"Injury", "deconditioning", athleticism and pain

This is an excellent discussion of athletic "injury", chronic athletic conditions, pain and the notion of "deconditioning" for folks like myself who spent a long time not being able to move much. You are getting information from someone who worked purely in the physical-medicalized world for 25 years and then adopted a mind/body approach and I find that very re-assuring.

Dan's story resonates with me personally because he was the first person I had heard of with many similar symptoms. I personally combined TMS work with PT - which Charlie clearly states is not for most people, and it wasn't easy, but it's been working for me because I had a TMS coach who provided excellent guidance in the same vein as Charlie Merrill.

The idea of de-conditioning was instilled in me by a spine doctor who made my fear much worse - the idea of being inactive over a period of time would cause more harm or make recovery harder. Charlie shoots this idea down completely. He reminds us that psychological pain is the true cause and that our bodies maintain a level of muscle and homeostasis naturally. He doesn't excuse the need for the body to move - he encourages it, but he encourages us to move with less fear.

They also approach the idea that physical activity/athleticism can harm you or cause chronic sports related injury eg. all runners are prone to chronic ankle or hip issues because it's a "runners thing" - Charlie shoots this notion down too. Injuries happen, but the body heals and the injuries are not permanent - this includes tendons, spines, discs, muscles etc.).

Hopefully this discussion re-assures people (I also love that Dan has been consistently referring back to Dr. Sarno lately!) and helps them adjust their mindset so they can move forward in their journey.