When we’re at the starting line in a race, or we get ready to run across a field at a park, or at the beach, something happens  - our body prepares us for action. Our brain sends messages to the muscles in our legs, back and other parts of the body to contract, and get ready to go...

So, why do our back muscles tense up when we are sitting in a chair? Why do our shoulders and neck get tight for no reason at all? Why do our calf muscles cramp up while we are asleep, or lying in bed? 

These things happen because our brain is reviewing what it perceives to be our current condition - it’s assessment is that we are not safe - we need to get ready to run...

There are many types of pain we may experience, but the two forms of pain we most commonly experience are External Trauma, and Internal Trauma. External trauma is just the way it sounds - something from outside of us comes in contact with our bodies, and causes us pain, such as a burn from an accidental brush with something hot, or the pain we feel when we stub our toe.
Internal trauma is pain that is generated from inside of us. This is often the pain experienced from tension, that causes involuntary muscle contractions, which reduces the amount of blood flow to those muscles. A frequent manifestation of this is low-back pain, which is a common place to experience these involuntary muscle contractions. After months or years of a lack of oxygen (hypoxia) to the muscles, spasming will occur, and the muscles will fail, because they don't have enough blood flow to operate correctly.​

The explanation of the problem is quite simple, and the solution may be more complex, but internal trauma can be halted, and the muscles heal quickly once they are free from the involuntary muscle contractions.

#low-back pain, #mindbody #hypoxia #internaltrauma

​What does stress do to the human body? The American Psychological Association describes negative effects to nearly every structure in the system in its article "The Stress Effects on the Body". 

The article outlines chronic painful conditions disorders of the musculoskeletal system, respiratory system, long-term problems for heart, blood vessels and the cardiovascular system, adrenal glands and endocrine system, the liver, gastrointestinal system, esophagus, stomach, bowels, nervous system, the male and female reproductive system, sexual desire, menstruation, menopause, etc.

Stress can sometimes seem like a force that we are powerless to overcome, but the stress we experience most commonly comes from our minds. That stress is then converted into involuntary muscle contractions in the body. The blood flow, and oxygen to those muscles will be severely reduced in a constant state of muscle contraction. Over time the muscles will eventually spasm and fail due to lack of oxygen. Once the constriction is gone, the blood flow and oxygen return to normal, and then the pain will be gone.

What can we do to make sure stress doesn't destroy our good health?

A few things can help:

• learn how to relax all the muscles in your body
• reduce your exposure to situations that cause you stress
• make the decision to stop negative reactions to stressors
• take the time to review and understand what are the experiences, thoughts, and emotions that cause you stress. 

​Please see the informative article below.

 Peace to you all in the New Year!

​There is an interesting study found at The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) called the “Effectiveness of mindfulness meditation on pain and quality of life of patients with chronic low back pain”, which concludes that mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) is effective for chronic low back pain (LBP). 

How does mindfulness meditation help chronic low pain? It lessens the tension, which releases the tight muscles, and allows for proper nerve innervation, and blood flow to the low back. Once the tension is relieved the body will do what it is intended to do - effectively oxygenate tissues, deliver nutrients, and remove waste products from all the body.

As you can remove the impediments, stress and tension, your body will come into balance, which is the the state it is always seeking. 

See the study below.

PEACE...

Maybe you have a "old" injury that continues to bother you long after it should have healed? That is sequelae, a condition that stays with you after a previous disease or injury. 

In the 2015 study below, researchers conclude that stress modulates the perception of pain, which results in either stress-induced pain or hyper sensitivity to pain. The state of our mind dictates the way we perceive our bodies overall status.

The impression of 'stress' for the individual is subjective, so a situation that may be stressful to one person will have no effect on another. We absolutely have control over our reaction to the events in our lives, and we should make good use of it to manage our pain, and direct the quality of our mental state.

- PEACE

Pain, what is it, exactly?
​
Pain is a feeling we experience from an early age, and it is the most common symptom of disease. Pain is a mechanism that protects us by alerting us to bodily harm. Outside of the sensory nervous system function itself, pain can be an emotional feeling that is subjective to each individual. The mind has it's own psychological interpretation of the experience of each pain episode.

In my own pain story I was unaware of my emotions during these pain events, and did not understand that they were integral to my syndrome. My emotional lack of awareness caused me decades of pain and suffering. 

The day that I truly understood that my mind; negative emotions; and the tension they produced were the cause of my pain - EVERYTHING changed. Within weeks I had taken control of my emotions; tension, and the result was a near miraculous healing. 

Decades of medical treatment brought me no closer to a cure than if I had never gone to a doctor at all. I literally gained no insight whatsoever to the cause of, or cure for my pain in all of those years. The Healthcare Providers I visited all those years were sincere in trying to help me, but sadly they were completely ineffective in providing a cure.

In my situation, pain was a simple lack of oxygen in my muscles caused by tension. The muscles were tight, blood flow was reduced, oxygen was reduced, and pain resulted. When those muscles were starved of oxygen chronically, they eventually failed. That all sounds very serious medically, but the truth is, as soon as the blood flow is restored the muscles quickly return to normal.

The body is always healing, always ready to heal, and it will heal as soon as we remove encumbrances to our health.

If you are in pain, don't give up, and keep seeking methods to overcome your body's distress. Pain is a message, keep listening, and try new approaches until you are healed.

Today I'd like to share my tribute to Dr. John Sarno, who although the two of us never met or spoke, was instrumental in curing my intense, chronic low-back pain.

His ground-breaking ideas have brought healing to thousands of people, and undoubtedly could bring pain relief to millions more who suffer throughout the world. The individuals who have benefited from Dr. Sarno's books, and therapy come from many different walks of life, but they all have one thing in common; they are open minded enough to try a new way of thinking.

Sadly, we lost Dr. Sarno this past June at the age of 93. I truly wish I could have met him, but this small thank you will have to do for me.

If you have a story of healing from Dr. Sarno's life work, please share it on the site. You'll find a link on my TRIBUTE page at thankyoudrsarno.org/, as well as other information about Dr. Sarno, and a link to a new documentary film: All the Rage (Saved by Sarno).

Responsibility: It’s not exactly a fun word, but then it all depends on how we chose to think about it. If we view it as a  'punishment', then yes, we probably do want to avoid it. It is a STICK for us.

If we see our responsibility as more of a ‘reward’ to help us resolve a problem we are trying to fix. It is a CARROT for us.

Here is a common, real world example: 
​Approximately, 610,000 Americans die from heart disease each year—that's 1 in every 4 deaths.1 Often, heart disease is caused by eating a diet that makes us sick; destroys the vascular system; brings us misery; costs us billions as a society; and takes our lives too early.  
So, how do we view our responsibility in regard to this issue? If we close our eyes to it, we are seeing this responsibility as a STICK. If we choose to alter our diet, and change our health, we are seeing this responsibility as a CARROT.

Responsibility extends to Tension-Based Pain as well. There may be many different factors that bring us tension, contracted muscles, lack of blood flow to those muscles, muscle spasms, and pain. Some of these stressors may include the following:

• Family stress
• Work stress
• Unresolved emotional problems
• Financial stress
• Feelings of inadequacy
• Fear of the future
• Regrets about the past
• Health concerns for ourselves or others

These are issues that may effect many people over a lifetime, but often the individual reaches a point where they must recognize that the impact of these forces on the body are no longer a simple inconvenience, but may significantly effect their lives. If this is true; the time has come to stop; understand the cause of these issues, and make some critical changes. Surely, altering our lives can be difficult, and disruptive, no doubt. Sometimes a series of small changes can resolve tension, and pain. Other times we may need to consider sweeping changes in our lifestyle, and relationships to cease the constant cycle of Stress-Tension-Muscle Contraction-Lack of oxygen to the muscles-Spasm and muscle failure.  

We can continue to look away from our responsibility in regard to stress, tension and pain, but it will most likely catch up with us, cause suffering, and potentially stop us from living the lives we want. Whether we choose to take action or not, the responsibility is actually still with us. Hopefully, we will choose the right path, and find our way to positive, enjoyable, and rewarding lives…

Peace to you all, whatever your choices may be…