Hi everyone i need some advice. I did some physical therapy to improve my overhead mobility. He said that my thoracic spine mobility is a bit limited (needed for overhead mobility). I hold alot of tension in my mid back , sometimes if i am heavily stressed its brutal. After these mobility excercises i am feeling free in this era for a short time and my mobility is better. I also sit the majority of the day infront of a computer and in slouched posture. Am I wasting my time with these excercises and should just focus on my mental wellbeing? Did you guys get more flexible after tension, pain, symptoms disappeared ? It makes sense, tight mind-> tight upper back muscles-> limited mobility . Theres so much confusion out there, especially in the fitness scene.
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Hi, @Dejan069,
Welcome to the forum.
What really matters is the intention behind the exercises.
If you’re doing them hoping they’ll cure your TMS symptoms, that reinforces the idea that something’s physically wrong. But if you see movement as a way of showing your brain that your body is healthy, capable, and safe to use, it becomes part of the TMS recovery process.
Each time you move freely—without fear or over-focusing on tension—you’re teaching your nervous system there’s no danger and nothing to protect you from. So movement helps, not by fixing the muscles, but by sending a message of safety. Intention really is the key.
Welcome to the forum.
What really matters is the intention behind the exercises.
If you’re doing them hoping they’ll cure your TMS symptoms, that reinforces the idea that something’s physically wrong. But if you see movement as a way of showing your brain that your body is healthy, capable, and safe to use, it becomes part of the TMS recovery process.
Each time you move freely—without fear or over-focusing on tension—you’re teaching your nervous system there’s no danger and nothing to protect you from. So movement helps, not by fixing the muscles, but by sending a message of safety. Intention really is the key.
JanAtheCPA
Beloved Grand Eagle
I'm a big fan of the other kind of PT, which is Personal Training. A qualified trainer will work on mobility, strength, and endurance for the entire body, and will work within your initial limitations to overcome them. They are more in touch with the mindset needed to overcome the negative bias of our TMS brains than your typical physical therapist. Check it out.
Thank you both, im not really scared of the tension or moving it, im just wondering if i am wasting my time with all these mobility drills for my back. Maybe my mobility and flexibility will improove on its own once i become cured and more relaxed in my body and life. Did you guys make similiar experiences? After reading much about Tms it could make sense
I now have hugely better mobility and flexibility than I used to have (my TMS pain, which included upper and lower back pain, and other painful symptoms in other parts of my body, rendered me bedridden and housebound) without doing any specific "mobility drills" aimed at any particular troublesome parts of my body.
The mobility drills might temporarily ease your symptoms (moving the affected part brings blood flow to that area) but they won't permanently 'cure' symptoms that are TMS, so from that point of view you could say that they're a "waste of time". However, my TMS recovery 'journey' has and still does involve my doing daily exercises (which I have very gradually built upon) but these have been general movements for the whole of my body, not exercise "drills" targeted at any particular part(s) of my body.
Great! --- because that means that your brain is not succeeding in making you scared of moving your back. If you were to still include some movement of your back as part of a general movement/exercise regimen then the good thing about that would be that you'll be continuing to show your brain that you view moving your back as being a safe thing to do, just as it is safe to move the rest of your body (because you know the symptoms are TMS created by your brain, and you know that there's actually nothing structurally wrong with your back). I say this because when you target exercise - in a "drill" kind of way - to a particular area of your body that's hurting (due to TMS) it can communicate to the brain that you believe there to be something structurally wrong there, which can make your brain simply carry on with the symptoms.
My advice would be to do some regular general movement/exercise of your choosing because movement is good for us, preferably something you enjoy, and 'focus on your mental well-being'. (A great mind/body wellness movement practice for general wellbeing is tai chi or chi gong but, of course, it doesn't have to be that.)
It is true to say, however, that people can lose their TMS symptoms without purposely doing general exercise as a regimen... Dr Sarno said to get on with normal activities and when you do that you're moving around doing chores, stretching up and bending and walking etc., and therefore you're effectively telling and showing your brain that you know that everything's is actually hunky dory with your body.
Sitting in front of a computer for hours on end may be modern day life, however it's not a normal life that we humans are designed to live, so we need to break up that kind of sedentary activity with some movement for the good of our health. I break up my time on my lap top by getting up and doing just some walking on the spot, that kind of thing.
It might appear that I have made a meal of replying to your seemingly simple questions, but, as you will have gathered the situation regarding movement and exercise in connection with TMS is nuanced.
Wishing you all the best.
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