Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection

I found this book entirely by chance.  I was doing a search on back pain and it popped up. 

I believe in fate.

As I read the book, I could start to see light at the end of the tunnel
At that time, I was going through extensive physical therapy for my lower back pain.  In the previous year, I went through a horrific period of neck pain, diagnostic testing and various treatments.  I was scheduled to have spinal fusion surgery on three levels.  I wanted to try every alternative before resorting to surgery, so I tried aqua therapy along with the land based physical therapy.  I was able to reduce the level of pain to something I could live with. 

I have suffered from neck and back issues since my early twenties.    I have had multiple rounds of physical therapy, acupuncture and chiropractic care.  I’ve tried a variety of exercise, yoga, stretching and meditation.   I had every known type of diagnostic testing; nerve testing, MRI, CT, X-ray, etc.  Yes, I have some degenerative disease- but most people have these same issues, and yet not all of them experience pain.  In fact, my Neurological surgeon walked me through my MRI and told me that it was hard to explain why some people experience pain, while others don’t.

So after reading Dr. Sarno's theory that the pain could simply be a physical reaction to emotional pain, the diagnosis made perfect sense to me.   This would explain so much. He calls this condition Tension Myositis Syndrome (TMS).

Unfortunately, I still have bouts with TMS.  Dr. Sarno's book helped me put the pain in perspective.  It’s made me aware of what may be happening in my life and how this pain may be reactionary.

If you suffer from any type of chronic pain, I highly suggest you read this book.