Overused muscles or TMS

I’m wondering what people think about the possibility of having pain from improperly used muscles vs TMS. For example, I having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that TMS makes sense for my back and hip pain. But I also know that because of that, I have been compensating with other muscles. Since doing the TMS work I have had a few good days. But also pretty consistent muscle soreness, even on the good days. When working with a trainer on body mechanics we have come across an indication that my painful leg seems to be stronger than my pain free leg. Just wondering if the idea is that this is also TMS or can both coexist?

thanks

 

Hi @Bk1959
TMS pain is chronic, 3 months or more. Workout pains, muscle strains etc tend to heal within days.
Working with your body while doing TMS work is a challenge! That you have had a few good days means you are totally headed in the right direction.
Something you could think about is your hidden emotions and feelings about doing this physical work. Is there secret fear? It's absolutely natural if you have been compensating physically, your mind and body will hold on to some fear because you simply can't move in a naturally designed way. This can create more tension - mentally and physically. I am pretty much in the same position, and I try and directly challenge these hidden thoughts. I remind myself that my "consistent pain" is compensation and that it will go away, and approach these symptoms with curiosity. "Oh, hi, it's you there today, it is what it is and there you are". I confront my known compensations. For YEARS and years I have not bent over. I use only my left leg to kneel down to not bend. It's taken me a year to bend. I still compensate 90% of the time, but I practice bending daily as an "exercise" but not often doing chores etc. but as I gain more confidence with a movement like this, I start to try and do them occasionally, sending myself super positive messages about doing the activity. Doing them can be VERY emotional! Overwhelming at times (at times not at all) - old pain memories can come up, old reminders of why I had move in a compensatory pattern and connecting the emotion and the physical sensation. The pain is simply a signal of the brain protecting itself through hard wired neural pathways. These neural pathways are physical, mental and emotional. Your job is to simply change how these signals are sent and received. It's not to get stronger, it's not to stop or change symptoms, it's to change the neural pathways through your thoughts and actions so that your brain no longer sends those sensations and messages to your body consistently. I can get some wild symptoms confronting all of this, but like emotions, they pass quickly. Don't fear them - they are simply sensations and signs of change.
Don't forget to temper your challenging movements and tms wellness with self-care, relaxation and fun. I think that is a really important part when you are directly challenging you symptoms. Your brain also needs to learn to chill out, and to let go of all this tension.

 

I think that spending time wondering about this is just another distraction created by your TMS brain in order to keep you from doing the emotional work. You will only progress when you let go of black-and-white thinking, and let go of the need for certainty and for rigid distinctions. And then do the work.

This work is not black & white, it is not linear, and the connections between our minds and our bodies are not distinct. In fact, they are constantly working in tandem in changing ways, and often playing off each other, and doing this differently for each individual. You have to figure out how to get your conscious brain on board for this dance of the mind and the body, and reject the repression games of your unconscious TMS brain.

Right now, your TMS brain has you right where it wants you - spinning your wheels on (sorry to be blunt) pointless speculation and getting nowhere. Don't be fooled!

Also all the good things that @Cactusflower said.

 

Thanks for theses reminders. Although trying to not react to the pain with fear and moving through my day, I also find myself using ice, heat, etc to try and alleviate the pain. Probably giving my brain the message that this is an area that needs to be protected.

I am trying to approach all of my body work and exercise as a full body general strengthening, as opposed to focusing on the areas of pain and dysfunction. But I must still have a lot of fear stuck in there. I will also try to slowly practice some of the painful movements as an “exercise” as you mention @Cactusflower. With me it is a lot of hip and quad movements.

thank again

 

Yes. I had to give up my daily ice ritual as part of getting better. When I would lay there and the pain came I would 'turn my mind' as Sarno says... The only way to break conditioning fast is to take it head on. I do not believe in the 'easy does it' approach to this except for people in their first few weeks of this stuff.

THAT is a relic of the 'Medieval Medical Model'... we do not 'over compensate'. I used to hear that before I discovered TMS and it has been one of the complicated head spinners that never made any sense. How am I magically over compensating when my body Is a fine tuned machine?

This is one of the Red Herrings of the Pain industry. There is no 'correct way to lift'. There is no 'strengthening the core to compensate".. I am a laborer and 57 yrs... I never remotely think about this and I lift weights, carry stuff that's too heavy that I can barely manage all of the time with impunity.

It's always Anger that I haven't dealt with or acknowledged.

All of us have to work through and reprogram our perceptions. As we do this, each little mind trap is discarded and we progressively get better and free-er