I broke my neck years ago. But now i wonder…

[KOKO1983]

Hello. I broke my neck (c1, c5, c6 cervical vertebrae) when i was 22 years old. I wore a surgically attached halo brace for 6 months and was mostly ok for the next few years until more severe chronic pain in my neck and back started in my late 20s and early 30s. I was warned of this at the time of my accident. It was debilitating at times in that earlier period, but I had always been able to “manage” it on some level until the past 8 or so years. It has now become close to unmanageable for me both physically and (perhaps especially) psychologically.

I have seen countless doctors and gotten various treatments over the years— none of which have worked in any meaningful or lasting capacity. The majority of neurologists and surgeons I have seen recommend against surgery, mainly because it is unclear a spinal fusion would help and not make the problem worse.

My pain for much of the last decade has been daily and often excruciating. At some point, the pain moved from just my neck and upper back to my shoulders and arms. This year has been exceptionally difficult and i have had horrific pain for the first time spread into my lower back. Every day, i can barely move my shoulders and neck by midday. I have to lie down constantly. I have become increasingly desperate.

Here is where i get to my question. Though I have long been aware of Dr Sarno’s work, I had always been under the impression that an event as extreme as my particular accident and injury (a broken neck!) surely meant my pain is a residual consequence. Doctors of all stripes have reinforced that notion and similarly assumed it to be the obvious conclusion, even if they haven’t always known exactly how the initial trauma caused it or how to address the problem. I have now read Sarno’s books and am really wondering for the furst time if this has all (or mostly) been TMS all along. My MRI images show herniation and desiccation and all the other terms associated with structural back problems. Maybe i am not all that different from anyone else with back pain? Maybe it’s not the neck break whatsoever?!

Has anyone here suffered a particularly traumatic injury like mine (interested especially in anyone who may have broken their neck or back) and come to realize the residual pain actually is TMS?

 

[Rabscuttle]

There is nothing to lose by applying a mindbody approach here, especially considering the modern medical model has nothing to offer you except for omens of pain and doom. I suppose at least they’re recommending against jumping to surgery, kudos to them.

you don’t need someone in your exact shoes or situation, you need to start doing the work - https://www.tmswiki.org/ppd/Structured_Educational_Program is a good place to start, and then you can see where that takes you. Doubt is normal, but as you stick to a path, you’ll hopefully start to acquire evidence that your pain is being caused by TMS and then you get momentum and the rest takes care of itself. Even if what you are dealing with is purely physical there is much to be gained by practicing self compassion. Not catastrophizing over the symptoms, meditating, journalling, etc.

It’s interesting you note that by midday it becomes unbearable, which to me sounds like the pain resets overnight, this screams TMS to me. We can put these self imposed physical limitations on ourselves that are rooted in fear, and it can become a conditioned response that after x hours I’ll be in pain.

you’ve been through a lot, ignoring all the emotional trauma we accumulate, I can’t really fathom what it’s like to have dealt with such an injury. You’re stronger and more resilient than you realize, I think if you follow this mindbody path you’ll be surprised at what you can achieve.

 

[JanAtheCPA]

Hi there @KOKO1983 and welcome. I feel like you're in the right place. And I'm 1000% on board with everything @Rabscuttle has said and advised. You've truly got nothing to lose - literally - since the Structured Educational Program on the main wiki is free of cost, or ads or even any kind of registration. It's a true labor of love created by our forum founder in honor of his long-ago recovery thanks to Dr Sarno.

The majority of neurologists and surgeons I have seen recommend against surgery, mainly because it is unclear a spinal fusion would help and not make the problem worse.

And thank goodness for that. It's good to know they're getting smarter about this!

Okay - that was me with the Yes answer in your poll. 42 years ago at age 32 I broke my C6 or 7, I forget which, while skiing straight downhill too fast. It was a minor hairline fracture, just enough to give me extreme pain trying to raise my elbows and upper arms, and to give me tingling along the backs of my forearms, plus, weirdly, itchiness inside my wrists. I wore a Philadelphia collar for a mere 3 weeks, then three in a soft collar, and a prediction from the ortho that in twelve weeks I wouldn't even know I'd done anything. One day I woke up without any stiffness, and only realized a day or two later that it was pretty much exactly twelve weeks.

So far so good, until I started having debilitating neck spasms about ten years later, in my forties (which is probably significant). I endured those along with what I called "5-ibuprofen headaches" which occurred when my neck wasn't spasming, for another twenty years with regular visits to a very helpful and reasonable chiropractor - who was ultimately frustrated at her inability to "fix" me. Of course, the answer is that I had to fix myself, which is the basis of my 2011 TMS recovery, after turning 60 led to a crisis of ever-increasing TMS symptoms. I read Dr Sarno, discovered this forum, did the SEP, and have been inspired to stick around ever since (with retirement increasing the time I get to spend here).

Now, your TMS brain will reject my recovery story as irrelevant and unhelpful because my physical trauma was so minor compared to yours. That's fair, but given what you've told us and what you've already surmised for yourself, it's also false. This is a common phenomenon, illustrating the way the TMS brain works. Your job is to reject this false narrative, with self-compassion for the fact that your brain thinks it is helpful to keep you in fear. It literally does not know any better.

As @Rabscuttle says,

you don’t need someone in your exact shoes or situation,

We're here to support you, so take the plunge, and keep us posted!

 

[Rusty Red]

I believe @Baseball65 had fractured vertebrae, although he never knew until a subsequent scan for something else.

 

[Baseball65]

Maybe it’s not the neck break whatsoever?!

Yes....I fell and broke a vertebrae but didn't find it until a couple years later getting MRI'd for a gastrointestinal thing. it healed by itself. I had no pain during that period, but of course it was AFTER I had been Sarno savvy for several years...I no longer 'believed' back pain, so I never pain attention to it.

I had a close friend who watched my initial recovery in '99. He saw me in agony, watched my failed surgeries and treatments and then knew about my experience with Sarno.
When he saw I was completely back at hard work, he asked for the name of the Book I had read ("Healing Back Pain" By Sarno)
His wife had been in a horrible car wreck years before and her lower spine was completely shattered and rebuilt. She of course had been in pain since and was extremely limited in her activities....a couple years at that point.

She read the book and got 100% better...ditched all her braces and meds and everything. In fact, my friend said she was quite the crusader preaching about Sarno.

PS...do not mess around with any of these other new guru's. They are the lightweights and have added so many qualifiers and contingency's that nobody with real pain ever gets better. I am surprised they are still in Business....just stick with Sarno. Pure unadulterated fast and furious healing. This is about RAGE, not my feelings and daily vicissitudes.