Day 1 Mid-back Pain

I've been struggling with pain in my mid-back for about 9 months now. I've tried many different traditional treatments, and none of it has worked. The physical abnormality is just "muscle knots" in my mid-back, so it's not like I have anything as "serious" as a herniated disk but the pain has been pretty intense. It has even made me skip the occasional day of work as sitting at a desk all day was just unbearable.

I have read "Healing Back Pain" by John Sarno and I have gone through the TMS Recovery Program on the Wiki. I definitely feel like I fit the personality type John Sarno talks about, and I have already experienced a reduction in pain by reading the book and going through the TMS Recovery program. So in general I do accept the TMS diagnosis, but there are still lingering doubts in the back of my mind. My parents have struggled with back pain as long as I can remember, so it's something that deeply ingrained into my psyche. They've tried so many things and their pain is so real and debilitating, that just give me doubts and skepticism about how something like a herniated disc is "no big deal" in terms of pain. But, I also don't want to go down the path of my parents and their back pain, so I'm being as open-minded about TMS as I can be.

Most people seem to have issues with their low back and upper back - the mid-back seems to be a little less common.. which also gives me a little doubt. However, I would say my trapezius muscles are generally tense, and I DO experience a bit of pain in my right lower back/hip/leg from time-to-time.. but neither are as bad as the mid-back pain. So I guess it's all possibly tied to TMS.

That's it for now!

 

Welcome aboard, I am no doctor but seems to me like you have tms. Especially since the doctor found nothing wrong with you. You have come to the right place and started doing the SEP which is great.

Be patient with yourself and know that you have what it takes to overcome this beast. Perseverance and faith go a long way in healing. You are going to have some hurdles in overcoming this doubt of this tms diagnosis, especially with your parents being in pain. You can do it just never give up, you will have many ups and downs but that's all part of the healing process.

You just need to deeply believe everything will be ok and trust in yourself. It takes a while for your unconscious to grasp this. Do not think you don't have tms just cause its in middle of your back, tms can attack many muscles in your body.

Try hard to stop giving your physical symptoms so much attention and be aware of your emotions. Lot easier said then done but it will take time. Also try to meditate if you are very tense, I was like this for a while.

I recomended you also read "Great Pain Deception", "Mindbody Prescription" and reread "Healing Back Pain". You will be the reason you will heal, so never doubt how powerful you and your mind are. Live in the present moment each day and be thankful for where you are in life. Keep asking questions on here they have many people with words of wisdom. Best of luck

Ryan

 

Thanks for the reply Ryan. Yes this is going to take some trust in myself. I have meditated for years but have struggled in the last year or so since developing TMS, as I have found it hard to concentrate. I probably should have realized sooner that the two are connected! Haha oh well.

Thanks for the book recommendations, I will check them out.

 

I too have Mid back pain severe It wraps around My ribcage & goes into my upper abdominal wall I cant stand on my feet without Meds I have had every test done with no findings anyone have any input

 

I think we can heal from TMS knowledge, but every day can bring another stress.
Maybe not a personal or physical one, but stress just dealing with the new things that come up every day.
I find a lot of it is from the technological world we live in... telephone, Internet, email, etc.
I've found some relief by disconnecting my telephone. I've told the few people who call me to email me first.
I can live without all the other calls that are unwanted. They give me a pain.

 

I used to have lower back pain and after that went away it went to mid back. I struggled like you thinking it was physical for awhile from sitting and the books Ryan said are great all of them, the one that spoke to me about this kind of pain was Great Pain Deception and how he talked about the pain would switch to other places.

But Walt is also right, I was having a lot of pain on new job mid back, fears about doing well, etc and then I calmed down once I got the job down, fully believing any pain was TMS so would go away after a short time. But two days ago my husband had a melt down and right after I got letter from lawyer about old settlement that was supposed to end with small check, instead long letter to keep it going...let's just say no matter what I tried to tell myself that afternoon my back was on fire the whole 4 hours.

But...as soon as I got to girl party after and relaxed with glass of wine it went away. I knew the whole time it was TMS distracting me because it was trying to keep me from dealing with two major emotional issues.

I did what Steve in Great Deception says to do and Dr Sarno, just kept living my life normally not changing it up, short hike yesterday, dance class today, swim, etc my life! And no mid back stuff at all!

I find being kind to myself and not expecting the pain to go away immediately when its a stressful day helps.