“This isn’t something they’re doing; this is something that happens to them.”

This title quote “This isn’t something they’re doing; this is something that happens to them.” comes from a neurologist named Mark Hallett, who joined what is now the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (Ninds) as its clinical director and chief of the Human Motor Control Section in 1984. Doctor Hallett is talking about movement disorders, which are involuntary movements of parts the body. The quote is taken from a fascinating article a by Dan Hurley, May 15, 2019 in the New York Times called "Was It an Invisible Attack on U.S. Diplomats, or Something Stranger?". The article makes some compelling links between the mysterious symptoms experienced by U.S. diplomats in Cuba in 2016 and movement disorders. Please see the link to the article below.

The term movement disorder is  a very broad category that covers many types of afflictions such as stroke, Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), or certain other involuntary body movements that may be cause by stress or psychological state.

This article has led me to think about Tension-Based Pain in a similar manner to movement disorders. The involuntary tightening of muscles in the body, back shoulder, legs, etc. is also a form of movement disorder. A movement disorder can be any unnecessary, involuntary action, such as a twitch, a cramp, or tight neck or back muscles. People who have restless leg syndrome (RLS) sometimes describe it as an uncomfortable sensation of an uncontrollable urge to move their legs.

So, what is the cause of these movement disorders? My opinion is that these involuntary muscle movements are simply an over stimulated sympathetic nervous system enacting the body's fight-flight-or-freeze response. The good thing about Tension-Based Pain is that we have some control over our lifestyle, environment, and our reactions to it. We can also find ways to control our muscles through deep relaxation techniques including breathing exercises. Taking control of our muscles, and managing our negative emotions can be difficult at first, but the pay-off can be well worth the effort in the long term.

All the best in your healing, peace...

Article: Was It an Invisible Attack on U.S. Diplomats, or Something Stranger?

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#Backpain #Low-backPain #Mind-body #MovementDisorder #RestlessLegs #RLS #Stress #Tension-Based Pain