Read Healing Back Pain – The Mind Body Connection. Sarno’s method. Notes:

• TMS  = Tension Myositis Syndrome.
• Caused by fear, anxiety, expectation, anger, risk. All producing tension. For the most part, subconsciously.
• These repressed emotions reduce blood flow to muscles, nerves, tendons, ligaments.
• The autonomic nervous system controls all this, (heart rate, breathing, blood, etc). So while the feelings may not be based in reality, there is still a physical impact on the body.
• Basically, the pain is in your brain. Act normally, live as though you’re pain-free, and you will be. Mind over matter.
• In some cases your brain may produce physical pain to distract from emotional anxiety. It’s a defensive maneuver, in the mind’s eye.
• Action: Talk to your brain. Don’t be afraid of chronic injury. Deal with any repressed anxiety directly. Fake it till you make it. Convince yourself you’re not injured.
• Action: Resume all regular physical activity. Do not live the rest of your life with a phobia of certain movements. Stop physical therapy – it psychologically limits you.
• Counter: I pushed through tennis elbow, continued lifting, and definitely had a longer slower recovery process because of this.
• Counter: As soon as I could walk without crippling pain, I rejoined the gym during disc recovery. I felt that the healing process went sometimes faster, sometimes slower. I do mindfulness/breathwork and lived a very stress-free life during my disc journey. I engaged in normal physical regiments without hesitation. No victim mentality. Still took years.
• Overall: Very woo-woo. Agree with the general idea of pushing through injury psychologically, but physical science trumps.
• Much of the book is hedging against majority skeptical response.
• Getting good rest, going to therapy, not being anxious/fearful – those are inevitably going to improve a recovery program.