Many greet this concept with a great deal of skepticism, even anger, at the suggestion that
their agony is “all in their head.” Let me state again that whatever the source of your muscular tension, whether it’s physical or emotional (or a combination of both), your pain is real and absolutely valid.
Pain caused from emotional sources is no less horrible, or even different, from the kind suffered with an injury.
In some cases, it is worse because injuries typically heal and sufferers can allow themselves to have a positive outlook regarding recovery, while people whose tension stems from emotional causes are often unaware of the true origin of their pain, making their recovery that much more elusive.
The disorder, called Tension Myositis Syndrome (TMS), creates an ongoing playground of
serious tension and genuine physical suffering that is every bit as excruciating as whiplash,
arthritis or any other physical malady.
CASE STUDY:
TREATING MARIA’S LONG TERM PAIN WITH CHIROPRACTIC-ACUPUNCTURE AND TENS TECHNOLOGY.
Now think of the last time you narrowly avoided a collision in your car. The tension you collected instantly from that experience probably stayed with you for quite awhile: many minutes, hours or even days.
Both examples describe a physical reaction to an emotional source, fear, but in one scenario the reaction passed instantly and in the other it didn’t.
As an example, let’s look at the case of a recent patient of mine:
Maria was sixty-two years old when she came to my clinic with recurrent headaches and neck
pain. She also suffered from tension in her upper shoulders and mid-back area.
She told me that she’d been diagnosed with high blood pressure, which she managed with medication.
Otherwise, tests showed her to be in good health and she reported no injuries that might
account for her pain conditions.
During her regular visits to my clinic, Maria often spoke in earnest about the stress of her job,
where she had worked for over thirty years.
She disliked her job but thought there was no alternative work that would be suitable for her due to her age, lack of education and a slight language barrier because she spoke English as a second language.
She also talked of her constant worries about her two adult children’s work and personal lives.
Although it seemed apparent that Maria’s pain was caused by muscle tension brought on by
emotional sources, my treatment of her muscle tension was the same as if she suffered from a physical problem.
She responded very well to chiropractic-acupuncture treatment at the clinic, but I knew that would not help her ease her tension over the long-term, so I prescribed regular home
treatment with a transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) device
Initially she reported that the Pain Therapy System would completely alleviate her
symptoms within twenty minutes of application, however on stressful days she continued to
experience immediate and severe pain in her neck and shoulders that could bring on a
debilitating headache.
Because emotional stress is often ongoing and unpredictable, I recommended that Maria use
the TENS system on her neck and shoulders every day, whether she was experiencing stress or not.
By stimulating the tense muscles in her neck and shoulders daily, she was able to keep the
muscles relaxed.
Naturally, on days when she felt especially stressed, her muscles reacted by
tensing (which is typical of TMS patients), but her regular TENS therapy prevented the tension
from becoming bad enough to create pain.
Her daily use of the system was able to prevent the recurrent headache, neck and shoulder pain that she’d been plagued with for years.
Be sure to address your mental state when managing pain.
