TMS pain treatment
What is TMS, Tension Myoneural Syndrome?
TMS is a condition that causes real physical symptoms that are not due to pathological or structural abnormalities and are not explained by diagnostic tests. With TMS, symptoms are caused by psychological stress. In TMS, pain symptoms are caused by mild oxygen deprivation via the autonomic nervous system, as a result of repressed emotions and psycho-social stress.
John E Sarno MD was a professor of Clinical Rehabilitation Medicine at New York University School of Medicine, and attending physician at the Howard A. Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine at New York University Medical Center.
Dr. Sarno treated thousands of patients and pain sufferers in New York as a specialist for rehabilitation medicine.
With TMS the person may suffer from pain, numbness, weakness and other symptoms of the nervous system, loss of muscular tone and other symptoms of the orthopedic system, however these symptoms arise not out of a structural abnormality, but rather from emotional reasons.
These genuine physical symptoms- according to Dr. Srano- arise typically from stressful life events, unconscious emotions and past trauma (examples are loss of a loved person, grief, change in marital status, financial difficulties, major changes in life and many more).
How is TMS diagnosed?
It is important to note that TMS is a medical diagnosis, and therefore should be diagnosed by a Medical Doctor or a certified health practitioner (HP).
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Serious and dangerous reasons for the symptoms should be ruled out and excluded (for instance: a tumor or malignancy, inflammatory arthritis, fracture or sprains etc.). Imaging studies as well as other medical examinations should be performed fully.
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​​The diagnosis includes a physical medical examination to establish correlation between findings in imaging studies and symptoms. In case of inconsistency or a partial correlation between the two, TMS could be suspected. In addition, a thorough review of past ailments and diseases is performed, as well as an emotionally oriented anamnesis in order to gain insight into triggers for TMS originated symptoms.
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After all of the above is performed, and while taking into account physical findings, lab and imaging results,
​personal medical history and emotional factors, a diagnosis of TMS could be established.
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Dr. Tovah Goldfine is an experienced TMS practitioner and can diagnose if you have TMS.
If you suspect that you might suffer from TMS, and would like to schedule an appointment for the diagnosis and treatment please, Click HERE
What are the symptoms of TMS (Tension Myoneural Syndrome)?
The symptoms are numerous and quite varied. Since TMS involves mostly muscle, nerve and tendon tissue in the body, almost any part of the body could be affected. A few of the more common manifestations are:
Chronic and recurrent back pain
Chronic neck pain
Pain that radiates to a leg or arm
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Tendonitis of the elbow (tennis elbow, golf elbow)
Knee pain
Achilles tendonitis (pain and inflammation of the Achilles tendon)
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Weakness, numbness, loss of sensation or diminished reflex reactions in the arms and/or legs
It is important to notice that TMS symptoms may closely resemble a herniated or protruding disc symptoms, various inflammations symptoms, and other symptoms that stem from structural abnormalities (Spondylolisthesis, Spondylolisis, Spinal stenosis and many more).
According to Dr. Sarno and the general medical literature there are many other medical conditions that may be referred to as synonyms of TMS, among those are: Migraine, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Fibromyalgia, Irritable bladder (frequent need to urinate without signs of a bladder inflammation), ringing in the ears (Tinnitus), sleep cycle disturbances, Anxiety, Depression and more.
Some medical doctors estimate that approximately 10-15% of patients who suffer from pain, have TMS. Considering the fact that pain is a leading cause for doctor’s office visits, the number of patients who suffer from it is probably pretty high.
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However, due to the low level of awareness of the diagnosis, many patients ​remain undiagnosed and therefore receive ineffective treatments and continue to suffer
HOW IS TMS TREATED EFFECTIVELY IN MY OFFICE?
The client will learn methods of mindfulness, emotional awareness, returning to regular exercise without fear, expressive writing and journaling.
All these methods have proven to have a direct effect on calming the brain, changing the body’s physiology and decreasing the client’s pain level.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11606-010-1418-6
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11926-019-0829-6
https://academic.oup.com/painmedicine/article/21/11/2811/5843881?login=false
The client will also learn knowledge about their body, brain, emotional state and will be encouraged to implement and apply this knowledge in their daily life; especially when they are in pain so as to teach the brain that there is no physical threat to the body and safety (less pain) can become the new pathway and new daily habit.
These methods and many processes can stimulate physical changes in the brain and body (Neuroplasticity) and calm your nervous system, rewire your brain, and allow your body to heal.
We know that chronic mental and physical pain are complex and along with the uniqueness of each individual, the healing process becomes a very personal one. There are no two treatment programs alike.
‘Treating the individual client and not the condition’ is a very personal and individual process and through this process, recovery is probable and most possible.
Pain is a sign of danger. When we injure ourselves, the body sends a signal to the brain that notifies us of tissue damage, and we feel pain. Though many times the mind can over exaggerate and have a hyperreactive response (perceived threat) that will hurt you even more.
Neuroplastic pain results from the brain misinterpreting safe messages from the body as if they are dangerous. In other words, neuroplastic pain is a threat that does not exist…like a false alarm.
Neuroplasticity is one of the main methods we use to assist the process of healing; it has many positive outcomes especially when the individuals take full responsibility for their healing.
Recent studies have shown that pain is most often the result of neural pathways learned in the brain. A patient can learn the path of pain and unlearn that pain while building a new healthy one.
Dr Tovah will guide the client in some of these psychological techniques that trains the brain to differently understand the signals coming from the brain which are translated into pain and thus break the cycle of chronic pain.
Here the client is learning independence and self-reliance in the healing process; the new neural pathway is being built and new habits are beginning to form.
There are many studies today that suggest that neural pathways in the brain illustrate a pain phenomenon even without a real physical disorder.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2784694/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6355353/
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If you would like to have a consult with Dr Tovah Goldfine:
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What's App International 972 52 420 1201
Email: support@drtovah.com
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