Day 1 35 y/o active F with Chronic Back Pain

I was recommended Dr Sarnos book maybe 8 years back. Naturally I thought it was BS and never read through it, tho something inside of me must have said: just save it for a "rainy day."

Fast fwd to present day I've gone through = Physical Therapy, Acupuncture, Epidurals, Chiropractors, Spinal Decompression Therapy, Hot/Cold Therapy, EMS and all the deep tissue massages you can think of - NONE of it has worked. Most recently the back pain went from easily triggered in the mid back to a sharp always present pain in the tailbone area.

This pain had me pick up that 8 year old book, and now am going through the program. Of all the things I've read/done and been advised I think this concept is what makes the most logical sense. I know for certain I store tension in my body made evident when I take deep slow breaths and feel discomfort in certain areas. It makes me think to myself "oh, I havent felt that in a while - I must be avoiding breathing into this area bc its so uncomfortable/painful." I've no doubt that our most powerful tool, our minds, can will our bodies back to moving and functioning with ease.

I'm looking forward to dancing again. I feel like some of my youth has been robbed from me bc recently I've cut any dance outings short due to back pain. I also used to play vball and dodge ball just a few years back. The thought of learning new skills like skate boarding or surfing fills me up with fear bc I dread making a wrong move and suddenly I'm bed ridden. I don't want to live in fear anymore.

 

Sounds like you are in the right place! Pain that moves around and changes is a sure giveaway, particularly if you have been thru all the docs and traditional practicioners without logical explanation and relief. I also started off with low back pain but has since morphed into tailbone/sacrum pain, although sometimes will bounce around to both and/or one of the hips. Plus associated anxiety/overthinking it.

If you are kind of new to this and want more confirmation that it is neuroplastic pain, there are a couple of practicioners who have online "tests" to see how likely it is that it is TMS. E.g. Dan Buglio here:

https://www.danbuglio.com/paintest (Take the Pain Test — Dan Buglio - Your Pain Free Coach & TMS Expert)

Ann Miller has a similar kind of test here:

https://www.pathsbeyondpain.com/post/are-my-symptoms-possibly-mind-body-in-origin

 

Thanks so much @hawaii_five0 !! I i just scored a 37 on that first test. Buckling up for a bumpy recovery ride. Wishing you a pain-free lifestyle.

 

I got thru back pain that was supposedly result of disk degeneration and skiing accident thanks to Dr Sarno's books. I did all kinds of treatments too including some high level (ie expensive) sports rehab that did not help much. My back may have some issues but now I know it is not that defective as I got back into surfing, biking etc. I am now dealing with some new issues that most likely are TMS (neuroplastic). I just started Curable App to see if a more interactive approach can help.