| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| entheogens |
Posted - 04/16/2007 : 15:26:08
Hi, I have been diagnosed with a slight bit of scoliosis. A couple of weeks back I had a flare-up (pain around coccyx running down to leg). At first I was worried about it and then I discovered Dr. Sarno's writing. Perhaps it's just coincidence but I got better almost immediately.
Nonetheless, I find myself being very timid with my weightlifting, especially more technical lifts like Power Clean, Squats, etc. I keep trying to repeat to myself that there is nothing to worry about, but fear of a back injury or pain lingers in my mind. Has anybody else
had to deal with this? How so, how do you manage it?
Thanks. |
| 18 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| westcoastram |
Posted - 05/11/2007 : 10:44:42
Good for you Tim,
I think TMS can be especially hard for those who want to return to strenuous physical activity. We people tend to concentrate on the physical more so than anyone else... specifically weight-lifters who are taught FORM FORM FORM!!
Use your best judgment... I can say that as I've weightlifted over time with my knowledge of TMS... I've grown to know my body really well and can tell with almost 100% certainty what constitutes an injury and what is TMS. I can't tell you about YOUR body per se but I believe that as you gain experience weightlifting with TMS, you too will become proficient in knowing what is what.
|
| fs1epop |
Posted - 05/11/2007 : 06:27:56
Thanks Westcoastram
I'm using some of your suggestions as we speak. It's been 10 days now and the pain has almost gone, but there is still some pain there and tightness in the rest of my arm. I suspect that what is left is TMS. |
| westcoastram |
Posted - 05/09/2007 : 00:01:19
P.P.S. I also find that whenever I get something that I think is TMS... I begin to make a list of all the reasons I think it's TMS.
Example:
1) It hurts when I do this but surprisingly not when I do this using the same muscle.
2) It doesn't hurt when i type but it hurts when I yadadada.
3) When I thought psychological about yadyadada I felt a twinge in my arm.
After a while, if it's TMS, you'll see a list that grows so long you'll know it couldn't be anything else. |
| westcoastram |
Posted - 05/08/2007 : 23:54:48
Tim,
I certainly can't tell you what to do here but I can relate my own experiences.
When I got back into weight-lifting after sarno... I would get what I would have classified previously as sprains and strains all over my body while working out.
What I did was focus on the "injury" and think psychological about it and then the next time I went to the gym and felt the pain - right there, right then - I would think of something that I knew (back when I was deep in sarno pain) that was bothering me and one of three things would happen.
1) The pain wouldn't get any worse and I'd just go about my workout and then it would go away afterwards.
2) The pain would move to a new location or a new "injury" in the workout. i.e., I'd have calf pain and I'd do squats and the pain would move to my butt.
3) The pain would just disappear.
In fact, I still get little aches and pains while working out but I know what they are now... for me, they are my TMS conditioning acting up.
P. S. Pay attention to what you're working out too! Sometimes I'll get the old Sarno pain when I bench press but if I do incline or decline (exercises that agruably work the same muscles just differently) I don't feel a thing... one of the best indicators of TMS I've ever had. |
| fs1epop |
Posted - 05/08/2007 : 09:02:23
Hi Westcoastram
I wanted to ask your advice. I have had a history of TMS but these days am very active. However, about 2 weeks ago was doing some weights at the gym (which I do about 2 - 3 times per week) and felt some pain in my tendon at my elbow.
I continued to feel pain that week in other sporting activites and was advised by my doctor to back off from training for 10 days to 2 weeks.
Thing is, like you, I have a great fear of not being able to play sports or train. I need to be active and work out. I am not sure if my tendon is actually an injury of TMS. It's been about a week now since I worked out and it feels better but it's still there. I don't want to push through the pain if it is an injury but I'm starting to suspect that it is TMS.
Have you any advice on how you can be sure? Obviously, to get over the TMS you have to totally refute the physical diagnosis.
best
tim |
| entheogens |
Posted - 04/20/2007 : 10:49:18
quote:
Originally posted by shawnsmith
Dr. Sarno says in his video presentation that if you can lift something then it is not too heavy for you to lift and that bending at the knees while lifting is a bogus pre-caution.
Hmmm, but he is probably talking about everyday sort of lifting.
I wonder if he would say the same thing about weightlifting where sometimes you are attempting to lift weights that you cannot succesfully lift.
quote:
For the most part, as far Dr. Sarno is concerned, scoliosis is a bogus diagnosis and is not the source of back pain.
Yes, I gathered that much.
Thank you for the encouragement! |
| entheogens |
Posted - 04/20/2007 : 10:44:15
quote:
Originally posted by electraglideman
I go to the gym and lift 4 times a week and there are safty issues involved that you have to take into consideration. If your lifting heavy (power cleans and squats) always use a belt. Always do your squats is a squat rack. This will icrease your confidence and it is good advise even for someone who has never had a back problem be it physical or TMS.
Thanks electraglidman. As you may know there is some controversy as to whether it is a good idea to use a belt or not. I usually dont, but I guess it could hurt as long as I hold my breath and tighten the core muscles during the lift in addition to the belt. And I always use a power rack when doing squats. |
| entheogens |
Posted - 04/20/2007 : 10:41:27
quote:
This is quite common around here...Truly, you've never seen such a bunch of worry warts and hypochondriacs gathered in one place, including myself..I've come to believe that kind of obsessive worry is a huge predictor of TMS...I also don't believe one can lay claim to being meaningfully healed til that's successfully addressed...
I have not checked the board for a few days and am delighted to read all the wonderful responses.
This is getting at the nexus of the problem. I am very open to the idea that the etiology is not scoliosis but repressed emotions. However, I still am feeling a bit of "inner doubt" when I approach my lifts. So how does one address such negative self-talk. I imagine such self-talk is not particular to weightlifters. If this has already been covered and there is a good thread on it, I would be much obliged if someone could point me to it.
|
| shawnsmith |
Posted - 04/18/2007 : 11:55:30
quote:
Originally posted by wrldtrv
Shawnsmith--I know what Sarno says about scoliosis, but I'm skeptical. I know a couple of people with severe scoliosis and they are in great pain most of the time. Maybe it's bogus, but until you live in the bodies of those with this condition, I don't think you can judge.
I suspect that many weight lifters place a lot of pressure on themselves to continually break records of the amount of weight they can lift. Always trying to push the limits either for personal satisfaction or for personal recognition. This is indeed TMS enducing.
The problem with the argument of scoliosis being the cause of pain is that many people are walking around with such a physical condition and yet have zero pain. How does one explain that? There is no doubt the pain of you weight lifter friends is real (TMS has made people bed ridden) but I personally dismiss the notion that scoliosis is the source of their pain and would instead attribute it to the kinds of pressures they place on themselves. The diagnosis of scoliosis is a perfect cover for the brain who wants us to believe that their is a physical or structural problem even though their is no scientific basis - despite what the medical mafia and their chiropractor collaborators tells us - that scoliosis causes pain at all.
*************
Sarno-ize it!
************* |
| art |
Posted - 04/18/2007 : 09:59:20
quote:
Originally posted by westcoastram
I'm an avid weightlifter and I can say the best thing to do is go slow. Get back into things with confidence and patience. There were "injuries" or minor sprains and strains I would get when I got back into weightlifing after learning about TMS but every single one of them was TMS in a nutshell.
To be honest, a big part of my TMS was a fear of hurting myself physically and not being able to work out - I had and still have issues with the way I look and the need to be physically active. The fear of having either taken away from me contributed a lot to my pains.
westcoast,
This is quite common around here...Truly, you've never seen such a bunch of worry warts and hypochondriacs gathered in one place, including myself..I've come to believe that kind of obsessive worry is a huge predictor of TMS...I also don't believe one can lay claim to being meaningfully healed til that's successfully addressed... |
| tennis tom |
Posted - 04/18/2007 : 00:46:56
quote:
Originally posted by wrldtrv
Shawnsmith--I know what Sarno says about scoliosis, but I'm skeptical. I know a couple of people with severe scoliosis and they are in great pain most of the time. Maybe it's bogus, but until you live in the bodies of those with this condition, I don't think you can judge.
WT, have you recommended reading Dr. Sarno to these people and to be dx'ed by a TMS doctor? I agree with Dr. Sarno that most of these back "diseases" are misdiagnosed. But until they go to a TMS doctor for a dx, they, and we will never know for certain.
The premise of this board is that Dr. Sarno is RIGHT, otherwise why bother with this TMS stuff? Unless you are privy to some evidence that disproves the Good Doctor's TMS theory, I am a follower of his based upon over 30 years of his clinical studies and those of his colleagues.
some of my favorite excerpts from 'TDM' : http://www.tmshelp.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2605
|
| westcoastram |
Posted - 04/18/2007 : 00:19:52
I'm an avid weightlifter and I can say the best thing to do is go slow. Get back into things with confidence and patience. There were "injuries" or minor sprains and strains I would get when I got back into weightlifing after learning about TMS but every single one of them was TMS in a nutshell.
To be honest, a big part of my TMS was a fear of hurting myself physically and not being able to work out - I had and still have issues with the way I look and the need to be physically active. The fear of having either taken away from me contributed a lot to my pains. |
| wrldtrv |
Posted - 04/17/2007 : 23:01:31
Shawnsmith--I know what Sarno says about scoliosis, but I'm skeptical. I know a couple of people with severe scoliosis and they are in great pain most of the time. Maybe it's bogus, but until you live in the bodies of those with this condition, I don't think you can judge. |
| skizzik |
Posted - 04/17/2007 : 19:35:31
quote:
Originally posted by shawnsmith
if you can lift something then it is not too heavy for you to lift
this may be the nugget I'm looking for! thanx |
| shawnsmith |
Posted - 04/17/2007 : 14:49:07
Dr. Sarno says in his video presentation that if you can lift something then it is not too heavy for you to lift and that bending at the knees while lifting is a bogus pre-caution. "I haven't been bending at the knees for years", he says, "and I don't have a back problem. He is over 80 year old.....
For the most part, as far Dr. Sarno is concerned, scoliosis is a bogus diagnosis and is not the source of back pain.
You have to slowly work you way back to where you were and this may take some time. If or when you feel pain in the course of an activity it is your brain's way of keeping you involved in the TMS symptoms and trying to make you believe you have a structual problem. Just back off a bit and do the mental work and slowly work your way back step by step. You will succeed just likes thousands of other have, one step at a time.
*************
Sarno-ize it!
************* |
| electraglideman |
Posted - 04/17/2007 : 14:18:18
I go to the gym and lift 4 times a week and there are safty issues involved that you have to take into consideration. If your lifting heavy (power cleans and squats) always use a belt. Always do your squats is a squat rack. This will icrease your confidence and it is good advise even for someone who has never had a back problem be it physical or TMS. |
| entheogens |
Posted - 04/17/2007 : 12:24:13
Thanks. Your reply helps. How does one go about dealing with the chatter that goes on in my head as I approach a lift? I am continuing to lift, but I'd like to proceed with less of this apprehension. |
| andy989 |
Posted - 04/16/2007 : 18:38:09
I deal with it quite a bit. I still have symptoms (much better than a few months ago, overall), but continue to lift. Most of the time, my symptoms (arms and shoulders) don't interfere with lifting itself much, and the lack of increased pain, etc. afterwards helps to reinforce what's causing the pain.
No need to be scared--even if something were physically wrong and you lifted...so what, you'd take longer to heal. AND that's probably not the case. You have little, very likely absolutely nothing, to lose and a lot to gain. |
