Acupressure mat + return to exercise questions

Hi there,

I'm a 30-year-old male and I was diagnosed with TMS by a physician about a week ago.

I've been struggling with chronic neck pain for 7+ years, lower back pain for about 1.5 years and upper back pain for about 6 months.

I discovered TMS about five weeks ago ago and dove right into "Healing Back Pain." I saw myself on the pages. The pain being the result of repressed emotions, specifically anger, resonated. I had a very chaotic childhood. I've also struggled with IBS my whole life. Dr. Sarno's explanation made a lot more sense than the herniated disc in my neck as the reason for my pain.

Another interesting thing has happened for me five weeks ago: I purchased an acupressure mat.

An acupressure mat relieves tension by stimulating blood circulation in the body. The first time I laid on the mat felt life-changing. I felt my pain immediately melt away. It returned a couple hours later, but for the first time in years, I had finally found an (albeit temporary) solution. PT, chiropractors, injections did not work for me. Given the fact that TMS is mild oxygen deprivation sent to tissues triggered by restricted blood blow, this made sense.

By the day of my TMS appointment last week, I had been virtually pain free for a couple days. I can't remember the last time I had felt so good. I wondered: was it because of the persistent acupressure mat use, or the knowledge that I had TMS? (or the preceding few days off of work?)

I've relapsed a bit over the last week, despite continuing to use the acupressure mat, and I'm trying to figure out why. Emotionally, it's been a challenging week, for sure, but not drastically worse than normal.

I returned to exercise over the past week: One day of very light jogging/walking, another day of very light weight training.

I have two questions:

1) I know Dr. Sarno said to stop all back interventions, so as to train the mind that nothing was wrong. But if the acupressure mat has helped, and seems to reverse the direct physiologic change brought about by TMS -- lack of blood flow -- should I stop using it?

2) Why has my pain returned? Is it because of the anticipation from the doctor's visit has worn off? Or is it because I returned to exercise? I really really really want to get back to exercising regularly, but I'm also so sick of living in pain. The 2-3 day total reprieve I had was magical.

Thank you so much to whoever reads this. Any advices, suggestions anybody might have are welcome.

 

Frankly, I think it's the fact you are still hyperfocused on your physical state instead of doing the work you have already pointed out that Sarno instructed you to do "The pain being the result of repressed emotions, specifically anger"
The fact you had a chaotic childhood is most likely a major factor in driving your personality traits and how you create internal stress.
TMS is about internal stress, it's not about restricted bloodflow or oxygen deprivation (once again, that's focusing on the physical). Actually the idea of oxygen deprivation has pretty much been disproven in the way that Sarno thought of it. There's a whole other thought process behind it now (proven scientifically) but again, it's really not important to your healing.
My suggestion is to go back and read healing back pain; or at least scan it and focus on the things Sarno suggests you actually DO - think PSYCHOLOGICALLY (which means stop being so focused on the physical) and attend to the inner rage and other difficult emotions you probably had to learn to repress in your childhood.
So how do you get there and actually do the work?
The free SEP - structured educational program - takes you through the work, and is found on TMSWIKI.org (scroll down).

Pain returns for a variety of reasons:

Most people don't have permanent success after simply reading one of Sarno's books. Many have temporarily increased symptoms because our brain is trying to protect us from our emotions and inner rage (and other things) and the pain is a distraction from those


The matt had 0 to do with easing your pain: or sometimes physical interventions have temporary positive outcomes - your mind wants to believe that something as simple as laying on a matt might help the pain...but then again, the genesis of the pain is your unrecognized inner pain and stress and a matt has nothing at all to do with that. Your nervous system is reacting to this stress, and it keeps the pain-o-meter on high. Your job is to turn that dial back. This can take time and patience.

As we work through the process of this internal work: which is hard and messy and eventually rewarding on many levels - our physical symptoms can change, intensify etc because of our reaction to it. Fear and anxiety are other symptoms that can increase. The brain can be pretty creative, but now you have the knowledge of what is really happening - that it's simply a physical manifestation stress and anxiety - and with that knowledge you can continue to do the work and eventually incorporate it into your lifestyle which is exactly how getting back to life and all physical activity happens.

You are in the right place, and we're here to support you!

 

I don't know what brand of acupressure mat you used, but I did a quick Google search on those and they all look about the same. As someone who studied acupressure for 2 years, I can assure you that every acupressure mat that I found online has very little to do with the actual healing art of acupressure. Acupressure requires a touch in very specific spots on the body, and most often several points have to be touched simultaneously in a specific sequence. Your back has only a small number of the acupressure points. While massage (if done right) is a fantastic procedure, stimulating the nervous system, blood circulation, and muscle relaxation, by lying down on a mat you are unlikely to experience such a miraculous change. Most likely, you experienced a placebo effect, meaning your mind flipped the switch of pain for you. You will be much better off taking the SEP and learning about TMS.

 

This.

 

Thank you all for this feedback. I have begun the SEM and made my Day 1 post today. I appreciate the feedback on the acupressure mat. Perhaps I need to let go of the mat — which might be difficult, because it has felt like a big help. But I am choosing to trust the process. Thanks so much for the support.

 

Thank you for being receptive to our feedback, not everybody accepts it as wholeheartedly as you did. You would be surprised, but I do not encourage you to immediately let go of the mat. There is nothing wrong with having a bit of a massage while stretching on the mat, as long as you let go of your belief that it took your chronic pain away. It is easy to get rid of the mat, it is much harder to get rid of the belief. Every once in a while, I, too, stretch out on my yoga mat and just enjoy the stretch, just for the pleasure of it! It is good for you!