Posture issues

I have been journaling, reading Sarnos and SteveOs book for many months now, but I guess I just need some encouragement. It's so hard for me because I've always been obsessed with posture. My step dad was a chiropractor so it was always instilled in me that our posture determines pretty much everything regarding our health. I try really hard to not let it bother me, to stand, sit and walk however I want but as soon as I feel a twinge, I get scared. My main issue has been my tailbone. I was told that if I could feel it while sitting, that is an indicator I'm not sitting right. So I adjust my posture but it hurts so bad for me to sit "right". It also hurts to sit on my tailbone because I feel it and it causes major pressure pain. So I have just decided not to sit because I'm not sure if the tailbone pressure is tms, since I actually feel the bone. So I have resorted to standing pretty much all day or laying down. Which makes me feel so limited and probably isn't helping my recovery. Now due to the standing, my knees and legs are starting to hurt so much. I am feeling like at 30, I don't have hope for a happy life. I read this forum often but don't post much, it helps me a lot to read, I just don't know how to get over this posture thing. Especially with my tailbone so I can feel free to sit.

 

Hi roxygirl,

Welcome to the forums! It's hard when you've been thinking of things in structural/mechanical terms for so long, I can understand that as a PT. Ultimately for healing you'll need to give up the idea that posture determines anything about health. Poor posture does not cause pain. Keep reading TMS books and strengthening your belief and looking for the evidence (or lack thereof) that this approach is true. Stop worrying about how you sit and sit however is comfortable for you! Theres no wrong way to sit, stand or walk. This mindset of having right and wrong ways to move can create a tremendous amount of anxiety, I see that with patients often. You are young and healthy and have lots of pain-free life ahead of you, trust me!

 

Thank you MindBody as a PT I'm sure you here about posture all day. It's definitely hard when you're surrounding by those that remind you all the time to sit and stand right. So you think that even with feeling my tailbone hit the chair, it's okay to still sit on it and it shouldn't cause pain? Thank you so much for your kind reply.

 

Focusing and becoming obsessed with any kind of physical sensation contributes to TMS. It's your brain's way of giving you something to think about as a distraction from your emotions. Mine started with a car accident after my father died. Then I had knee surgery to distract me from my marital problems. I'm pretty sure you're gonna be okay if you can feel your tailbone while sitting. Instead of focusing on that, ask yourself, "what's going on with me emotionally right now?"

 

Yes this should be fine! I'm sitting in a chair right now and can feel my tailbone, in fact

 

"Bad posture" is BS!--It's a HOAX! Dr. Sarno says you can't hurt yourself sitting in a chair--for that matter, you can't hurt yourself lying in bed either--or "sleeping wrong".

 

I'm in the same boat. The posture obsession is tough to shake. For me, I think it's even overtaken my concern with the pain itself as my main distracting obsession, despite all the affirmations and all the proof I have that posture good or bad doesn't really explain my symptoms. It's one of those things though where reading your post reminds me so much of my own internal dialogue and at the same time seems so obviously tms. The way you describe the very particular sensations in this or that spot, and the supposed pressure, the constant adjustments, the never feeling right, c'mon ... that's tms. And if I described to you the particulars of my posture obsession, I bet you'd see right through it and say "c'mon, that's tms." So maybe we can work to believe, even though it doesn't feel like it now, that what's going on with each of us is actually the same as what's obviously going on with the other ... tms.

I'm having a hard time actually putting this into action at the moment myself, but from my most bird's-eye view, I think what tends to work best for me in this regard is to stop trying to "prove" that posture doesn't matter by waiting around for it to stop hurting but, instead, to just go do something and every now and again, realize that I've forgotten about it and that the pain is correspondingly less (even in one of those 'bad' postures that usually worry me). It's an obsession, that's all.

 

Thank you Mike, I will do that. I definitely have a lot going on emotionally.

 

Thank you MinBody that's good to hear that even if you feel it, it doesn't have to hurt. I am basically a hermit, so I don't really have any friends or family to go up and ask "hey, do you feel your tailbone? how does that feel?" awkward haha

 

Thank you Tom!! "Bad posture" is BS!" I will start using this an affirmation. lol

 

Thank you eskimo. You're so right on. I will read so many posts on here and say to myself "that is totally tms! ...but mine...isn't, or maybe it is, well I'm not sure..." It is a lot easier to see it from an outside perspective. As soon as a twinge comes in, so do the doubts, so I have obsessed over not putting myself in situations that can cause that to happen. Honestly, my pain level is low, but my fear level is through the roof, I think that has become more powerful then the pain I have. along with the constant adjustments and checking.

 

For those hung-up on "POSTURE" being the culprit, try doing healing VINI YOGA :

://www.viniyoga.com/about/who-we-are/about-gary-kraftsow

Gary has successfully developed protocol for two National Institutes of Health studies: "Evaluating Yoga for Chronic Low Back Pain" and "Yoga Therapy for Generalized Anxiety."

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