Tension Myositis Syndrome (TMS)

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The Mindbody Prescription: Healing the Body, Healing the Pain by John E. Sarno, M.D.Tension Myositis Syndrome (TMS) is the idea first brought out by Dr. John Sarno that many modern health issues (including back pain, pain in other areas of the body, and many other health conditions) are the result of mild oxygen deprivation, which can originate from anxiety, repressed emotions and other forms of stress and emotional pain.

If you have begun to feel that spinal surgery is the only option left for you, but you would really like to hear that there could be a less invasive, but still life-changing, option, then please keep reading.  Maybe you have spent your days searching the internet and/or tried all kinds of treatments, including physical therapy, cortisone injections, spinal injections, chiropractic, acupuncture, massage, vitamins, herbs, flower essences, essential oils, exercise, yoga, tai-chi, or qigong, but nothing has seemed to do anything for your condition, or if it did, it only worked for a brief time.  Perhaps you have had surgery one or more times, but your pain didn’t go away, or maybe the surgery helped one issue, but then some new problem sprouted up elsewhere in your body.  If any of the above describes you, then it is time for you to read about Tension Myositis Syndrome and discover the relationship emotional pain can have with physical pain.

When you are in pain or have a long-term illness, it is hard to believe that it could be coming from something other than a physical problem.  Although TMS is often the true cause, your medical doctors are unlikely to ever suggest this to you, and here are some possible reasons why:

  1. They have never heard of TMS.
  2. They have heard of TMS, but think it is nonsense.
  3. They know almost nothing about your personal or business life or childhood, so it hasn’t occurred to them that your health problems could originate from emotional stress.
  4. They found symptoms of a medical condition and have assumed that is the problem.
  5. They are a specialist, so whatever their specialty, they think that is what you have and how you should be treated.
  6. They are not a specialist, but they want to send you to a specialist, because they don’t know what’s wrong with you or how to treat your problem.
  7. If you learn about TMS and use its principles to heal yourself, they won’t be able to collect any further payments from you or your insurance company.
  8. Any combination of the above.

Below are websites and books I uncovered once I began to research this subject on behalf of a family member.  As I read some of the material, I found I could see myself there as well.  There is probably no one in the world who hasn’t experienced emotional pain at some point, but how we deal with it can make a huge difference in our lives.  If we internalize the pain and never really address it, we may end up with any number of different physical conditions, and it is unlikely the average doctor will ever connect the dots and trace them back to the true origin of our pain.

To begin your research on TMS, I suggest you first consult the Tension Myositis Syndrome Wiki.   If what you find there is of interest, then read Dr. Sarno’s Healing Back Pain or MindBody Prescription and Steve Ozanich’s The Great Pain Deception.  You could then progress to any of the other books listed below.  (By the way, if you do an internet search for the initials TMS, you will probably find Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, which is not at all the same thing.)  

Dr. Sarno died in June 2017, one day before his 94th birthday and the release of All the Rage (Saved by Sarno), a documentary film about him.  His work was a gift to many thousands of people all over the world.  I wish you the very best in your quest for healing, both emotional and physical.

Websites:

Books on Amazon: