Thigh pain

[Jake]

Hi everyone! I think I need some encouragement!
I had some (mainly) pain in my left thigh when I walked. This started when My mother in law got sick in December of last year. I thought at the time must be a Dr. Sarno thing. So I shrugged it off and went about my business. But it didn't go away. Eventually I went to a PA and it helped for a about a 4-6 weeks. Then it cam back but with the right leg as well. It feels like I'm Charlie horse in my thighs in different muscles. I have anxiety disorder and this has really been taking it's toll on me. Almost Everything I do has some level of pain whether it's walking getting into a car or bending down.
I did go to my dr. and he ran some tests including lyme disease (which Thank G-D was negative). He also did an ultra sound which thank G-D was not the issue. That was about a month ago . I did have a little low iron and my vitamin B12 was very low. I still feel that this is a Sarno moment, but I'm staring to feel depressed that this isn't reacting the same way when I have other Sarno moments.
I started PT again and it just got worse, probably because of all the exercises I'm putting into my thighs. what was a ray of hope was I was able to do a stationary bike without any pain, same with some of the other exercise equipment. And when I stared walking right after exercising, there was hardly any pain while walking, for a period of time.
Any suggestions on how to proceed from here in the TMS method would greatly be appreciated!

 

[Jake]

I forgot to also mention that I don't get a normal nights sleep. I wake up every 2 hours or so. I'm sure it's not helping the situation!

 

[Adam Coloretti (coach)]

Hi everyone! I think I need some encouragement!
I had some (mainly) pain in my left thigh when I walked. This started when My mother in law got sick in December of last year. I thought at the time must be a Dr. Sarno thing. So I shrugged it off and went about my business. But it didn't go away. Eventually I went to a PA and it helped for a about a 4-6 weeks. Then it cam back but with the right leg as well. It feels like I'm Charlie horse in my thighs in different muscles. I have anxiety disorder and this has really been taking it's toll on me. Almost Everything I do has some level of pain whether it's walking getting into a car or bending down.
I did go to my dr. and he ran some tests including lyme disease (which Thank G-D was negative). He also did an ultra sound which thank G-D was not the issue. That was about a month ago . I did have a little low iron and my vitamin B12 was very low. I still feel that this is a Sarno moment, but I'm staring to feel depressed that this isn't reacting the same way when I have other Sarno moments.
I started PT again and it just got worse, probably because of all the exercises I'm putting into my thighs. what was a ray of hope was I was able to do a stationary bike without any pain, same with some of the other exercise equipment. And when I stared walking right after exercising, there was hardly any pain while walking, for a period of time.
Any suggestions on how to proceed from here in the TMS method would greatly be appreciated!

Hi! Have you done the Structural Education Program here? That would be a great place to start - it does sound like TMS

 

[BloodMoon]

Hi @Jake,

I agree with Adam—your experience shares many classic hallmarks of TMS.

Please do not take this as a criticism—we have all done the exact same thing—but notice how much of your post focuses on physical mechanics and symptom details. As Dr Sarno highlighted, the shift begins when we deliberately start to “think psychological”.

It is completely understandable to focus on the pain when it feels loud and overwhelming. However, constantly analysing physical sensations feeds the fear loop that keeps the nervous system on high alert. The exact same principle applies to any other anxious or stressful thought loops in daily life—whether worrying about health, family, or other pressures, getting caught in repetitive mental churning keeps the body in that same revved-up state.

The turning point can come from noticing when the mind gets stuck in any of these loops without fighting them. Acknowledge the thought calmly—for example, “Here is my mind looping about my legs again,” or “Here is that familiar worry thought,” or “This is a thought about something I feel I should be okay about, but I'm actually pissed off about it...”—and gently redirect your attention to something grounding, such as lengthening your out-breath.

When your mind repeatedly returns to worrying thoughts, you might feel as though this approach is not doing anything. Even if it feels that way in the moment, it is working quietly in the background. Each time you interrupt the loop, you lay down a tiny bit of new neural groundwork, and you create the space for you brain to start to behave differently.

Over time, this teaches your brain that it does not have to stay on high alert for danger all the time, and that there is room for a calmer way of being. I emphasise “over time” because it takes patience and practice to gradually alter mental and nervous system habits.

 

[Jake]

Thank you for your responses. I'm not familiar with the Structural Education Program. I did just buy the book advertised here entitled Rewire your mind without willpower. Which "BloodMoon" I believe helps with what you mentioned. Interestingly I met a PT who had studied Dr Sarno's theory, and he claimed that if the pain moves from it's original source to a completely different area of the body that it's a pretty Sure sign of TMS. But if it stays in the same area but shifts within that area it's not such a sign. I had believed that even a shift within the thigh from one part of the thigh to a slightly different part of the thigh is also a sign of TMS. But he didn't think so.
What is the truth about that?

​

 

[BloodMoon]

Which "BloodMoon" I believe helps with what you mentioned.

Yes, that's right, it does.

I had believed that even a shift within the thigh from one part of the thigh to a slightly different part of the thigh is also a sign of TMS.

Well, I can attest to that being precisely what happened to me, i.e. pain in my right thigh that gradually and eventually went away only to be replaced with pain in another part of my right thigh (which also proved to be TMS). And I know (from conversations on these forums) that other TMSers have had similar experiences with their particular symptoms.

However, that said, the pain moving around like you're playing a game of 'whack-a-mole' with symptoms in your body is particularly prevalent with mind-body/TMS. (TMS isn't a 'medical condition', but the way I personally look at it is that it is kind of like with some medical conditions -- there may be a particular presentation or pattern to symptoms that is considered to be an indicative 'hallmark' for that condition however symptoms can still, nevertheless, present themselves in a different way to that 'hallmark" and still be that condition.)

With some people, their mind-body/TMS symptoms don't shift about though (although they may vary in intensity and with some possibly come and go). Over the years of replying to people on these forums, I have noticed that that can particularly be the case with some people's back pain (which eventually went away after taking a mind-body/TMS approach). It happens in other areas of the body too though. The indicative 'hallmark' of symptoms moving around the body in TMS being absent can be a stumbling block... a stumbling block from the point of view that those not experiencing the moving around of symptoms often find it hard to believe that their particular symptoms are TMS which can put them off taking a mind-body/TMS approach.

I'm not familiar with the Structural Education Program.

It's one of the totally free programs. If you go to my posting here https://www.tmswiki.org/forum/threads/fish-bone.33808/post-174206 (Fish bone) it gives you information about it and the other free programs available with links to them plus some explanation about how they differ from each other.