Day 1

Good morning,
Two years ago I was in much pain, back/butt/leg pain. I had difficulty standing and walking for any length of time. I had x-rays, MRI, months of PT, injections,.. to no avail. Some to the PT aggravated my issues. I went in to address knee pain and ended up with months of back issues. The x-rays and MRI showed many issues. A surgeon said I would need two fusions and the issue would just move up my back. Geez. I was not interested in jumping into that at the moment.

I went online to see if I could find any additional help and found, Dr Charlie Johnson, DPT on You Tube and was fascinated by what he was sharing. I enrolled in his “Glute Accelerator Program” and learned about Dr Sarno, Alan Gordon and TMS, and Pain Reprocessing Therapy. Within 2 weeks of working this program many of may symptoms disappeared. In my day to day, my walking improved but never could seem to get my walking pain totally addressed. I have since still had pain when going for a walk, walking on streets in town,…

This winter I had three flare ups of intense pain in glutes, leg and foot numbness. I saw my DO who did two OMT sessions that helped. I told her my intention is to jump back into my PRT work but I wanted to rule out any structural change so I am scheduled for MRI.

I am here because I think this is what I need to do to heal. And, finally get to feeling safe with “taking a walk”. And move past these big flare ups.

 

Hi! Yep you’re in the right place. And it’s great you’re doing the SEP. It will teach you all about what it will take to get better. Also stick with this forum. You will learn so much. It’s quite the journey. Healing is possible.

 

I just wanted to ask, do you mean that you had x-rays and MRIs that were clear initially, then you saw a PT and that's what caused you to have many issues on the next x-rays or MRIs? I'm a bit confused as to how you went from clean scans to many issues (significant enough for someone to suggest a fusion) just through PT.

 

Hi Adam, I’m sorry I was not clear. My journey with PT started to deal with with knee pain. I went to urgent care after suffering from quick on-set of knee pain. They took x-ray and showed ostheoarthritis. My PCP referred me to PT who thought my knee issues were caused by my back and proceeded to focus on back therapy which then seemed to result in back/leg and foot pain. I went far too long with this therapist. And, maybe the PT was not the cause. All I wanted was knee help. So then began the work of assessing the back issue. My PCP thought my knee issue was probably a meniscus tear. It healed. She ordered x-rays of my lower spine and they showed osteoarthritis issues in my lower spine, spinal stenosis, bone spurs,…. Lots of issues. I did more PT with someone else which helped my strength but did nothing for foot numbness, pain with walking or standing long periods of time,…. So MRI showed more issues - moderate to severe canal stenosis, moderate to severe left and right side foraminal stenosis, loss of normal disc height, diffuse osteophyte disc bulging,…. Hmmm.

After two attempts at PT, I had 3 injections in my back but results were short-lived. Dr referred me to surgeon who said we are not quite sure where predominant issues are since your symptoms are not consistent with what we are seeing (big hint for me). They did say that there was a lot going on in my back and said if they were to do surgery it would mean two fusions and then issue would potentially move up my spine. Geez. I said, no thank you for now.

I went on-line to see if I could learn more and came across Alan Gordon’s work and within a couple weeks many of my symptoms disappeared. I have been doing this TMS work since then but the walking issue seems to remain. It’s interesting that I can do a lot of walking around my small farm and garden but when I “go for a walk” I have pain. That has been true for a couple years now. I have tried to do graded exposure,… but my fear and maybe some big emotional bear is holding me back. And, now, I have a flare up with right buttock pain, pain down my right leg and numbness in my foot. Saying to me “pay attention, girl”. My PCP who is a DO has done two OMT sessions with me which have helped quite a bit. She has ordered another MRI since my last was in 2023 to rule out any significant progression of issues. My doctor is supportive of my pain reprocessing therapy.

There is one DO physician in Maine on the list of practitioners trained in TMS work. After I obtain new MRI I will reach out to him to determine availability to see if I can clearly assess that this is not a structural issue.

I am glad to be digging back into this TMS work with more diligence. I need to figure out my barriers to “going for a walk”.

Thanks again, Adam.

 

Brilliant! I love this strategy and I think that's the way to go. A DO physician trained in TMS would be perfect to assess both sides so to speak (the physical specifically as it relates to your back and how TMS is playing a part, or it might be playing the whole part)

 

Thank you, Diana, for the validation that I am in the right place. I am committed to do the work and look forward to learning from forum members and offer my support as well.