Please keep in mind that before treating any condition, including Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS), as TMS or PPD, it is vitally important to consult with your physician in order to rule out any serious medical conditions. To learn more about TMS and PPD, and to help you figure out if you have it, visit our An Introduction to TMS page and watch the video there. Some more guidance in figuring out if this approach is right for you can be found in the video at the top of our So You Think You Might Have TMS page.
To contribute your own story of healing from TMS, please click here to see how to post it on the forum.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) and TMS Success Stories
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- Samthefish's story: Samthefish describes his symptoms and how they coincided with stressful events in his life. He then shares his recovery and highlights the strategies that helped him the most.
- Zorlee's story: Zorlee is a drummer who recovered from tendonitis and carpal tunnel syndrome.
- S. Ciccoiti says," I am a writer/editor who endured seven years of carpel tunnel-like symptoms: tingling, pain, weakness, and numbness from both wrists all the way up to my neck. I underwent every possible treatment, mainstream and alternative, but nothing worked. One day, someone who had similar pain told me how she was cured by this book The Mindbody Prescription. I didn't believe her, but I was desperate: at the time I was taking the highest dosage of my painkillers, and had just quit my job because the pain was crippling. After two months of reading Dr. Sarno's book nonstop and learning how the pain was psychosomatic--which has a bad rap for being fake; it's real pain that is initiated from the brain--I was off of my meds and almost pain-free. Within four months I was pain-free. It's been one and half years and I'm still pain-free!"
- Christina says, "About 6 years ago I was diagnosed with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. I am a secretary in a law firm. I was sent for physical therapy, and the pain did not really subside; it relocated to my upper back, neck and shoulders; thus, I was then diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I continued with physical therapy. Someone at work gave me the Mind Body Prescription and as I live in New York, I made an appointment with Dr. Sarno. He confirmed that I was indeed suffering from mind-body disorders, and on my own, I was able to figure out what I was unconsciously repressing that was causing my pain. My pain ceased immediately. However, a few years later I developed awful allergies and sinus pain. I had read a brief passage in Dr. Sarno's book and contacted him to be sure that the allergies were indeed a manifestation of the TMS syndrome he described in the book; he confirmed that they were and suggested that at that point I see a psychologist to help me express repressed emotions from the past. I went to therapy for approximately 2 months; that was 2 years ago. And I can say with the utmost sincerity that I haven't taken an allergy pill since then. The work of Dr. Sarno is genius. I am living proof that an accumulation of repressed emotions can and will cause physical ailments, and that those ailments are completely curable by using the knowledge Dr. Sarno has put into writing."
- An Amazon.com Customer describes that they had suffered from carpal tunnel syndrome for four years and truly believed that their career was over. He says that one day he was at a conference and worked for three hours without pain. When he realized that he was not in pain when he should have been his pain came back. This customer describes how he realized his pain was psychological and how it found out about the mind body approach.
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Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) referenced in TMS Books
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It is highly significant that the rapid spread of carpal tunnel syndrome coincided with the spectacular growth of the computer industry. What fueled the spread of CTS was the belief that the problem was caused by working at computer keyboards, and that CTS was one of a number of "repetitive stress injuries"...People with CTS are particularly resistant to the idea that it is a mindbody disorder.
- And, on page 23, he writes:
The rise of the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome epidemic began in the 1980s with the emergence of the computer industry. Conventional medicine blames overusing keyboards as the cause of the various hand problems including wrist pain that accompany CTS. It has been found that the pain comes from a malfunction of the median nerve in the wrist. The conventional treatment is to inject steroids or cut the ligament. This treatment comes from the belief that the median nerve is being compressed as it meets the ligament at the wrist. However studies have shown that when the ligament is cut, the nerves regain functionality too quickly for compression to be the cause. The most likely causation is from a reduction of blood flow to the area, which supports the diagnosis of TMS/PPD.
Sometimes constant, sometimes intermittent, triggers may include repetitive activity (like keyboard or mouse work) and even sleep! Fortunately, recent studies may help to dispel these myths. Remember, a keyboard can only cause discomfort if it falls from a great height!
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