Took a tumble - What pain is real and what is TMS???

Hello All,

I'm looking for a bit of insight into an incident that happened a few days ago. On Wednesday I fell trying to step over a wire fence about 1.5 to 2 feet high. I was stepping over it sideways when my boot caught on it and I basically "timbered" over sideways. I landed on my bum/hip/back/side. I can only imagine what it looked like! I landed on hard packed snow. Of course I completely panicked as soon as it happened and started thinking about all of the grievous injuries I had possibly sustained. Since starting all of this TMS work for my back/foot/ shoulder/ everything else pain I have always worried that I would actually have a fall or accident or some other incident where I would actually be rendered really injured and not be able to tell the difference.

After the fall, I stood up and carried on with my busy day. About half an hour-ish later I realized my shoulder was hurting much more than usual. My back was immediately a little sore, but after about an hour or two I didn't really feel it anymore.

I should also say that this week has been a stressful week and there has been quite a bit going on. Next week is also going to be a really busy week filled with a lot of responsibility that I have been mentally preparing for this past week.

The next day (Thursday) my shoulder was really sore and I ended up seeing the doctor and getting an ultrasound and X-ray ordered just to make sure things were okay. My back still felt okay, just the usual stuff that goes on with it. Then Friday morning (so about 1.5 days after the fall) I woke up and within a few minutes of waking up my back got really sore. I of course had my knee-jerk panic. What if I really injured something? What if I fractured a vertebrae in my back (I know this is extreme, but this is where my brain goes!). What if I herniated a disk? What if I have some other kind of terrible injury? The pain is kind of moving to different places in my low back. It isn't really staying the same or super consistent. I had a massage on Friday where I was telling my massage therapist about how the pain had just started and that it was most likely not related to the fall to which she replied "oh sometimes it can take a few days for things to set in". Not what I needed to hear! I think my brain really latched on to that statement. I am 3 days out from my tumble and my low back is still hurting really hurting. I'm not sure what I should do at this point. Should I be going back to the doctor to have a back X-ray done? Maybe getting some assurance that I hadn't fractured a vertebrae would provide the reassurance that this is TMS?

I'm just wondering if anyone has had a fall or accident during their TMS recovery and how they have handled it? The logical, calm part of my brain (which right now is not the prevalent part of my brain, obviously!) is telling me that this is TMS, but I can't shake the fear that something is wrong. I am trying to tell myself that if there was some big injury that happened, it would have hurt a lot sooner than 1.5 days.

Any insight or perspective on this would be much appreciated! Thank you!

 

Hi Autumnismyfave

One if the things SteveO suggests is changing our what ifs to "so what's?" So what if you bruised a bit? In a few days that soreness will go away. You're a bit young for a break. But, So...what? if you have a bit of fracture? Say a hairline crack? It will heal. Within days usually, there is no more pain.

I think maybe your fear has overwhelmed your thinking. You're ok. Just breathe.
Lizzy

 

Thank you, Lizzy! That is good advice. You are right, fear is definitely dominating my thought process right now and it can be really tricky for me to break out of the fear cycle sometimes. Does SteveO talk about this in his book? If so, do you happen to know whereabouts he mentions it?

 

It's page 254. Fear gets me too. Lol, it's gotten all of us, it's what started all this. Thankfully we have a way out. Even if we have to do it again.
Lizzy

 

Found it! What you say is very true. Thank you Lizzy!

 

Also, your massage therapist isn't trying to scare you. Think of it as when you work out or hike uphill or something. Your legs can often get sore from use two days after you went. It doesn't mean injury. It only means you did something different with your muscles, which is what a fall does, too.

You'll be fine in a couple of days. Breathe air into your body.

 

Thank you MWsunin12, this is a really good way to look at it!

 

I had a hard fall (got tangled up in my dog's leash) just a week ago, so I know where you're coming from. I was afraid of falling for the same reasons as you were - how much more damage can the ol' bod actually take? Fell on my left hip and shoulder, and was sore for a couple of days. Low back muscles protested mightily. TMS tried to move in. I resisted and stayed active. But it was a battle. Fear thoughts are our bugaboo, and using SteveO's book was a brilliant response (Alan Gordon's program is also extremely helpful). Our bodies are built to live life, do stuff, take falls, bounce back. You will be just fine.

 

Thank you Birder, I appreciate your insight! That is a good reminder - our bodies are meant to handle this kind of stuff. Something I need to remember and remind myself more of!