TMS? What do you think?

[Lara]

Have never heard about it,until navigating the internet...

http://www.tmshelp.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=5714

[nyt]

I have read Dr. Sarno's book. Basically, he attributes chronic pain to unresolved emotional issues in our life and/of inability to manage stress. He uses several examples of physical and sexual abuse patients that were cured once they dealt with the trauma from these events in their lifes through psychotherapy. Dr. Sarno does have good suggestions which to me were really Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Techniques which for anyone with chronic pain are good techniques to develop. He does state in the book that you need to make sure there isn't an underlying physical condition for the pain even though he uses examples of individuals with bulging discs that go from pain to no pain with his program but still have bulging discs. He is still of the mindset that ulcers are caused by stress even though it is well documented scientifically that the majority of ulcers are caused by bacteria so for me he really lost some credibility due to obviously wrong believe that is not backed up by science. There are tidbits of information that are helpful to redirect your thinking about pain. I borrowed his book from my local library after someone on the RSD/CRPS forum recommended it. However, I personally wouldn't purchase the book because I didn't find enough helpful information in it to spend the money. I have read other pain management books that I think would be worth the money. My feeling, if your nerve is entrapped in scar tissue no amount psychotherapy is going to cure your pain or untrap your nerve. Methods of changing how we think about or perceive our pain are pain management tools.

[Violet M]

Well said NYT. I also read one of Sarno's books -- can't remember which one but it had a lot of stuff in it about the mind body connection and repressed anxiety associated with past bad experiences, especially in your childhood. My problem was I've had a wonderful life and I couldn't come up with any bad past experiences or things to be really anxious about. Besides, the connection with the pain starting two months into a weightlifting program was a little hard to repress. Maybe for some people muscle tension caused by anxiety is what is causing their pain but it wasn't a plausible explanation in my case.