

 

You know what… hell yeah. Thanks @Baseball65

 

Obviously I don’t have the medical knowledge to tell people to just exercise through everything but you’d be surprised at what you think is legitimate pain is actually tms pain. I thought for a long time my little pains or injured body parts were legit pain and everything ended up being tms pain. Ive said it before somewhere on the forum but at this point i live in another planet where i dont even know what legit pain is anymore and im always pushing the limit since everything except my ingrown toenail ended up being tms.

 

Predictive coding. It’s when the brain predicts and anticipates pain based on factors such as your past experiences, whether or not you expect pain & your thoughts & emotions surrounding your pain or fear of pain. The more you expect something to hurt, the more it’s likely to hurt.

So if you believe or anticipate that your neck & shoulders are likely to hurt then the chances are high that they will. That's just how our brains work.

The good thing is that you can change & challenge those beliefs & expectations.

Learn to calm your nervous system, recognise your state of anxiety, tell yourself exercising is not dangerous, fix false beliefs about your body. Keep telling yourself you are safe.

 

This was my experience, too. Of course, be reasonable about any new symptom and see a physician to rule anything serious out.

 

Every single day I am amazed at how we can rewire our brains. For fun, I’m currently rewiring my brain and body to get sleepy and soothed by the scent of the lavender oil I spray on my pillow. I feel fancy creating this ritual.

 

Lovely idea to do that. Great ritual to calm & wind down both mind & body to prepare for a good night's sleep.

 

@RonnieG welcome to the forum. So, how was it? Hope you're feeling proud.

There's a goldilocks zone where the training is hard enough to get you out of the comfort zone, but not too hard in a way that triggers too much fear and anxiety. Check this video. At 16:00 neuroscientist Lorimer Moseley talks about movement and how finding this spot is key to pain recovery.

 

I have not attempted the exercise yet today. I will have a light workout this afternoon. Thank you very much for this video, this information is excellent. I will post after my workout later today. Again, thank you!!