I would love some advice

I came across Healing Back Pain about 4 weeks ago and have been giving it my all and I've been seeing tremendous results. Before hearing of TMS, my pain free walking limit was around 100m and on Sunday I walked for an hour (5km) and was able to talk the pain away. I've haven't felt that alive or accomplished in 2 years!

Yesterday I decided that I was going to keep pushing forward and I did 5 x 1min running intervals during my walk. This was certainly not pain free but I was able to soldier on.

Today, I am in terrible pain, specifically my si joint. I can't weight bear on my right leg without pain and I'm back to hobbling around my house.
I am confident in the TMS diagnosis but I can't shake the thought that my glutes and piriformis are sore from the running and this is why I'm in more pain. I've been avoiding any and all physical treatment but I have an insatiable urge to dig a lacrosse ball into my butt cheek lol.

I sucked it up and did another 5km walk today although it was far from pain free despite my best efforts to talk it away.

Did I push too hard? Do I keep pushing hard since I'm not causing damage? Any tips are greatly appreciated!

 

It is called extinction burst. Explosion of pain after some improvement.
I have done it both ways: pushing forward or scaling back, depending on my gut feeling. As long as you know that this is temporary and continue telling yourself that it is temporary, waiting a day before pushing forward again would not hurt. Best of luck to you!

 

Thanks so much for the reply. That is exactly how it feels but still so hard to unlearn these dated concepts of pain. Thanks again

 

So I'm a little confused...my back is worse today BUT my piriformis and low back trigger points are raging! Can I treat these with massage/release or is that counterproductive in that I'm acknowledging the physical and not "thinking psychologically"?

 

If symptoms are showing up in the places different from the original spot, it is another proof of TMS. Acknowledging your pain does not equate to not thinking psychologically. There is no harm in the massage, as long as you know that you are NOT treating the cause of the problem and that massage is NOT the ultimate solution, it is just a local temporary relief. Take an over-the-counter pain killer occasionally if your pain is bad. It is like taking aspirin when you have a flu: it does not kill the virus, but it reduces your immediate suffering. Keep working on your brain, whichever path you have chosen to do so, as every person's path is unique for them.

You may want to consider my book about overcoming TMS pain where I describe my fears, doubts, trepidation and also TMS techniques I used on the path of recovery. It is priced as low as Amazon allows to price books. You can skip chapters 1-3 as that does not seem to apply to you. https://www.amazon.com/Defying-Verdict-Defeated-Chronic-Pain-ebook/dp/B0834Q46SM

 

That was a great explanation, thanks so much. The whole "not acknowledging pain" vs "not giving the pain any power" comfused me but I'm all clear now.

 

Hi John,

Another term for "extinction burst" is "superego kickback." If you end up reading Mindbody Prescription you'll learn more about the Superego. Basically, it's that part of ourselves that feels guilt over things we've done... real or IMAGINED. The imagined part is important. When we begin to feel our feelings, really feel them, that part of our mind starts to punish us for feeling them (one prime example is when we feel the anger, it punishes us for imagined aggressions against others). So, as you begin to feel your feelings or the defenses you've used up till this point stop working, that part of the mind brings back the defenses/symptoms with a vengeance.

One technique to use during this time is to ask yourself: What was I just thinking or feeling before the symptom showed up again? This will give you a clue to what it's kicking back on.

Best in your healing,

Andrew Miller, LMFT