Sitting question

Hello to all people living with TMS. My name is Artyom, I'm from Russia. I'm 25 years old. I have mid-upper back since i was 14 years old. Actually i had an accident, i was walking and one of my classmates jumped on my back. At this time i felt some crack under my left scapula. After 2 days i felt pain in this area, it was growing very much when i was sitting much on lessons or on my computer at home. What i noticed, i actually felt some tightness in my scapula and i always tried to stretch it with motion, that produces some crack sounds. And after i did this motion i had instant relief but for a very very short time. Going through these 11 years i tried almost everything. Exercise, stretching, trying to fix posture, massage..Nothing could give me relief for a long time.
About a week ago i found Dr. Sarno method. Now i have book on English language, but its kinda hard for me to read, and i ordered Healing Back Pain on Russian language, now i'm waiting for this book.
But now i know some basic keys on TMS theory and i'm trying to apply it to my life. The first thing i did, i stoped doing this motion to have pain relief (cracking/stretching motion). It's kinda hard for me, couse i did this motion for 11 years, sitting is even more challenging for me by now.
I want to ask you people some questions. TMS theory has enough arguments for me to believe in its work. I really had a huge stress in my life by time my back started to hurt. Pain sometiems goes into right scapula or neck. If i focus on my pain it grows much stronger.
But i didnt understand why sitting isn't bad for my back. Why it doesnt compress the spine? So much studies on the internet that proves its bad for back, that sedentary life style is not human nature, that africans didn't have back pain and etc. Anyway if you have TMS or you don't have TMS, when you sit for a long time your muscles start to numb. So please answer me about it. I have read Steve Ozanich post about sitting, i just didn't understand why sitting isn't bad for my back.
Thank you.

 

Hi, MambOOk.
Sitting is bad if we sit too long. We just have to remember to get up every so often and walk or stretch. Maybe every
half hour, at least. Every 15 minutes would even be better.

I work at the computer a lot every day and notice I am stiff if I sit too long.

Also, if you expect to feel pain, or fear you will get it, when you sit, it can bring on the pain.

I wouldn't rely on Dr. Google on the Internet to get medical advice. If you have doubts that your back
may be hurting because of some structural abnormality, you should see your doctor about it.

But even if something structural is found, that may not be the real cause of your pain.
That may be from TMS, repressed emotions and/or a perfectionist and goodist personality.

I urge you to start the Structured Educational Program which is free in that subforum on this web site.
It will lead you to daily exercises that help to heal.

I's doubtful that someone jumping on your back years ago would cause pain that is still with you.
To me, it sounds like TMS, something psychological. That causes pain in many people, as it did me.
When I journaled, I discovered childhood emotional stresses I had been repressing for years.

Good luck healing. If you believe 100 percent that TMS is the cause of your pain, you will heal.

I think it's wonderful that you, in Russia, have discovered Dr. Sarno and TMS. His good news is
really spreading.

I have wonderful Russian friends living near me in a Chicago suburb.

Keep posting all of us about your progress. We are here to help.

 

Thank you for your reply, Walt. I'm so worried about sitting couse many people i know can sit a long time without pain. Today i was reading many threads at this forum about it, and tryed so much during my work day speak with brain, telling that i'm fine. And i want to say to you, it works, but it takes a lot of effort by the end of the day, and now after work, if i sit at my computer, i can't stop some stiffnes in my back. So looks like i must train it everyday.
Very nicely that during current political situation you talk good about Russia.

 

Hi Artyom & welcome to the forum. Sitting is a normal activity that has gained a lot of bad press recently. Many doctors & physios will tell u that it is bad because of the way they have been taught to think but if u think about it, we humans are very good at adapting to our environment and sitting is one of those things we have adapted to very well. If we didn't we would have died out a long time ago. Like any activity there will be times u overdo things. For eg, if u are hunched at yr desk for hours tensisng up your muscles then of course you will experience some pain & stiffness. But that is normal & a reminder that we should get up, & stretch & get the blood flowing.

Its possible to hurt, strain your back but any back pain should resolve itself in a couple of months & u should be able to resume normal activities including sitting. If the pain persists then it could be TMS. the longer one has pain, the more tense one is & so the stiffness & pain get worse & so does your fear. In cases like this the pain becomes chronic & sitting is hard because the muscles can't relax.

Its important to break this cycle, this conditioning through exploring yr emotions & also by reconditioning yourself. And in order to do that u must believe that sitting is an Ok activity & start sitting more & more till yr brain realises that there is actually nothing wrong.

Doctors & many others in the health profession will often plant negative thoughts by saying things like 'your muscles are weak' or 'sitting is bad' & we all believe this to be true so u must break that negative thinking & believe Sarno when he says yr back is strong.

I'll give u an example of myself. I had a bad back for some years & was told by so many that my abdominal muscles were weak & that strenghthening would help. Well I had major surgery recently for a completely different problem & my surgeon remarked on how strong my muscles were when he had to cut thru them.

Hope this helps & good luck.

Mala

 

Hi, Mala. Thank you for your reply. Actually my pain starts to grow as the day goes on. At morning i'm pretty fine, just a little discomfort in my problem area, but no pain at all. But after dinner at work, it starts to hurt, and hurt more and more as long as i sit. So it feels more like fatique then pain. Like you i did many exercises, i have strong abdominals and back muscles. Looks like at morning my muscles are relaxed, but later some tension grows in them. Yesterday i did some TMS technique after dinner, it worked, but after it i felt my brain was fatiqued so much
The funny thing all time i thought its structural problem, couse my scapula cracks after i do motion i call stretching/cracking. I did X-ray of this area and nothing wrong was there. But even after X-ray i thought its structural. By now i think some part of my mind still thinks its structural. So looks like after i noticed, that my scapula cracks i conditioned myself that it isn't normal it must couse pain and it started to couse pain.
I told you another one accident i had in my schooltimes after first accident in my schooltimes, at sports lesson we were handed jumps from place, after i did several jumps i felt bad in my problem area, at morning after i couldn't even move, that was very painfull, some injection helped me, but from that point i conditioned myself that i can't jump. Yesterday i tried jumps for the first time in 11 years, i didn't have any strong pain now.

 

Well done on the jumping. Now if yr back was really bad u wouldn't have been able to do it.

I suggest u read the Russian version of the book & in the meantime start the SEP which is at this link.

http://www.tmswiki.org/ppd/Structured_Educational_Program

This free 42 day programme will really help with understanding TMS & give u tools & techniques which you can use to apply to your own situation. It really is a wonderful resource.

And of course u can alway post & get support & advice from all the good ppl here.

Mala