Seasonal or yearly pain?

Hi, everyone,
I hope that you are doing well.

I decided to post after a few weeks of struggling with recurring knee symptoms. I know the knee can be a tricky area, and perhaps some doubts about the structural/non structural nature of knee pain have been adding to my woes, although I have talked to Dr. Schubiner about my whole history and he said it is TMS, not to mention that I have had really good pain-free periods using this approach. The basics: chrondomalacia/patella femoral syndrome, had one surgery almost a decade ago that made the situation worse. Since then, episodic but decreasing pain with the TMS approach and I have been able to be very active for months now.

Anyway, the past couple of weeks I have been experiencing what I would say is tendinitis in the knee area as well as tightness throughout my leg (the usual culprits), and I can't quite figure out WHY. My stress level is pretty low right now and really the only thing I can think of (other than some longstanding family issues, which are managed as best as possible) is that maybe the season is bringing it on. I remember thinking a few weeks back that last winter I had a fair bit of pain doing some winter sports and "look how far I have come" to be able to do all that stuff this year, and then some time shortly after that the pain set in. It seems a bit farfetched to think it could be related to the season, but I remember one of Schubiner's stories about a woman who only developed pain in the late afternoon and couldn't figure out why until they pieced together that that was the time of day her husband died, so maybe that could be it after all.

It is not terrible pain, more of an annoyance and a constant reminder than anything, but it's definitely there and is making me frustrated and wanting to fight it (which I know is the opposite of what I should be doing). I am thinking of something I read in Steve-O's book that said that only when you no longer worry about healing will you heal. I am trying to remember how to get there!!

Thanks very much for any insight. It feels good to get this down.

 

Finding an activity for a positive distraction will make the pain fade and be forgotten.

 

Hi Alexandra,

I think you're on the right track, thinking psychologically about what caused the flare up.

Just a thought, from reading your post -- For me, sometimes looking back and seeing that I've made a lot of progress can be scary, enough to trigger a TMS recurrence. There's nothing rational about it, but it's so anyway. Living with pain and restrictions can feel safe and familiar, in a way. Being pain-free means freedom, and that can be scary. That's one of the reasons that recovery has been slow for me, though over time I've come a long way.

David.

 

Hi Alexandra,
I find that stressful and busy periods often act as the distraction, and when I relax, that's when my brain needs to bring back symptoms to keep me distracted.

I'm losing track of the many different ways in which TMS can manifest. It depends on the individual and on the particular circumstances being experienced at any time. There are no firm rules for any of it, and recovery is different for everyone!