First flare up

My first proper flare up!

So i started this work in November with all over body pain. By january i had reduced some symptoms by quite a lot. Made more progress with normal
Daily tasks without pain in February. In march started small gym exercises and then Progressed to getting a set of resistance bands. For the last two weeks i have been working out 3/4 times a week doing roughly 8 working sets. No pain during and very very little if any after workout and none thhe next day.
However 2 days ago i did roughly 12/13 working sets and pushed it quite hard. The next day i felt pain in the front of my shoulder and i usually get it at the back of the shoulder. So i panicked and thought oh no i must of done the exercises wrong and impinged my shoulder. I now know impingement is not really even a thing tbh. So yesterday for at least 4 hours i was panicking thinking is this tms or is this real. Today i now know 95 percent this is tms. However i still have the pain because obviously i freaked out and told my brain we are not safe!!!!

So my question is, if my shoulder does not calm down much in the next few days should i carry on with my workouts as there is nothing wrong with my shoulder and i can do normal things! Or just let it settle for a bit? Also i have not had to workout with pain yet and i was wondering with pressing movements if it causes pain shall i just carry on? I am walking so much further now too but my feet still hurt a bit but because i know thats tms i just carry on and everything is fine so presumably i would do that with my shoulder unless it really hurts?

Ps thanks if you have read this far! ❤️

 

I think the answer is to make sure you aren’t putting pressure on yourself to “fix”.
I myself had a flare yesterday. Ah, the fear and worrying about what you did “wrong”. I was definitely pressuring myself, and TMS-ing.
You have many choices of what to do, you’ve been doing excellent, there’s no harm in taking a break. Resting with some self-compassion that you are ok. You could choose to exercise differently: a walk or run.. whatever feels good.
You could try ignoring the physical, and reflect on the psychological. What is going on in your life? Or look at the intentions behind working. This is probably something you might want to do anyway since your post is so focused on the physical.

 

Well at the moment i am planning on doing my leg workout today and i will do my chest and shoulder workout tomorrow but i will take it easy. I feel like its important for me to carry on as normal so it portrays safety to my brain and reinforces that i am ok! However i will slow down a bit mentally, take some time to breathe and relax today as i was ramped up yesterday! I also bumped into my dad yesterday who i have a strange relationship with lol so i imagine that also had a impact as the pain and ruminating started in the evening and i saw my dad before that lol. My mum has also been bed bound with her tms issues this week as well so that also probably has had an impact

 

@Jakehealing
That’s the way lo look at things. If you are not actively engaging in the psychological work, it might be something to consider adding. To become more self-aware of being “ramped up” and to have a bit of compassion and understanding of your triggers. The psychological side melds with your nervous system side of things…so does your attempting to conquer fear. It’s two sides to the fear and safety components of the mind and nervous system that merge.

 

Hi, Jake! You got this. You obviously see perfectly what happened. I’d journal about your parents —and don’t freak out (as you correctly said) about your aches from a tougher workout. I think you should keep working out. Show it who’s boss. And while you’re doing it, think about how much your parents bug you. This will cover all the bases.

From Ch. 9 of the MindBody Prescription by John Sarno:

Think Psychological
I tell my patients that they must consciously think about repressed rage and the reasons for it whenever they are aware of the pain. This is in contradiction to what the brain is trying to do. This effort is a counterattack, an attempt to undo the brain’s strategy. It is essential to focus on unpleasant, threatening thoughts and feelings to deny the pain its purpose—to divert your attention from those feelings. When the pain is severe, it is difficult to concentrate on feelings, but you must regard the process as a contest in which your conscious will is pitted against the unconscious, automatic reactions of the brain.

And this: (also from Ch. 9)

Continuing pain with activity means the brain is still in the process of changing its programming. You must bide your time, try and try again, and stay secure in the knowledge that you will prevail in the end. This has proven to be the case for thousands of patients.

 

Agree with Diana! And thanks Diana for reminding us with those excerpts!

I had some little old twinges when I started weightlifting about a month ago and I rolled my eyes and continued on. They went away.

You’ve got this!

 

going forward i have decided that i will try to carry on as normal as best as i can so i continue to portray to my brain that everything is ok! The way i have found to gain safety is by doing, even if i feel fear doing it. So i will carry on but i will just stay where i am for now, i have been progressing fast the last month so i am going to take this time to take a breath, try my best to allow this flare up to happen but still carry on. Not progressing but more importantly not regressing!

Thats my plan anyway! I did my leg workout today and my back didt feel great and my knee also didt feel great so i know my nervous system or my brain is a bit off kilter at the moment!

and i must pay more attention to the psychological side of things which i seem to ignore! I hate that side of stuff haha!

 

We all do!

 

Great. Take a break if you really need to and not because you’re afraid! For example I was super sore this week from lifting weights and although it felt like the good “I really worked myself hard” this week, I ran out of steam so I took it easy and did lighter workouts to let my muscles heal.

 

So i just wanted to do a update!

Yesterday i came to terms that i was in my first flare up and it was just tms. This morning i woke up and my arm was a bit hurty lets say. It was giving me light sensations just going on my phone. Nevertheless i was going to carry on my usual daily activities today anyway. My first one was to put tins in a shopping bag and go on a 5 minute walk (currently up to 3.5kg). On this walk i actually expected pain but i was also willing it on and telling my brain to bring it i dont care. When i got back it was actually my other shoulder which had light sensations not my flared up one . Anyway this was a success as i was expecting quite a bit of pain in my left but there was none!

Now what is really interesting is i did have bits and bobs of pain in my left throughout today but it was my chest and shoulder work out day which i was going to do regardless of any pain today unless excruciating. So i went to do it with a bit of anticipation and slight worry of what was going to happen but with an acceptance of pain could come but so what im actually ok. Anyway i start and im 2sets in and everything feels fine! I win! But my brain fights back i then start to panic, have i warmed up properly? Am i starting off to hard? So im there youtubeing and googling how to warm up ect. I then realise i have warmed up and everything is fine. Then at the end of my workout i start to panic about the form i am using for lateral raises and if it is impinging my shoulder even though i had already debunked the idea of impingement a day ago lol.

So instead of pain it tried to fight back with anxiety! But i finished my workout and enjoyed it and it was pain free! Maybe 1 pain rating if i was to be picky!

although after about 15 mins of me worrying and googling lateral raise form after my workout my shoulder did hurt a little haha

 

That's awesome, Jakehealing!

Go figure, lol!