| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| gcee |
Posted - 07/25/2012 : 16:57:02
Hi Everyone. Inspired by Sdiddys post I decided to talk about the issue I am currently dealing with so here it goes:
I have been dealing with pain in one form or another since my early 20s. It first started with "tennis elbow". I developed it from weightlifting. I did not warm up properly and felt a strange feeling on a pushing exercise. This was during a very stressful time in my life. Long story short is this pain was present for years. I became obsessed about it and I had to totally stop weightlifitng all together. The paing I felt was a dull ache type of pain coupled with tingling sensation. It could not be reproduced with movement but was just kind of there. Movement did not make it worse. I tried RICE, trigger point therapy, accupuncture, message etc but nothing helped. Eventually it went away.
The next issue was back pain. This developed durring a very stressful time in my life aswell. I seen chiropractors, message therapist, tried ART etc yet nothing helped. It was not until I read Sarno that I began to get relief. Eventually I was able to overcome this issue. Again, this was pain from a static position. No movement cause any pain or change. It was just a general ache.
The next issue to rear its ugly head was leg pain. Just after my daughter was born I developed throbbing pain in my legs after a non eventfull day of bicycling. No major changes to my routine yet my legs felt like they were on fire. Once again no movement caused the pain. It was a burning sensation that persisted for some time but eventually went away with self talk, study etc.
Fast foward to my present issue. Two thing happened in the fall of 2009. First was the birth of my second daughter. Second was injuring my right shoulder. In regards to my shoulder, I was benching with bad form, had to rerack with out a spotter, and I felt a pull. Nothing major just a weird sensation. At the time I was training in Muay Thai and I tried to work around it. This pain was a pain felt on certain movements, unlike the tms pain I felt from my elbow, back, legs, which movment played no role in. Those pains were felt at rest.
I tried RICE, Physical Therapy, Cortizone etc for a period of over a year. The symptoms decreased but never got me to a 100% but because I am a perfectionist I wanted to be 100%. MRIs revealed no rotator cuff tear. The only possibility the Dr could see was impingement. He said subacromial decompression surgery would resolve it. So 16 months after this issue began I opted to have surgery done. For me this was a "real" injury I could feel upon movement above my head or out to the side. There was no pain at rest. The surgery required shaving off pieces of the acromium to allow more space for the rotator cuff to move freely.
The recovery process was long. What typically takes 6 months, took me over a year. Nevetheless,I am happy to say I currently have no issues with my right shoulder. My new bound freedom has led me to look at new spots to get back into training. I was even getting ready to purchase new gear when low and behold out of left field I "injure" my left shoulder. I was not doing anything other then reaching inside a damn washing machine at a weird angle, then snap, I feel a pull. Once again the pain I currently feel is felt during certain movements. This is not a dull ache or pins and needsles type of pain at rest, but a sharp pain felt when I extend my arm out to a certain angle. There is zero pain felt when my arms are static and to my side. I had a cortizone shot for good measure last week and that helped for a few days, but the pain has since returned. I should mention that I have been extremely stressed out lately with my job, school, and family issues.
I want to beleive this is tms but like Ive said there is no pain at rest, which is what I experienced with tms and my elbow,back, and legs. The pain was always there. This is different. This is a movement type of pain. If I had no plans of getting back into Muay Thai I wouldnt worry about it at all but it seems just seems od that as Im ready to start training again, which I've been patiently waiting to do now for over 2 years, this happens.
I've tried to look at MBP and TDM and have yet to find any info pertaining to pain from certain movements vs pain while at rest. I know I suffered from TMS in the past but I'm not quite sure what to make of this current issue. Does anyone have any insight or advice they would like to share. It would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
PS In the course of the last two years I up'd my running/cardio quite a bit and developed bone spurs and arthritis in my left ankle. I had broken it when I was 20 and they had to repair it with a plate and screws. I had the hardware removed 10 years ago and Ive always ran since without any problems. Apparently breaking a bone almost predisposes one for future arthritic issues. I have cut out the running and have been biking instead. I started out with pretty flat feet to begin with. The MRI revealed the spurs and arthritis pretty clearly so I seriously doubt the ankle issue is TMS. Thanks again for your time and thoughts on my issue. |
| 4 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| tennis tom |
Posted - 07/26/2012 : 23:11:01
quote:
Originally posted by jegol71
...They think very little of arthritis, bone spurs, pain duration, etc, because they believe dysfunction occurs mostly at the neurological level...
...The phrase is: "Defense, not defect."
...How we hold causes changes, not changes causing how we hold.
...Escape the TMS holding patterns, and the structure may or may not change in response, but your perceptions of pain and discomfort will wane as you emerge into function.
Thanks for posting Jego! I like those thoughts as well as the rest of your post.
Cheers! |
| gcee |
Posted - 07/26/2012 : 22:23:59
Thank you for your responses.
Steve, in your opinion "bone spurs" should never cause pain? |
| jegol71 |
Posted - 07/25/2012 : 23:05:08
A great phrase that I found trawling a message board designated for evidence-based physical therapists seems to me a compliment to everything that TMS is. They think very little of arthritis, bone spurs, pain duration, etc, because they believe dysfunction occurs mostly at the neurological level, as we do, interpreted through the various subsets of theories. The phrase is: "Defense, not defect." How we hold causes changes, not changes causing how we hold. Escape the TMS holding patterns, and the structure may or may not change in response, but your perceptions of pain and discomfort will wane as you emerge into function.
One could consider all the creative, heroic, athletic and intellectual genius we see throughout our species every day, and conclude that the human condition is profoundly powerful. If Picasso can conceive Guernica, a computer scientist can change careers to become a Nobel Prize-winning fiction writer, and a friend of mine can shatter the bench press record by twice-a-week lifting over 760 pounds for reps in nothing more than wrist wraps, then why can't we coax our restless nerves into pain free states that have been observed for thousands of years. Just as evolution did not go tilt on the strength of our backs, it too didn't suddenly render us powerless over brain signals. |
| SteveO |
Posted - 07/25/2012 : 21:57:59
Hi Gcee
Your story sounds similar to mine. I'm a lifter, and trainer and athlete. I've had what you describe here and more, but you probably have more too.
The birth of your daughters is a new demand of responsibility that the inner self does not always relish even when you love them more than life itself. That's important to think about.
You're only part of the way there in understanding TMS, but close. Those bone spurs (osteophytes) you mentioned aren't the cause of pain. I have them, and bone on bone, and post traumatic arthritis from years of sports injuries, and my pain all left. Those injury spots are simply the source destination of your deeper conflict. True injuries can also trigger TMS in a confusing conundrum (Phases 2 and 4 TMS).
My right ankle is pretty much gone by the damage and subsequent arthritis, that it freaks the radiologists out--yet that pain left when my back pain left.
I remember once doing incline bench when I felt my left shoulder pop at the acromium process. My arm didn't hurt at rest, only through movement. I couldn't raise it, or open doors, etc., but it was TMS. I treated it like anything that happens during exercise. I rested it for a short time and then got back to hammering it again.
Look at each time you felt you were using "bad form" and see what events were taking place in your life. You will see that TMS was always there to protect you.
Good luck
Steve |
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