How many of you have pain in your body? In 2021, in Canada, nearly 20.9% (8 million) people in 2021 live with chronic pain.
In 2023, unfortunately, I fell to this statistic. I remember after a back flip + head inversion, I felt something was wrong with my left lower back. After resting for a few months, it didn’t go away but the pain extended to my hip, I knew I had to take a break from dancing and focus on rehabilitation. I went to my physician first, had an X-ray, and got anti-inflammation medicine. It didn’t work.
I worked with an athletic therapist, and a couple of physiotherapists and worked on muscle balancing and strengthening. I felt better for a while but went back after I started exercising.
I received treatments from massage therapists, acupuncturists, and a couple of chiropractors. It didn’t work.
Of course, I took things into my own hands to correct my postures and align my body mechanics. I worked endlessly on endurance, strength, motor control, flexibility, stability, and mobility. It didn’t work.
And I studied hard on body mechanics and fitness. I even passed the BC certification study on fitness instructor. It didn’t work.
It has been 8 months and the pain has become chronic. In a desperate effort to try out any possible methods, I discovered something that healed my back pain in 2 weeks with 0 cost. Would you like to know what it is?
It was Dr. John E. Sarno's book, "Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection, which has changed the lives of countless individuals.
Dr. John E. Sarno (1923-2017) was a physician in the field of rehabilitation medicine. After spending many years treating people with bodily pain, he observed something very interesting:
People often believe their pain is a result of aging, but chronic pain occurs usually around mid-age
People often believe their pain was a result of a sudden incident, but X-ray or MRI didn’t support their belief
People often believe their bulging discs, bone spurs, pinched nerves or inflammation caused the pain, but a lot of people who have the same physical conditions do not experience pain
However, Dr. Sarno did notice that there was something in common with those patients: they were responsible, hardworking, and conscientious. They are thrivers or even perfectionists.
Therefore, Dr. Sarno had a theory. He argued that many cases of chronic back pain are not primarily rooted in structural issues but are instead caused or exacerbated by repressed emotions, mainly anger and even rage. Pain is just the body’s avoidance strategy to distract you from facing unpleasant emotions, especially as a thriver or a perfectionist.
The crux of Dr. Sarno's theory is the mind-body connection. Dr. Sarno called this phenomenon Tension Myositis Syndrome, or TMS for short. The research did find that those pain areas usually have mild oxygen deprivation. This is how the mind controls oxygen supply and creates real, physical symptoms.
H: So, how does one go about healing back pain according to Dr. Sarno's theory? You may think that the solution is to unravel those emotional knots. Dr. Sarno believed that simply by acknowledging repressed emotions, individuals could break the cycle of pain. We all have hidden anger or unpleasant emotions and not everyone needs psycho-therapy. Once you realize your suppressed anger, the pain which initially just to distract you has no use. The body will let it go. So no treatment, no medicine, and no obsession with your pain. Dr. Sarno started treating his toughest patients (who tried everything else) with a simple education session, and the success rate was 90%. 90% of patients lived a pain-free life after 2 weeks.
Luckily, Dr. Sarno put this same education session on an amazing short book called “Healing Lower Back”, and later another book called “The Mindbody Prescription” to include more body parts and other ailments:
The pain is due to TMS, not a structural anomaly
The direct reason for the pain is mild oxygen deprivation
TMS is a harmless condition, caused by my repressed emotions
The principal emotion that caused TMS is my suppressed anger
TMS exists only to distract me from my suppressed emotions
Since my back is basically normal, there is nothing to fear
Therefore physical activity is not dangerous
And I must resume all physical activities
I will not be concerned or intimidated by the pain
I will shift my attention from the pain to emotional issues
I intend to be in control, not my unconscious mind
I must think psychologically at all times, not just physical
If you were struggling with pain, if you were like me and many of Dr. Sarno’s patients, please take a look at his legacy work. The solution could be simple. It costs you nothing, but it may bring you a new perspective and a pain-free life.