Scapula pain

Hi this is my first post on this forum. I have read the Dr Sarno book and kind of get the idea, but definitely need to be convinced that the soreness and burning sensation I have daily for the past four months is TMS? I have had an mri and EMG and apparently nothing unusual was found except normal wear an tear on mri. I guess I am becoming quite anxious and obsessive and thinking about this pain even when it is not there. Anticipating it coming on! I sleep ok and never have the pain when laying down, only when standing or sitting, as with the back muscles being loaded, so to speak and doing their job, I have recently had an injection in the main focus ( upper medial rhomboid muscle, where the consultant said there was a definite trigger point. And boy did it hurt. However, the consultant said that was a good thing? I still have some pain. My concern is can you have trigger points with TMS and how often is pain in and around the scapula found with TMS, as most of the reports are about low back pain. I really need some reassurance folks to help me on my way. I’m a senior citizen living in the Uk.
Thanks.

 

Hi Fred,

trigger points = TMS

It took me a while to come to that conclusion, but through years of experience I feel that it is the right conclusion.
My rhomboids often had TP's, so it is entirely common, no need to worry about it.
Btw, I never heard of giving an injection in a trigger point. Dry needling, yes, but injecting stuff is new to me...

take care

 

Hi Gigalos. Thank you for your prompt reply. Gigalos, have you managed to cure your trigger points using TMS method?
I am concerned that they will be with me for ever, as I have read they can last for a long time! Yes the injection contains a temporary anaesthetic and a steroid.
I would be really interested in how you have dealt with TPs?
Best wishes
Fred.

 

Nowadays I only use my knowledge of TP's to determine if something is TMS or not.
I occasionally have a TP here or there, but it usually is mild and short lived. The TMS approach is the way to go.
TP treatment can give you some relieve, but it is often short lived if the underlying reason (the mind) isn't properly dealt with. It falls in the same category as chiropractics; sometimes it does the job for good, but most people will become dependent on it as they don't acknowledge the underlying emotions, so the problem returns again and again and again....
If you have any questions, I am happy to answer them.
Giga

 

Yes, trigger points are TMS if they persist! Before I knew of TMS I had lots of trigger points...once I healed, they only show up occasionally and don't stick around. Trigger points can happen in literally any muscle, scapula is super common.

 

...if they persist

yes, totally agree!

 

Thank you Gigs and also MindbodyPT for your replies. Can you tell me, how painful were your TPs and using TMS methods, how long did it take for the TPs to be released? As I have said, I have this soreness/ache and often burning sensation in and all around my right scapula. I have had this for months and it gets worse as the day progresses. Any advice would be appreciated, as I have not seen much on scapula pain on the forum, do it is comforting to hear you have both either experienced it or have hear of it
Best wishes
Fred.

 

My rhomboids were pretty bad. Upper back pain is often reported here and the scapula is part of that; that is the reason that the scapula in particular isn't mentioned often. It slowly went away, with ups and downs, in a matter of many months. That said, everyone recovers in their own pace.
Start your TMS work, Fred, that is the way to go.

 

Thanks so much Gigs. Just knowing others have experienced the same pain helps to convince me that it is TMS, as I suppose what else can it be. It is obviously a muscle/soft tissue issue, but whilst I accept my thinking and worrying is keeping it ever present, the thing I can't get my head around is this notion of there being a repressed anger in my subconscious mind and that is the case how on earth do I release this mystery and escape the pain?
Best wishes and thanks for your interest.
Fred

 

Anger is what Sarno defines as the core emotion, but Anxiety is what I prefer and I believe Alan Gordon (see the program he made for the TMSWiki at the top of this page) does too. It doesn't really matter; your subconscious can be anxious about anger or it can be angry about being anxious. The outcome is the same: psychophysical symptoms.

Anxiety/Anger about symptoms is the driver of those symptoms, it is a vicious cycle that you need to break by acceptance instead of fearing and resenting them. However the instigator of symptoms can be buried emotions that might need some exploration in order to teach your brain that those emotions are safe and not dangerous. Losing the fear and anger about symptoms and/or any underlying emotions is the goal here.

I can tell you beforehand that the path to recovery will be different for everybody. It can take a couple of days but in most cases it will take months. You will never fully recover in terms of not having any symptoms for the rest of your life, because TMS is simply part of the human condition. However, there will be a point in time that symptoms won't bother you anymore and therefore they will be mild and short lived.

take care,
Giga

 

Hey fredb,
Scapular pain is the symptom imperative that took over once my lower back pain went away. Mine is on the left side and has been ongoing for over a year. I describe it as an alien trying to claw it's way out of my upper back with an ice pick! Several things have helped to greatly lessen the pain over the past few months.
1. Checking myself constantly throughout the day to make sure my shoulders and scapula are relaxed and limber. The pain had caused me to automatically hold my left shoulder in a clenched "protective" posture. Especially when using the computer at work.
2. Using guided meditation to relax my entire body (not just the upper back). There's a free medication app called Insight Timer. Kate James has a 15 minute guided meditation that's wonderful. I do it during my lunch break.
3. Purposefully using my shoulder/scapula and stop babying it out of fear.
4. Thinking psychologically: what emotion am I feeling/suppressing right now that is causing this pain or spasm?
5. Using self care and kindness techniques: taking a warm bath, listening to music, or having my spouse gently massage the trigger point.

 

Thank you Giga your understanding and advice is great and makes so much sense.
You are simply telling me I should accept the pain rather than fear and hate it and when I am able to truly accept and live with it, it will begin to ease? Not easy, but if you and others have achieved it. I should also have that ability.
Best wishes
Fred.

 

Thanks Hattie
Good advice indeed.
I will try your methods especially the meditation.
Thanks again and good luck.
Fred

 

You can do it Fred

Meditation is a great tool. There are more, I highly suggest reading Alan Gordon's program http://go.tmswiki.org/newprogram (Pain Recovery Program)