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.
I am so sorry for taking so long to respond - I thought I got notifications when someone replied to this but I didn't get any.
These are some of the main changes that I Immediately made to my everyday life when I made the decision to give the Sarno program 100%
I stopped all pain meds, heating pads, lumbar supports, etc.
I jogged a couple blocks. I was told by SO many doctors that running was bad for my back, so I just forced myself to, and it felt great. This small step encouraged me to do more activities that I hadn't done in years and was told not to do. For example, I went to a movie. Before when I had gone to the movies, I got there early to get a seat where I could put my feet up, wore a heating pad, brought a neck support and was miserable. So, I went to a movie with nothing and sat there and watched to prove to myself that I could. Also, I sat in those uncomfortable wooden coffee shop chairs, just to prove that I could, I was amazing how doing these activities helped me reverse all the things I was conditioned to think would hurt, and ultimately would cause pain at the time.
One of the hardest things was teaching my brain to NOT acknowledge any pain. I forced my brain to not think about or concentrate on any pain at all. This made my unconscious lose its purpose of distracting me. Instead, I would recite Dr. Sarno's Daily reminder over and over again in my head and even write them down over and over again.
I would highly recommend checking out this website and book - https://www.unlearnyourpain.com The book comes with a GREAT CD that walks you through short mediations that help you recognize any feelings of guilt, regret, anger, etc. that could be causing your brain to want to distract you from them (I know, this even still sounds crazy to me but I am proof it works..) If you haven't already, check out thankyoudrsarno.org. It really helped me to read success stories to convince myself that this could actually work.
Another change that helped me was - I am the type of person who doesn't like confrontation and likes to keep things inside. It was suggested to me to go to a restaurant and when we were given a table, ask to sit somewhere else. This is someone that I would never consider doing because I wouldn't want to make a hassle. By politely speaking up and getting a table I would like better, it made me feel proud and that I can speak up. It sounds very silly, but little changes like that to my attitude has greatly helped me - especially with kids and having the courage to speak up for something in their best interest instead of keeping it in.
To answer your question, I did take time to rest during this process. It was VERY important for me to recognize that it is NORMAL to have some pain sometimes and to not freak out about it. Of course, after so long of limited activity, it is normal for muscles to get sore. I would recognize it as normal pain and move on, not concentrating or worrying about it.
Please reach out with any more questions! If you want to send me a private message with your phone number, I would be happy to call and share my story over the phone as well if that would be helpful.
I found Sarno after 9 months of horrible debilitating pain. But my story has been more of a roller coaster since then (now years later). When I first read Sarno I definitely thought it had some merit, and the mindbody connection thing made sense to me, but when I wasn’t “cured” after reading his book (I read The Mindbody Connection), I decided I needed to keep searching. It was over a year later that I found specialized mindbody-based myofascial release therapy. It helped my mind and body break the habitual bracing patterns that are stuck in my muscle memory.
Now I 100% believe in Sarno’s theory, but for whatever reason, when I first read his book. maybe because of my mindset, deeply engrained protective muscle patterns, and an actual repressed memory, it took more than just applying Sarno’s ideas for my body to break its patterns. But I’m 100% on board that it is the mindbody connection that drives my myofascial pain. An injury may have triggered it but it’s underlain and fed by emotions. Yes, this idea was all very crazy to me too, until acknowledging my emotions actually caused my pain to decrease. I can’t yet say I’m 100% better, but I’m significantly better than I was the first 2 years of my pain.
If anyone out there is still not having full success with Sarno, I encourage looking into other mindbody approaches. For me the John F. Barnes method of myofascial release PT is what worked to tap into my subconscious bracing patterns and help me let go of what my primitive brain was holding onto, out of fear, shame, anger, etc.
I’m also happy to talk to anyone about my journey (or you can look at my website where I describe what I learned through this healing process). https://healingfromchronicpain.com/
Thanks again @MyofascialPain for sharing your success story and the importance of the mindbody connection!