GhostlyMarie
Peer Supporter
So, this was an interesting doctor’s visit for me and I thought this may help others or bring comfort somehow in regards to back pain and the notion that muscle tension “is the root” back pain. Spoiler alert, it’s not always.
I went to my doctor’s office for a follow-up after a car accident I was in back in May that resulted in me having severe whiplash injuries, which caused soreness and pain all the way down my back, my knees being bruised and a few other injuries but ultimately I was fine. I walked away and I’m grateful. Luckily… Nothing was broken or anything, just couldn’t move around very well.
my doctor recommended I get x-rays and go to PT and honestly, knowing that I have a history of TMS, I lightly refused to do either (big risk, I know) and trusted that my body will heal itself in time. I didn’t feel like I was so messed up that I needed x-rays or PT. My intuition was telling me I’ll be fine. I don’t need to know what my spine looks like if it isn’t broken lol
well, fast forward to this past Monday, I went to my follow-up. My doctor was not pleased that I haven’t gotten x-rays done, haven’t attended PT and haven’t even picked up the muscle relaxers she prescribed me (I have a fear of becoming addicted to pills, so that prescription was doomed to stay at the pharmacy from the work Go). I told her that I didn’t think I needed any of it and that I felt fine.
She insisted on examining my back for me and as she is pressing around my spine, she says “Does any of this hurt?”
me: “no”
Doctor: “Your muscles around your lower spine are rock hard. You should be in agony.”
Me: “Well, I’m not. I feel fine. I even started working out again and have had no issues with my back.”
Doctor: *looks puzzled* “Your muscles are definitely in a spasm.”
Me: I think it’s from being nervous about being in the doctor’s office. I tense up when I’m anxious or stressed. I’m fine though.
Past me would have taken her words to heart and they would have scared me deeply. I would have spiraled and paid attention to every little thing my back was doing and every little bending motion I made. But in the end, using what I’ve learned from TMS is if my body feels one way and my doctor’s opinion differs from it, I’m going to listen to my body. Unless a test is done that shows I have some real serious stuff happening, little things like my doctor pointing out I’m tense when I feel A-Ok isn’t something I need to freak out about.
In the end, my doctor recommended PT and muscle relaxers which I declined again. I’m fine. I don’t need these things. But after leaving the appointment, I thought maybe someone who does have back pain and think it’s muscle tension related might find this story helpful. And I hope you do! I’m sure if I had gotten x-rays and done PT, I’d have chronic back pain because my brain would have believed something was really wrong with my back and started sending pain signals to my brain to be amplified. Sometimes, we’re just tense humans and it doesn’t have to cause pain lol
I went to my doctor’s office for a follow-up after a car accident I was in back in May that resulted in me having severe whiplash injuries, which caused soreness and pain all the way down my back, my knees being bruised and a few other injuries but ultimately I was fine. I walked away and I’m grateful. Luckily… Nothing was broken or anything, just couldn’t move around very well.
my doctor recommended I get x-rays and go to PT and honestly, knowing that I have a history of TMS, I lightly refused to do either (big risk, I know) and trusted that my body will heal itself in time. I didn’t feel like I was so messed up that I needed x-rays or PT. My intuition was telling me I’ll be fine. I don’t need to know what my spine looks like if it isn’t broken lol
well, fast forward to this past Monday, I went to my follow-up. My doctor was not pleased that I haven’t gotten x-rays done, haven’t attended PT and haven’t even picked up the muscle relaxers she prescribed me (I have a fear of becoming addicted to pills, so that prescription was doomed to stay at the pharmacy from the work Go). I told her that I didn’t think I needed any of it and that I felt fine.
She insisted on examining my back for me and as she is pressing around my spine, she says “Does any of this hurt?”
me: “no”
Doctor: “Your muscles around your lower spine are rock hard. You should be in agony.”
Me: “Well, I’m not. I feel fine. I even started working out again and have had no issues with my back.”
Doctor: *looks puzzled* “Your muscles are definitely in a spasm.”
Me: I think it’s from being nervous about being in the doctor’s office. I tense up when I’m anxious or stressed. I’m fine though.
Past me would have taken her words to heart and they would have scared me deeply. I would have spiraled and paid attention to every little thing my back was doing and every little bending motion I made. But in the end, using what I’ve learned from TMS is if my body feels one way and my doctor’s opinion differs from it, I’m going to listen to my body. Unless a test is done that shows I have some real serious stuff happening, little things like my doctor pointing out I’m tense when I feel A-Ok isn’t something I need to freak out about.
In the end, my doctor recommended PT and muscle relaxers which I declined again. I’m fine. I don’t need these things. But after leaving the appointment, I thought maybe someone who does have back pain and think it’s muscle tension related might find this story helpful. And I hope you do! I’m sure if I had gotten x-rays and done PT, I’d have chronic back pain because my brain would have believed something was really wrong with my back and started sending pain signals to my brain to be amplified. Sometimes, we’re just tense humans and it doesn’t have to cause pain lol
