Day 5 I have TMS! Confirmed this morning.

Another great and interesting day. A rough patch this morning provided me with some more insight into this new adventure called healing from TMS.

I was fortunate enough to be able to spend a couple hours this afternoon reading the Mind-body Prescription. I had previously only read Healing Back Pain just this past weekend.

Maybe it's from prolonged exposure after immersing myself in this topic all week but this book is really speaking to me. Following are a couple sentences that seriously confirmed my experience from this morning:

"TMS is a painful but harmless change of state in muscles.
The circulation of blood is under control of a subsystem of the central nervous system known as the autonomic system. Mind-body disorders are mediated through the autonomic system. When something in the brain decides to initiate the TMS process; autonomic centers are activated, and within MILLISECONDS the circulation to the involved area is reduced. This means that these tissues are now deprived of their full complement of oxygen, which is the reason for the symptoms and/or pain."

I capitalized MILLISECONDS because that's exactly what happened to me this morning. I was out for a morning run and about 3 miles in (with no significant back or hip pain) I took a tumble on a rough patch. (I was daydreaming.) Anyway, when I got up and started off my low back /hip pain started up with me. I kept running and began reciting what I could remember of the 12 Reminders. The pain begin to subside a bit but wouldn't go away, just sort of nagging. I stopped after a few more miles and did a few hip rotation exercises that didn't seem to hurt at all. However, when I took off running again it came back with a vengeance. I knew immediately the I had made a mistake by feeding my fears and essentially denying my TMS diagnosis. I ran on home and with some more work on the Reminders in a short time was back to feeling pain free again.

TMS actually does look for any opportunity to reinsert pain back into your body. Forwarned is forarmed.

 

Hi, Timothy. When you fell while running and felt some pain, I'd say that was to be expected... you aggravated something, probably your back, and going on with your run also could keep the pain coming, but you got back to feeling pain-free again. You apparently worried you had hurt yourself more by falling, and your subconscious wanted you to remind yourself about TMS.

Now just go back to what you were doing before the fall and enjoy running. Setbacks like yours are part of the TMS healing journey. Try not to worry about them.

 

Appreciate your input Walt, thanks.
It is as if anticipating pain is enough to start the pain cycle/process going. I was sure that I hadn't hurt my back because I hit the ground on my hands and arm and sort of rolled over practically back on my feet. But my brain, anticipating pain, definitely tried to make me focus on my back, redirecting me to the physical and off the psychological.

"Your symptoms are a trick your mind is playing on you. Don't fall for it!" -Dr Sarno