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streets112
Last Activity:
Apr 12, 2020
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Gender:
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Location:
New Jersey
Occupation:
Unemployed

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streets112

Newcomer, Male, from New Jersey

Pain since November 2019. Conventional treatment methods no longer helping. Currently reading: The Mindbody Prescription Apr 7, 2020

streets112 was last seen:
Apr 12, 2020
  • My Story

    My sophomore year of high school (age 16) I slept very little, ate very poorly and exerted myself in my hobbies to an extreme extent. Playing videogames and guitar for upwards of 8 hours a day, every day. Eventually in phys ed class, I was playing badminton and exerting in that too, swinging the racket like I was trying to murder the birdie. The next day, I awoke to severe pain and stiffness in the right arm. I was unable to open the hand, or squeeze the fist. Months of rest in a splint, an MRI, an orthopedist visit and a physical therapist visit later, I was diagnosed with tendonitis of the forearm. I was advised to begin strengthening exercises (I was not advised to stretch). Months of consistent strengthening eventually returned my arm to 95% of what it used to be. The only time I experienced any symptoms were in the morning, every morning. I would wake up to a very stiff and inflamed arm, which I'd have to slowly open up on my desk, before it felt normal. Other than this, it was like I never had tendonitis.

    Fast-forward to April of 2019, I am exerting in my hobbies as is normal again at this point, playing videogames and guitar for 6-8 hours a day, every day. I go bowling with a friend, and am hurling a 12lb ball down the lane for 2 hours. The next day, very similar to my first experience years ago, albeit more mild, I experience the same symptoms. I rest the arm for one week, slowly ease back into my hobbies, and it feels good as new again.

    August 2019, though no physical trauma occurred, my pain and stiffness symptoms slowly started creeping back up. They had consistently worsened despite changing nothing about my activities, except for playing less and with lower intensity. Eventually around November 2019, I decided to start the same treatment as advised by my physical therapist the first time this had ever occurred when I was 16. Two days into this treatment and my symptoms were worse than they had been in years. I was scared. I didn't want it to get even worse, I didn't want to lose the ability to play videogames and guitar for months again. So I rested the arm, completely, for 2.5 months. It still was not showing any real signs of improvement, and so I went back to physical therapy. The treatment helped increase my flexibility and restore my range of motion, but it is clear to me that these things were abnormal in the first place not due to structural abnormality, but rather disuse atrophy from over-resting the area. Continuing treatment has done little to reduce my pain levels, only in short, seemingly random bursts. This is when I learned of The Mindbody Prescription by Dr. John Sarno, and the anomalies of my condition begun to make sense.

    I am not pain-free. I am still reading through The Mindbody Prescription, but with just the knowledge I have already gained, I have begun to see many patterns arising that I did not realize before. There is little doubt that my pain symptoms are psychosomatic. I have been given hope for the future.
    1. streets112
      streets112
      Pain since November 2019. Conventional treatment methods no longer helping. Currently reading: The Mindbody Prescription
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  • My Story

    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    New Jersey
    Occupation:
    Unemployed
    Diagnoses:
    Tendonitis of the forearm, Tendonitis of the finger flexor tendons, Tennis Elbow.
    My sophomore year of high school (age 16) I slept very little, ate very poorly and exerted myself in my hobbies to an extreme extent. Playing videogames and guitar for upwards of 8 hours a day, every day. Eventually in phys ed class, I was playing badminton and exerting in that too, swinging the racket like I was trying to murder the birdie. The next day, I awoke to severe pain and stiffness in the right arm. I was unable to open the hand, or squeeze the fist. Months of rest in a splint, an MRI, an orthopedist visit and a physical therapist visit later, I was diagnosed with tendonitis of the forearm. I was advised to begin strengthening exercises (I was not advised to stretch). Months of consistent strengthening eventually returned my arm to 95% of what it used to be. The only time I experienced any symptoms were in the morning, every morning. I would wake up to a very stiff and inflamed arm, which I'd have to slowly open up on my desk, before it felt normal. Other than this, it was like I never had tendonitis.

    Fast-forward to April of 2019, I am exerting in my hobbies as is normal again at this point, playing videogames and guitar for 6-8 hours a day, every day. I go bowling with a friend, and am hurling a 12lb ball down the lane for 2 hours. The next day, very similar to my first experience years ago, albeit more mild, I experience the same symptoms. I rest the arm for one week, slowly ease back into my hobbies, and it feels good as new again.

    August 2019, though no physical trauma occurred, my pain and stiffness symptoms slowly started creeping back up. They had consistently worsened despite changing nothing about my activities, except for playing less and with lower intensity. Eventually around November 2019, I decided to start the same treatment as advised by my physical therapist the first time this had ever occurred when I was 16. Two days into this treatment and my symptoms were worse than they had been in years. I was scared. I didn't want it to get even worse, I didn't want to lose the ability to play videogames and guitar for months again. So I rested the arm, completely, for 2.5 months. It still was not showing any real signs of improvement, and so I went back to physical therapy. The treatment helped increase my flexibility and restore my range of motion, but it is clear to me that these things were abnormal in the first place not due to structural abnormality, but rather disuse atrophy from over-resting the area. Continuing treatment has done little to reduce my pain levels, only in short, seemingly random bursts. This is when I learned of The Mindbody Prescription by Dr. John Sarno, and the anomalies of my condition begun to make sense.

    I am not pain-free. I am still reading through The Mindbody Prescription, but with just the knowledge I have already gained, I have begun to see many patterns arising that I did not realize before. There is little doubt that my pain symptoms are psychosomatic. I have been given hope for the future.