Myofascial Pain Syndrome Support Group
Myofascial Pain Syndrome (or MPS) is a term used to describe one of the conditions characterized by chronic pain. It is associated with and caused by "trigger points" (TrPs), sensitive and painful areas between the muscle and fascia. The symptoms can range from referred pain through myofascial trigger points to specific pains in other areas of the body. It may be related...
Hi everyone, It has been awhile since I posted anything. I hope everyone is having a nice summer so far.
This is going to be long but PLEASE KEEP READING. I will start with the good news. I am pretty much 100% better. I haven't felt this good in over 3.5 years. It has been an extremely long and painful journey but now I can honestly say that I am doing great. Before I explain what finally cured me, I will tell you what I went through from the beginning because I think its very important to understand that I literally tried everything to try and get better. In March of 2009, I was at the gym and felt pain in my lower back while doing squats. I had had some back pain in the past and figured that it would just go away. Well it didn't and I got an MRI 3 months later which showed I had a herniated disc at L5/S1. In the following months, I tried physical therapy, had multiple facet joint and epidural injections, and continued to get worse. The pain was now going down my left leg causing significant atrophy. In the fall, I was taking strong pain meds, wearing a heating pad every day through work, going home and laying on the couch, crying, with a heating pad. I had a minimally invasive surgery called IDET done, which is where they take a wire, stick it into your back/disc, heat up the wire, and fry any nerves around the disc to kill them so they dont cause pain. Didn't help. By January (2010), I was miserable. I had a microdiscectomy surgery where they went in and cut off the part of the disc that was sticking out. My pain never went away and that next summer, I started to develop muscle knots all over my body. They started in my lower back and spread up to my upper back, shoulders, neck, jaw, stomach, ect.. I was diagnosed with myofascial pain syndrome/fibromyalgia, put back in physical therapy, prescribed some new meds, ect. I was in excruciating pain all over my body 24/7. My January the next year, the knots took over my body and I couldn't hold myself up. This is when I stopped work. We did as much research as we could and decided that I needed to move to another state, away from my husband to get treatment at a place that specialized in dry needling - where they basically stuck a needle into my muscle knots and violently moved it around to try and break up the knot. It was very painful but at the time I trusted that it was working and i was doing the right thing to get better. I went pretty much 3 x a week for 8 months, (@ $240 per session....) until August. In the end, this did not help me improve. Some knots never went away and the ones that did, came back. I then started multiple medical massages per week, chiropractor, acupuncture, all types of medicines, and a treatment where they used electricity to try and break up my knots. I was told by countless doctors that what I have is a disease and that my muscles have memory, I will never be rid of pain, I would need 24 hour live in help when I have kids, told by surgeons that I need a fusion back surgery, ect. By January this year, I was at rock bottom, I have tried literally everything to get better and was starting to think I would have to live the rest of my life in bed. Well, as I mentioned, I am better. My back MRI still shows a herniation at L5/S1, despite my surgery and I haven't felt pain in my lower back in months. I am back to running, working out, doing everything I want to, with no pain medication. Before I explain what worked for me, I don't know if this will help you but from what I know, I think that it has a really good chance. I have done countless hours of research on everything related to back pain. Here are some facts: It is normal to have abnormalities in your back - such as herniations. There have been many studies done of healthy people with no pain and more than half of them have disc herniations. This is not to say that disc herniations can cause significant pain, but it is extremely important to understand that people can have disc herniations with no pain and that just because an MRI shows that something is abnormal with your back, doesn't mean that that is what is causing the pain. After going through what I went through, I honestly think that I did not herniate my disc doing squats. I think that it was already herniated and that since my lower back hurt, and my MRI showed an abnormality here, my pain was blamed on this. I dont think I ever needed the back surgery I got. The doctors theory that cured me is Dr. Sarno. This video will help explain his theory.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsR4wydiIBI
In short, his theory is NOT that the pain is all in your head. I wouldn't have given it the time of day. His theory is that yes you are in pain, you are in horrible pain, but that the reason for your pain is that your muscles are tight, therefore not allowing blood (and oxygen) to get in and it is the lack of oxygen that causes pain, and that you can change that. This is where it gets weird, but I am telling you, this is what has given me my life back. His theory is that your mind is causing you pain to distract you from any repressed feelings or emotions. Also, that we become conditioned to think that certain things do and dont hurt. So many doctors have told me, dont run - it hurts, dont sit - it hurts, dont drive - it hurts, dont bend - it hurts, ect. So when I did these things, of course it hurt and it was real pain. Dr. Sarno's book "Healing Back Pain" which you can buy for a penny on Amazon, cured me. Here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/Healing-Back-Pain-Mind-Body-Connection/dp/0446392308
Please take the time to look at this theory and give it a real chance. Coming from someone who has been there, this really works. The muscle knots that I had are now gone. Also, thinking back, I did not start to get pain in my left leg until I was told my a doctor that I had a herniated disc and that this caused pain down the leg. The pain I got was so bad, that I lost most of my muscles down this leg. Again, I still have a herniated disc at L5/S1, and I have zero lower back pain. Another reason I believe in this theory is that it just doesnt make sense that a little herniated disc in my lower back would cause muscle knots in my jaw - that just doesnt make sense.
Here is another video that helps sum up what Dr. Sarno says you should tell yourself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0dKBFwGR0g
Here are two of many forums on success stories - about people just like you and me who have been cured by this.
http://www.tmshelp.com/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=4
http://thankyoudrsarno.com/
Here is a link to another doctor who practices this theory - this website has some good info. This is also a great book.
http://www.unlearnyourpain.com/index.php?Introduction%20Page
Even if you have been told that you have other things "wrong" with you by doctors, do not write this theory off your list. TMS (what Dr. Sarno calls this) can cause fibromyalgia, PTSD, anxiety, GI issues, ect. Please let me know if you have any questions or want to talk. I feel so fortunate and so hopeful for all of you. I haven't felt any pain in weeks. I ran 3 miles yesterday, lifted weights, grocery shopped, worked in the yard, sat at my computer, made dinner, ect, without resting for a minute and went to bed pain free.
This is going to be long but PLEASE KEEP READING. I will start with the good news. I am pretty much 100% better. I haven't felt this good in over 3.5 years. It has been an extremely long and painful journey but now I can honestly say that I am doing great. Before I explain what finally cured me, I will tell you what I went through from the beginning because I think its very important to understand that I literally tried everything to try and get better. In March of 2009, I was at the gym and felt pain in my lower back while doing squats. I had had some back pain in the past and figured that it would just go away. Well it didn't and I got an MRI 3 months later which showed I had a herniated disc at L5/S1. In the following months, I tried physical therapy, had multiple facet joint and epidural injections, and continued to get worse. The pain was now going down my left leg causing significant atrophy. In the fall, I was taking strong pain meds, wearing a heating pad every day through work, going home and laying on the couch, crying, with a heating pad. I had a minimally invasive surgery called IDET done, which is where they take a wire, stick it into your back/disc, heat up the wire, and fry any nerves around the disc to kill them so they dont cause pain. Didn't help. By January (2010), I was miserable. I had a microdiscectomy surgery where they went in and cut off the part of the disc that was sticking out. My pain never went away and that next summer, I started to develop muscle knots all over my body. They started in my lower back and spread up to my upper back, shoulders, neck, jaw, stomach, ect.. I was diagnosed with myofascial pain syndrome/fibromyalgia, put back in physical therapy, prescribed some new meds, ect. I was in excruciating pain all over my body 24/7. My January the next year, the knots took over my body and I couldn't hold myself up. This is when I stopped work. We did as much research as we could and decided that I needed to move to another state, away from my husband to get treatment at a place that specialized in dry needling - where they basically stuck a needle into my muscle knots and violently moved it around to try and break up the knot. It was very painful but at the time I trusted that it was working and i was doing the right thing to get better. I went pretty much 3 x a week for 8 months, (@ $240 per session....) until August. In the end, this did not help me improve. Some knots never went away and the ones that did, came back. I then started multiple medical massages per week, chiropractor, acupuncture, all types of medicines, and a treatment where they used electricity to try and break up my knots. I was told by countless doctors that what I have is a disease and that my muscles have memory, I will never be rid of pain, I would need 24 hour live in help when I have kids, told by surgeons that I need a fusion back surgery, ect. By January this year, I was at rock bottom, I have tried literally everything to get better and was starting to think I would have to live the rest of my life in bed. Well, as I mentioned, I am better. My back MRI still shows a herniation at L5/S1, despite my surgery and I haven't felt pain in my lower back in months. I am back to running, working out, doing everything I want to, with no pain medication. Before I explain what worked for me, I don't know if this will help you but from what I know, I think that it has a really good chance. I have done countless hours of research on everything related to back pain. Here are some facts: It is normal to have abnormalities in your back - such as herniations. There have been many studies done of healthy people with no pain and more than half of them have disc herniations. This is not to say that disc herniations can cause significant pain, but it is extremely important to understand that people can have disc herniations with no pain and that just because an MRI shows that something is abnormal with your back, doesn't mean that that is what is causing the pain. After going through what I went through, I honestly think that I did not herniate my disc doing squats. I think that it was already herniated and that since my lower back hurt, and my MRI showed an abnormality here, my pain was blamed on this. I dont think I ever needed the back surgery I got. The doctors theory that cured me is Dr. Sarno. This video will help explain his theory.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsR4wydiIBI
In short, his theory is NOT that the pain is all in your head. I wouldn't have given it the time of day. His theory is that yes you are in pain, you are in horrible pain, but that the reason for your pain is that your muscles are tight, therefore not allowing blood (and oxygen) to get in and it is the lack of oxygen that causes pain, and that you can change that. This is where it gets weird, but I am telling you, this is what has given me my life back. His theory is that your mind is causing you pain to distract you from any repressed feelings or emotions. Also, that we become conditioned to think that certain things do and dont hurt. So many doctors have told me, dont run - it hurts, dont sit - it hurts, dont drive - it hurts, dont bend - it hurts, ect. So when I did these things, of course it hurt and it was real pain. Dr. Sarno's book "Healing Back Pain" which you can buy for a penny on Amazon, cured me. Here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/Healing-Back-Pain-Mind-Body-Connection/dp/0446392308
Please take the time to look at this theory and give it a real chance. Coming from someone who has been there, this really works. The muscle knots that I had are now gone. Also, thinking back, I did not start to get pain in my left leg until I was told my a doctor that I had a herniated disc and that this caused pain down the leg. The pain I got was so bad, that I lost most of my muscles down this leg. Again, I still have a herniated disc at L5/S1, and I have zero lower back pain. Another reason I believe in this theory is that it just doesnt make sense that a little herniated disc in my lower back would cause muscle knots in my jaw - that just doesnt make sense.
Here is another video that helps sum up what Dr. Sarno says you should tell yourself.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0dKBFwGR0g
Here are two of many forums on success stories - about people just like you and me who have been cured by this.
http://www.tmshelp.com/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=4
http://thankyoudrsarno.com/
Here is a link to another doctor who practices this theory - this website has some good info. This is also a great book.
http://www.unlearnyourpain.com/index.php?Introduction%20Page
Even if you have been told that you have other things "wrong" with you by doctors, do not write this theory off your list. TMS (what Dr. Sarno calls this) can cause fibromyalgia, PTSD, anxiety, GI issues, ect. Please let me know if you have any questions or want to talk. I feel so fortunate and so hopeful for all of you. I haven't felt any pain in weeks. I ran 3 miles yesterday, lifted weights, grocery shopped, worked in the yard, sat at my computer, made dinner, ect, without resting for a minute and went to bed pain free.
Tomorrow is my one year anniversary learning about Dr. Sarno so I am pretty emotional now just thinking about everything.. Since I have already posted in this thread about what I went through and how I got better, I wont reiterate all that, but instead give an update. I am now back to work and going to start trying to start a family in the near future - 2 things I thought impossible before. I can't say enough, if this worked for me, it has the possibility of working for you too. If you haven't given this a real shot, please, please do, regardless of how many things your doctors have told you is wrong with you. I have seen multiple people who I have met along my journey, friends of friends, family members who have benefited. My husband and I were reminiscing last night and we decided that the main point that stuck with me and that made me get better is that 1) I truly believed that the pain was due to a lack of blood flow, which created a lack of oxygen, thus causing pain. 2) I truly believed that my subconscious mind was causing my muscles to be tight, thus causing the pain to distract me from any repressed feelings or emotions and that if I didn't let myself focus on the pain, my mind will lose its incentive to distract me.
Those very basic concepts are what "clicked" with me and what led me on my road to a complete recovery. I do still start to get minor pain sometimes when I am under stress but I stop, take a couple breathes and think myself through it, and I am ok.
Here is the link to Dr. Sarno's book on Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Mindbody-Prescription-Healing-Body-Pain/dp/0446675156
Here is a link to a website dedicated to saying Thank you to Dr. Sarno with many great succes stories - thankyoudrsarno.com
I hope that no one here thinks I am trying to say that I know everything or at all trying to minimize your pain or problems, I truly just feel like I have been given a miracle and want to pass along whatever I can.
Your journey is so inspirational and thank you for popping back to update us all - yes, this is probably the best way to update in context of your back story.
Those 2 'nuggets' of information that stuck with you are referenced by many other practitioners / experts just given different names and / or different reasons for why they work. In the end, the 'how' and the 'why' is irrelevant.
I'm trying to learn a technique to get more oxygen into my system, and I definately go to 'shallow breathing' very quickly when a crisis of whatever kind hits.
The other part, about repressed emotions, well, the terminology bugs me! I think I'm working on the same thing under the umbrella of 'healing by growing up', whereby you work on resolving 'issues' so you are no longer dragged down by them. Unfortunately I have so many 'issues' (for wont of a better word) all bundled up together creating chaos and meyhem. I think I've managed to seperate them out and am slowly working my way through. I tried to see if just knowing a flare up was linked to 'issues' (again, the language doesn't help) rather than something particular would be enough, but my poor fractured mind didn't have enough energy to follow through.
But, the principles remain the same, and that's crucial, it helps give me strength that the overall structure works.
The best thing for me is to have witnessed your journey from so much pain and disability to recovery. To see that, and that it's lasted 12 months so far, gives me the certainty recovery is achievable. I have a healthy realism about what 'recovery' means for me, but an escape route from this misery I'm in will happen.
I would suggest a third point: persistence. What's that song by chumbawhumba?! 'I get knocked down but I get up again' etc etc.
And wishing success and happiness starting your family :)
Your dedication to getting better is truly amazing. I agree with your third nugget - persistence. And you are well on your way to overcoming this. Looking forward to coming back soon and hearing some good news!! :)
I then found another book/program written by Monte Hueftle,which explains how our chronic behaviors (listed in Sarno's book) and thought patterns over the years have created inner tension. He explains how our reaction to our daily stresses is what causes the inner tension. He was able to reverse his 20 years of chronic back pain, piriformis syndrome and sciatica. I found his program more comprehensive than the others. Check his website out at www.runningpain.com As with everything, each person has to find what works for them and the road to healing, as Pumpkin mentioned, takes persistence, determination, and patience.
I am so glad that you have discovered Dr. Sarno. Please take time to read through this whole post. What really helped me believe in this was seeing how it had helped other people. Dr. Sarno's books are amazing, but I would also recommend buying Dr. Schubiner's book also. http://www.amazon.com/Unlearn-Your-Pain-Howard-Schubiner/dp/0984336702
This was written more recently and does a great job of explaining "learned nerve pathways" and explains more of the science behind it all.
Check out www.thankyoudrsarno.com It's amazing!
Good luck!! :)
The dates caught my eye because I've had to deal with so much 'stuff' from work, the bullies, how my depression deepened with all this torture, and to finally be diagnosed with fibromyalgia (as a result - is my view), It's hard to explain the emotions on this one.
BUT!! More importantly...that's 10 months of successful mps-free living for myofascialpain!! And that's a wonderful achievement.
Those words explain what I think happened, that the high stress from trying to do 14 people's work at once whilst also being bullied with next to no support from anyone I worked with, that all of that ripped through my nerve pathways setting up new ones and new settings; almost like it fried the nerve pathways leaving my brain interpreting just about everything as pain.
Websites to check out.
Www.unlearnyourpain.com
Www.tmswiki.org
There's so much good information but I'm too zzzzzz-y to take anything in right now.