METATARSALGIA/TMS?

[Jeffabaird]

Hi Everyone!

I've read (and am rereading) some of Dr Sarno's books. I've had a lot of success treating pain in the past with his methods. I think this is also TMS, but haven't been able to kick it yet.
I have pain in the front and center of the ball of both my feet. The pain radiates out from roughly the same point on both feet. I had no injury that I'm aware of. I did have what I think was just a trigger for TMS, doing some olympic lifting where there was weight towards the ball of my foot which caused some temporary soreness that went away. But then the pain came back later, and I have been trying to apply the same Sarno principles but it has gradually gotten worse. I sometimes use ibuprofen, but have tried not to treat it physically. I am continuing exercise. Often times getting the blood flowing will feel a little better, until I stop moving again. Once I did a lot of walking, running and exercise and it felt almost normal. But then returned later. Other times exercise will make the pain worse.
I have been spending a lot of introspection time to see if I can identify emotions that might be repressed.But with no improvement I need to rule out the physical.

I understand the repressed anger, and my subconscious trying to keep my attention on the physical pain instead of the emotional. So over the last few months I've tried to focus on the emotional, and tried to identify what I might be repressing. So I don't know if I just need to be patient and keep doing what I'm doing, or if there's something else to convince my mind that it's TMS.

Thanks!

 

[Ellen]

Welcome to the Forum!

Sometimes reading Sarno or other TMS books is enough to give us relief from the symptoms, but often it takes more. I found that using a structured approach was most helpful. There is a free Structured Education Program (SEP) on this site or there are others that are wonderful too, like Schubiner's Unlearn Your Pain. These structured programs give daily assignments that can help identify the difficult emotions we may be repressing, and give us a time-frame in which to do this, which is helpful so that we aren't overthinking about TMS and our emotions. Focus on TMS (reading and journaling) for around an hour a day, and then go live your life without focusing on your symptoms. If symptoms appear, just tell yourself that it's TMS, your body is fine, there is no physical reason to be in pain, and that you are willing to feel your emotions. With patience and persistence your symptoms will subside.

Keep us informed about how you're doing, and feel free to ask questions at any time. Best wishes.......