Switch of beliefs

For sooo long I thought my pain was caused by trigger points, bad fascia, muscle imbalances. I'm having a hard time accepting Sarnos theory because I believed it was muscle pain for sooo long. Could pain be caused by Sarnos theory and by trigger points /muscles?? I've had 2 hip scopes so I thought maybe chronic pain due to muscle compensations

 

Hi Marnster,
As someone who spent thousands of dollars on muscle and fascia treatments, and found them to offer only temporary help, I suggest you wean yourself from thinking about that approach. Just put it behind you gently, and use Dr. Sarno's approach. As long as you keep thinking there may be validity to the physical approach, you will be hindered in a Dr. Sarno cure. To only think psychologically about the problems takes effort and practice every day, and even then for me is not always easy or perfectly executed. But this is the way I suggest you turn your thought process.
Andy B

 

Hi!
"Trigger points" and "muscles" can describe where you hurt, but not really *why* you hurt. Psychological distress can explain the *why*. I get neck pain. My neck muscles hurt. The key is that they hurt because of stress, not because I damaged the muscles or pinches a nerve or have some neck muscle disease.

So I don't think you necessarily have to let go of those ideas completely. Maybe trigger points are caused by TMS. I would say just shift your treatment to focus on psychological wellbeing and stop looking for purely physal fixes (assuming you have ruled out serious medical conditions with your doctor).

 

The very existence of trigger points has been strongly called into question by people like John Quintner who writes very persuasively that there is, in the end, no science behind them and that Travell and Simons were wrong. But in any case, Dr. Sarno and every other clinician in the mindbody field that I am aware of recognize that stress/anxiety/emotions can cause very real muscle pain. There is no conflict between the two.