I'm scared - new pains - sciatica/stenosis???

[sdiddy]

HI guys - Ive had pretty awful hip pain for about 3 years now. Tried everything from PRP to cortisone to PT and now a new doc doing tens and shockwave treatment, on top of hot yoga, cold pluges, mediation, therapy. tms related things. MRI from 3 years ago showed significant issues like osteoarthritis in both hips, labrum tear, and bursitis. Ive just been managing the best I can.

But in the last 6 months something new has happened that isnt manageable. When I stand for even an hour or walk even for 30 minutes, the entire back of my legs from hamstrings down to the back of my knees ache horribly to the point where they almost lock up. Feels like they are incredibly tight is the only way to describe it. I have no idea if this is related to the hips but this new doc (who seems very knowleagable) says we need to do a back mri because it could be stenosis, a nerve being pushed on, etc. This scared me quite a bit.

On the one had I know the power of TMS (though I have no idea if this particular thing could be TMS?), but on the other hand what if there is something serious going on. Im scared. I have a daughter and I can barely even play or walk or go anywhere these days. I dont know what to do or who to turn to. Im barely sleeping, and yet I somehow still am trying so hard to be a great dad to her, and work hard at my career and even see friends and more. But this isnt sustainable.

Has anyone had something like this or heard of it? Any clues? What should I do?

 

[Cactusflower]

@sdiddy
Your fear is a huge factor in your symptoms continuing. I have this type of symptom, and you might try and look it up and find that many people mention posture, pelvis forward, nerves and more.
It could be all of these things, but what causes it?
I'll tell you, I believe it is anxiety. Myself and my few friends complaining of this type of thing can all feel quite anxious, and I will tell you mine is worse when I am much more anxious and nervous (like a few weeks ago!).
Our anxious minds are on guard, bracing in emotional safety - and our body is in tandem with these types of feelings. You may have some pain and feel "stuck" in your body - this is one of my set of symptoms and it comes and goes. How does it make sense that something would come and go and move around? It doesn't.
Our bodies were designed to move, and the smaller you stay (which is exactly what TMS wants: you to stay small and "safe" away from the big bad world, responsibilities and aggravations). The inner child of your subconscious mind HATES all this stuff because it thinks you are still 2 years old, but your adult rational mind knows you must face the adult things to be a caregiver, perhaps breadwinner, have adult responsibilities and requirements.
You must work with your anxieties and fears and do the TMS work which is hard but necessary. Have you done any of this emotional work? Just posting on this forum: I'm scared, I'm worried, what can I do etc. isn't going to help you. You must invest in yourself and do the work.

I still get these symptoms when I am very anxious and they can still scare me a bit but I can quickly work through them and recognize the TMS. I have had an MRI and scans, and I don't have stenosis but I do have other "normal abnormalities" which can cause temporary pain, nerve type stuff and much more but there is no medical "intervention" to help - no operation, no medication. I also have a disease (which comes with older age) that can also contribute pain and discomfort BUT I know that it does. I have to constantly work on my mindset and my old limiting beliefs that I have a "problem" (behind how I've dealt with anxiety and stress) and must do the work. I have continued to do TMS work over the last few years, slowly and steadily. One of the things I also do is move. The less you move your body the more you keep instilling in your brain that there is something wrong. I started very slow with small movements and have worked up to doing more. Sometimes I go through periods of time doing less but then I have patience and kindness to myself for that situation and just carry on with life and my routines and the TMS work as best as I can.

To begin there are a few things you need to do.
You need to choose this commitment to yourself. You need to decide that you are not the victim of your mind or your body and begin to face your fears about doing the emotional work and your fears of moving. You need to see the fear in your life and how it is controlling you.

You need to face the fact that you have anxiety and make some decisions about how you might deal with this. For some it's medication (long term or for awhile). For others they can come to terms with this anxiety through the TMS work.

You need to make a schedule so that you include the TMS work in your daily life. No excuses - you need to grab on to your personal power and work towards having more confidence and begin to trust yourself and the process. That doesn't mean you might want to get an MRI - but then you need to put the results into perspective. Will you be able to come to terms with the fact that even if you have something show up on the MRI that your anxiety and fear are a very large part of what is going on.

 

[BloodMoon]

@sdiddy I completely understand why this feels different. The hip pain has been going on for years, but you're describing the aching/tightness down the backs of your legs as a genuinely new symptom over the last six months. So I can understand why hearing words like stenosis or a compressed nerve would be frightening.

I think it's absolutely reasonable to have the MRI and rule out anything that needs medical attention. You don't have to choose between being medically responsible and considering a TMS/mindbody explanation.

You mention all the things you've been doing physically — PT, TENS, shockwave, yoga, cold plunges — but if you haven't been doing any structured TMS work specifically around this new symptom, I'd suggest reading Howard Schubiner's new 2026 edition of Unlearn Your Pain: The Science of Recovering from Chronic Pain, Fatigue, Anxiety, and Depression. You clearly understand TMS intellectually, but there's a difference between knowing about it and having a structured way of working with the fear, thoughts, emotions and symptom responses when something new happens.

Something else that stands out is that your symptoms have changed and evolved over time — back issues, frozen shoulder, chest symptoms, longstanding hip pain, and now this new symptom. You've also had periods where symptoms improved substantially before changing again. So perhaps part of the work is learning that “I have a new sensation” doesn't automatically mean “I have a new problem.”

 

[Adam Coloretti (coach)]

That doesn't mean you might want to get an MRI - but then you need to put the results into perspective.

This is key - many people have stenosis with no pain/issues, so once you understand TMS then the risk of misinterpreting a scan is reduced (which can make it safer in a sense to have it).

Such abnormalities are common, so if even with such a finding, assuming the neurological exam is clear (that will really be the most important thing to check - the stenosis could be causing issues there, but the stenosis itself doesn't cause pain), then that's a good indicator of TMS