Unstable pelvis, yet again

So, I am back and I am particularly interested in what MindBodyPT can say about this, as MBPT said that hyper mobile does not cause pain. I walked about a mile further yesterday than I usually do, feeling that I would not jog so I could handle it, and my "unstable pelvis" which is supposedly due to hyper mobility, is now an issue, yet again. In the past when I have gone with this pain to my PT, a quick adjustment, pushing against one knee and pulling towards me on the other, can make it feel better almost immediately. Is this still a TMS issue. Feeling in pain at 29 days after some improvement.
Thank you

 

Hi LiH,
Since MBPT isn't around at the moment, I'll throw in my two cents to get the discussion going. I am not a PT b.t.w.

I believe UP is TMS, at least in the great majority of cases. Certain muscles surrounding your pelvis are cramped and painful and pull things out of alignment (not dislocated, which is virtually impossible for the joints in the pelvis). You become asymmetrical as a result. If you look at the list of complaints that are related to UP, you recognize a lot of TMS symptoms.

It might be that when you did your longer than normal walk, your brain sensed danger and set things on fire. I recognize this so well, because I struggled with this for over a year. Being one of my most stubborn symptoms, once and a while it revisits me, but not nearly as severe as it once was and I can always relate it to emotional stress so it passes in a matter of days. I have to add that I am slightly hypermobile, I can overstretch my elbows, knees, rotate my hand 540 degrees, I have flat feet and I have pretty flexible wrists (can pull my thumb to my wrist). I am pretty muscular though, which isn't typical for HM people. One PT that I saw a couple of times gave me inlays for my shoes to stand straight and also tried to correct me like he did with you. The only thing it did for me was hurt like hell and the inlays I threw in the trashcan once I learned about TMS. Maybe I simply didn't trust the guy enough. But anyway, I am pretty symmetrical now.

The problem is that you are probably a lot more hyper mobile than I am (?) plus I am a man. I just don't have the knowledge to say whether you can be so mobile that the pelvis can really get misaligned structurally in a way that it can only be resolved by manual adjustment.

 

Thank you Gigalos for your response. I don't think I am super hyper mobile, but that is the line I get whenever I go to the PT. I did walk today and the lower back pain that was beginning to spasm, seems to have gone. However, the right hip pain, which is what I started this program for, it alive and well and still present. However, today when I walked, it was such a glorious day, no humidity and a gentle breeze that even though I still had my hip pain, I really enjoyed my walk.
I guess PTs come up with anything that we can hold onto as we are a pretty literal crowd. It certainly helped me justify why I have this pain. Unfortunately, that excuse is not helping much any more.
I will continue working this program with the hopes that my chronic hip pain will eventually tire of being in my body and simply leave. It now seems to be spreading to my knee as well.
I appreciate your weighing in on the hyper mobile issue.

 

Been there, LIH. I had all the symptoms you describe: hip pain, serious knee pain, cramps, back pain... and lots more...
Take your time and make your activities about enjoyment, despite any discomforts, like you did your walk today.
Cheers

 

Wow, Gigalos. Thanks. I am extremely stubborn and determined to get rid of this pain. I am on my 30th day, some highs and the requisite lows, but I am listening to new voices, yours now being one of them, so thanks again.

 

Hi there! Just saw this thread. I still very much feel that "instability" will not cause pain. Same with the feeling of stiffness, in the other direction. I know the adjustment you are talking about and I feel it is a placebo response (which doesn't mean it doesn't help sometimes!) I also had feelings of instability and pain prior to learning of TMS so I know how you feel. But logically speaking if someone truly had unstable bones and ligaments such as after an accident, there is no way a gentle adjustment could fix it. Another thing- I've had some mild feelings of pelvic instability with certain exercise since being pregnant (probably due to the hormonal changes) but it never comes with pain. Hope that clears things up! Keep treating yourself with TMS methods. Temporary relief from physical therapy is a common phenomenon as I see it all the time.

 

I appreciate your responding and hope that I did not put you on the spot. This morning I awoke with a very similar pain that would normally have taken me to the PT immediately. Once in their office, they would have me sit up straight, then slouch and ask which direction would hurt me more. They would then do that adjustment that you know about and I would feel better. I am hoping that you are right that the instability would not cause the kind of pain that I have and I agree, intellectually, that it must be so. It was not due to any accident; it simply started happening the older I became. It is interesting that I am having a flare up now that I have started the SEP. I am not sure what that is about, but I simply have to proceed and "act as if I don't have it." That isn't always so easy when you feel as though you are walking on glass for fear that you will break something.

 

Don't worry, you definitely didn't put me on the spot I like helping with this kind of thing, it helps me think critically and be better with helping people through tough times.

Flare ups of pain when starting the SEP are extremely common, I had the same thing during my healing process. It's ok to acknowledge that you have the pain...but start re-framing how you think of it! These days when I wake up with some pain (of course this still happens to me and all of us), I immediately start wondering what emotions I am feeling that could be causing it. I don't act as if I don't have it but instead try to address the emotional/stress related cause of it. This usually helps it go away quicker. The other day I had some shoulder pain I knew was TMS and went to the gym anyhow but was careful not to stress it or overdo it even though I knew it was TMS caused, as there were plenty of other things I could do. It went away and I could resume lifting weights how I wanted to the next time. It's ok to be mindful of your pain, honor it and gradually work up to doing activities you're comfortable with.

 

Oh and also, feel free to send me a message if you have more questions, happy to try to answer them!

 

Again, not trying to be a devil's advocate, but I am wondering how you can continue to be a PT if you feel that much of the service that PTs do is simply placebo? I appreciate your feedback about not ignoring the pain; just recognizing why it may be happening. That has become my biggest challenge as I feel that I am pretty "enlightened" about psychological issues. In fact, I was just speaking with my husband, who suffers from piriformis syndrome, and who is SURE that what he has is physical. What I have is also physical, but I am realizing that after the years of trying to cure it, nothing has given my long lasting relief so in my gut, I feel that I am in the right place. Perhaps for people who tend to be more analytical, it takes longer?

 

Yeah good question! So my work is primarily done with people who have neurological conditions...i'm a specialist with people who've suffered strokes, spinal cord injuries and brain injuries, as well as MS, Parkinson's and other things. For this population most of them suffer from strength and mobility impairments due to these traumas and they really need help re-learning to walk and balance, for non-TMS reasons. Some also have pain but that isn't the primary reason they work with me.

That being said, I do see some people for orthopedic type issues as well in my practice. Most of these are TMS unless they are post-traumatic or surgical. I have gotten much better at telling whether someone will be open to TMS healing and have had some success with this on a limited basis, though this is not what most people come in for. For the people who do not accept TMS ideas I think that exercise is a much better placebo than opioids or surgery to decrease pain! So I think of myself as helping them the best I can, meeting them where they are even if TMS healing would be the "better" thing. Not everyone is there and that is ok.

Being analytical can be a barrier to TMS acceptance but it also makes sense from a logical standpoint when you understand the body and mind well. I know I have an advantage having studied both pretty extensively. I can point you to some studies if that would help with your understanding, let me know!

 

Thank you so much for your excellent response. It really helps explain a lot. It also makes me wish that more PTs were trained in TMS, so that they could offer this as an option to traditional treatment. I wish you lived in my town, as I would love to work with an enlightened therapist.

I would love some studies if you could send them my way.