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Starting my training

Discussion in 'Support Subforum' started by Enrique, Dec 26, 2014.

  1. Enrique

    Enrique Well known member

    Hey Everyone,

    Well, I started up my training for 2015 events. I am planning on doing 2 long distance triathlons and a bunch of shorter/fun events. Oh and actually I signed up to do an 80 mile charity bike ride to raise funds for a Diabetes cure.

    One thing I'm working on is to overcome a pain in my right shoulder which I know is TMS, but it's not totally going way. It doesn't hurt too bad, but it's taking a lot of effort to not think about it, or to not let it distract me. Sometimes I have that thought that says it's structural and then I realize it and reinforce that it's TMS.

    I'm thinking of reading through the Alan Gordon recovery program again... it's been a while since I did that. Or maybe re-read a TMS book. Sometimes that helps me.

    What do others find helpful when a little flare up happens?
     
  2. Walt Oleksy (RIP 2021)

    Walt Oleksy (RIP 2021) Beloved Grand Eagle

    Enrique, it's great that you are training for the upcoming running and biking events.
    You sound like you could still use a reinforcement of total belief in Dr. Sarno and TMS.

    Many people posting in the subforums still doubt 100 percent that their symptoms are from TMS,
    repressed emotions and/or perfectionist or “goodist” personalities.

    I went back to Dr. Sarno’s groundbreaking book, Healing Back Pain, and will quote him that most
    if not all back and other pain is from TMS and is not structural.

    He reminds us that doctors, family, and friends may tell us that if we have back pain, we should not bend, slouch, sit on soft chairs or couches, do not arch the back, swim the crawl or breast stroke, do not wear high heels, running is bad for the spine, never run on hard surfaces (my chiropractor told me this), weak back muscles cause back pain, avoid all vigorous sports.

    Wrong, Sarno says about all of that.

    “Because of a basic misconception of the cause of neck, shoulder, and back pain, there is a monumental body of misinformation to which people are exposed and which contributes substantially to the severity anode longevity of their pain.

    “The truth is that the back is a rugged structure, fully capable of taking us through our daily lives, and then some. We exercise our backs constantly, for the act of being up and about requires that the postural muscles, which paradoxically are the only ones involved in TMS, are always active in keeping the trunk upright on the legs, and the head on the trunk. And if we take a brisk walk, or job, or run, those muscles are exercised even more. They are undoubtedly the strongest muscles in the body.

    “When I hear that a professional athlete, a tennis player for example, has to pull out of a tournament because of back pain, I marvel at the naiveté that suggests that he or she has a deficient back. Such a thing was practically unheard of thirty years ago in tennis, golf, baseball, football or basketball.
    It is commonplace today.”

    [I am reminded that golf legend Tiger Woods has dropped out of tournaments because of supposed back pain. He needs to know about TMS because he has been having personal problems that are triggers for pain.]

    “Years ago,” Dr. Sarno says, “I saw a famous woman athlete who was having pain in the very muscles she used most in her sport. Fortunately, she immediately grasped the concept of TMS and her pain promptly disappeared.

    “In my experience, structural abnormalities of the spine rarely cause back pain. That ought not surprise us for this epidemic of back pain is very new. Somehow the human race managed to get through the first million years or so of its evolution without a problem, but if the structural diagnoses are correct, something happened to the spine during the last evolutionary eye blink and it has begun to fall apart.

    “This idea is untenable. One suspects that these spine abnormalities have always been there but were never blamed for pain because there was no pain to blame them for. Fifty years ago back pain was not very common but, more importantly, nobody took it seriously. The epidemic of back pain is due to the enormous increase in the incidence of TMS during the past thirty years, and, ironically, the failure of medicine to recognize and diagnose it has been a major factor in that increase. Instead of TMS the pain has been attributed primarily to a variety of structural defects of the spine.

    “It is essential to know that almost all of the structural abnormalities of the spine are harmless.”

    [This reminds me that my father suffered from lower back pain for many years which doctors called “lumbago.” He didn’t know that his back pain was not caused by anything structural but from TMS. He had great anxiety because of money worries back in the 1930s Great Depression. He was not alone in that worry because millions of others had the same problem, as millions today have in the current bad economy.]

    Dr. Sarno says that emotional stress from financial worries are often the cause of TMS back and other pain.

    If we stop worry and fear over money concerns, we can survive these hard times and our confidence will help our backs to feel better. TMS “penicillin” will cure us.
     
  3. Enrique

    Enrique Well known member

    Thanks Walt. I think you're right. I needed that dose of reinforcement. That sliver of doubt is hindering me and reading those words you posted give me increasing confidence.

    Today I went for a long run and some pain in my knee at the beginning of the run was almost all gone by the end. I'm supposed to do a swim later today or tomorrow. I am going to do it regardless of the shoulder pain that is there. I will focus on other things... maybe try to remember the words you've posted.
     
  4. Enrique

    Enrique Well known member

    Well, I wasn't able to get my swim in this weekend, but my shoulder isn't hurting as much now. Also, I've had a bit of success with three other pains. First, my left foot was giving me some issues about two months ago. It hurt in the metatarsal area when I ran. I did change my shoe to something with more cushion in it and a size larger to allow more room in the toebox. However, the pain persisted even after that change. Once I started to treat it as TMS, it has steadily gone away. No pain yesterday during or after my run. So was it the change in shoe or the treating as TMS? I'm really not sure, but it's still a victory.

    Also, my right knee has been tweaky since I started lifting weights. I started lifting... doing squats about 4 weeks ago. The first time I did it, I used very light weight... maybe 25 pounds on my back. The next day my right knee hurt. I rested and two days later it was gone. I didn't quit trying and started to ramp up the weights. I did one or two sessions a week slowly adding weight. I switched to doing the leg press rather than squats because I don't have a spotter and did not want to risk dropping the weights so with the leg press there's a built in safety system if I'm not able to complete the lift. Well the first time with the leg press I did several sets and got up to about 80 pounds or so. I did get the same pain the next day. So I rested a few days and didn't do anything very hard as far as my workouts went. The pain subsided. But then last week I got brave because I was thinking about this and the pain never happened while I was working out, only the next day. I didn't think that was normal. It felt like a conditioned response. Plus, frankly, I've never had knee issues before. In my younger days, I used to squat hundreds of pounds with no problems. So I was thinking this was just a conditioning thing. So the next time in the gym, I started with 90 lbs. I did 7 reps. I did a second one with 90 lbs x 7 reps. Then I said "Screw it" so I bumped it to 140 lbs and did 7 reps. No pain. I added more and did 160, then 185, then 210, then finished with 260 lbs x 6 reps. I was resting about 2 to 3 minutes between each of those sets. The next day I had the same pain again, but not worse.

    Then, this last Friday, I did the same workout but ended up at 410 lbs x 6 reps!! I felt some pain the next day (yesterday), but frankly it felt less painful than before. And I did my long run of 8 miles with diminishing pain in the knee the longer I ran. And today I did a 2hr 15 min bike ride with just a hint of pain in the knee, but nothing really that bad. I hardly even noticed it. So, I think it's TMS and it's slowly going away.. at least it feels that way.
     
  5. Enrique

    Enrique Well known member

    Just a quick update. My shoulder is feeling better with almost no pain, but I haven't had time to swim in about week and I haven't lifted any weights since 7 days or so ago. I do still doubt if it's TMS or not although I'm trying to convince myself it's just TMS. My knee is a little painful, but I signed up for a Duathlon which is tomorrow morning and I'm going to do it. I do believe it is pain caused by TMS because of the evidence so far. I bet I won't even feel any pain during the event.
     
  6. Peggy

    Peggy Well known member

    I have been following the MindBody Workbook by David Schechter this month. I have not followed it before, so it is fresh to me and gets me thinking about my emotions and writing about them. It did take me a while to get into it, but I like it now.
     
    Enrique likes this.
  7. Enrique

    Enrique Well known member

    I just started reading his new book and part of his treatment is to have patients use that workbook. Thanks for chiming in! I'm going to order it... Maybe the DVD too.
     
  8. Enrique

    Enrique Well known member

    So I did a duathlon yesterday and really barely felt any knee pain. And I went as hard as I could.. no holding back. Afterward, at home, I did apply ice to it "just in case", but today the knee feels really good. I'm going snowboarding for a few days in Tahoe starting tomorrow and I'm just so glad that my knee is feeling better. My shoulder doesn't hurt at all anymore and it wasn't an issue during the duathlon. Still reading Dr Schechter's new book... about half way done. It's really good!

    Thanks for the support. I appreciate it!
     
    Last edited: Jan 5, 2015
    yb44 and Ellen like this.
  9. Enrique

    Enrique Well known member

    So LOTS has happened since my last post in early Jan. I started seeing a TMS Therapist and I went to see Dr Schechter for a diagnosis. My main concerns at that time were my right knee and my right shoulder. Both had still been giving me some ongoing pain. My knee more recently since beginning a very conservative weight lifting program and my shoulder had been hurting since 2012. But actually, my knee pain goes back to 2012 also. It just more recently flared up again. Other symptoms that I wanted him to look at were neck and back pain which had been flaring up over the years off and on.

    Visiting Dr Schechter was a great experience. It's the first time I'd met with a Dr who knows about TMS. It felt so validating to be able to talk TMS and go through the evaluation/diagnosis process from that perspective. The appointment last 45 minutes or so which I have to admit is the longest Dr visit that I an remember in my life, except perhaps with the surgeon who performed surgery to remove a cyst many years ago. In the end of that appointment, he felt pretty sure my knee, back, and neck were TMS. Regarding my shoulder, he advised that I get an MRI with dye injection and check back in a month. He thought there might be a labral tear and needed the MRI to gather more information.

    I went to my HMO to get an MRI and they approved it, but not with dye injection. If you know how HMO's work, sometimes it's hard to tell anyone anything so I just went ahead with the MRI anyway. It came back yesterday and the Orthopedist says he sees a supraspinatus muscle tear. I'm not really sure what that is exactly, but I have an appt to see him next week. My goal in that meeting besides getting his recommendation is to get a copy of the MRI so I can send to Dr Schechter for his review as well. I hope they won't make a fuss about me wanting a copy of the MRI. We will see!

    As I said, I've been in weekly therapy as well. It's been very eye opening and helpful in seeing where I might be creating inner tension and reasons for pain to take a hold. Since starting, my knee pain as largely gone away. I continue to train for my upcoming races this year and my knee has been the least of my troubles. Even my shoulder pain has subsided to where I hardly notice it at all. Most of the time I'm not even thinking about it. Similar the low level of low back pain has subsided to non-pain most of the time. I'm pretty happy with the progress so far.
     
  10. Lizzy

    Lizzy Well known member

    Enrique, that is all really great news! You sound so encouraged, and that encourages us. Thanks for sharing with us!
     
  11. Andy Bayliss

    Andy Bayliss TMS Coach & Beloved Grand Eagle

    Enrique,
    Thanks for the detailed update. It is a story of getting the right support, the right help, and how that augments your own efforts. Very satisfying to read...
    Andy B.
     

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