Struggling with TMS

[Matam85]

Hi everyone ,

I have read Dr John Sarno’s book Healing Backpain and found it very helpful. I have noticed that whenever I do core strengthening exercises I start to doubt TMS.

I know Dr Sarno wants us to think psychologically and not physically , but is there room to do core exercises for general spine health ? It just seems that I shouldn’t be throwing the baby out with the bath water. I sometimes experience sciatica and I believe it to be TMS caused. To put it bluntly , if it is TMS, why even do any kind of physical exercise, especially exercises that strengthen muscles in the buttocks , legs, hips, etc.

I am just trying to understand and resolve some of the barriers that I have to fully believing in TMS

thank you for your help

 

[miffybunny]

Hi @Matam85 ,

It's great to exercise for overall health and fitness but not for the purpose of "treating" or "fixing" a problem. It all comes down to the intent and mindset behind the activity. The term "spine health" sounds like something a chiropractor would say so get rid of that type of verbiage that just reinforces the messages of fear.

 

[Mr Hip Guy]

miffybunny nailed the response, but I will add a bit of my experience in this area. I do a lot of core/strength work to support my physical activity of choice (trail running & mtn biking) and for a long time I fell into that trap of "muscle imbalances" or "weaknesses" that supposedly lead to pain and I finally came around to the fact that was nonsensical BS. I mean how strong does your hamstring need to be in order to sit in a car for 2-3 hour road trips? It's crazy the things that we accept as fact with TMS.

However I still enjoy doing my core strength and overall strength work but I view it in the mindset of it improving my performance in running/biking, NOT as a pain treatment.

 

[Matam85]

Hi @Matam85 ,

It's great to exercise for overall health and fitness but not for the purpose of "treating" or "fixing" a problem. It all comes down to the intent and mindset behind the activity. The term "spine health" sounds like something a chiropractor would say so get rid of that type of verbiage that just reinforces the messages of fear.

Thank you. That makes a lot of sense. I appreciate your help and response.

 

[Matam85]

miffybunny nailed the response, but I will add a bit of my experience in this area. I do a lot of core/strength work to support my physical activity of choice (trail running & mtn biking) and for a long time I fell into that trap of "muscle imbalances" or "weaknesses" that supposedly lead to pain and I finally came around to the fact that was nonsensical BS. I mean how strong does your hamstring need to be in order to sit in a car for 2-3 hour road trips? It's crazy the things that we accept as fact with TMS.

However I still enjoy doing my core strength and overall strength work but I view it in the mindset of it improving my performance in running/biking, NOT as a pain treatment.

Thank you for your response. I will do my best to approach the core exercises from that mindset as I do weight training and I believe these core exercises will helps in that and with general health.