Is it probable that the allure of physician and
hospital financial gain, coupled with the "time is money" attitude
toward treatment via quick and easy pill prescriptions and costly surgeries,
have significantly changed the practice of medicine in this country?
The answers to those two questions are, yes.
People can and do experience real physical pain even though there is
structurally nothing wrong with them. And, the medical treatment of today
rarely, if ever, links the mind and the physical body. However, there are
those who recognize the importance of never separating the mind from the body
in an effort to heal.
The great rehabilitation physician and former
back surgeon, Dr. John Sarno of New York University School of Rehabilitation
Medicine, believes that all the pills and surgeries in the world cannot cure
what stems from the unconscious or subconscious mind. Dr. Sarno is convinced
that unresolved conflict, within the subconscious mind, causes the vast
majority of illnesses and pain including back pain, neck pain, sciatica,
headaches, fibromyalgia, stomach ulcers, plantar fasciitis, just to name a few.
In the days before Big Pharma and highly
profitable elective surgery, medical schools used to teach that there is a real
connection between the mind and the body in the manifestation of pain and
illness. Medical students were taught to
first approach patients' health concerns by inquiring about the lives of
the patients rather than immediately suggesting a battery of often needless
tests, possible surgeries or writing prescriptions.
The subconscious mind rules every action within
the body. It rules our conscious mind thought processes and keeps us alive by
regulating our breathing, our vital organ functions and blood flow, awake and
asleep.
Think of the subconscious mind as the Supreme
Ruler, for it is.
Based on the teachings of Dr. Sigmund Freud, Dr.
Sarno believes that the subconscious mind is irrational and uses illness and
pain to stop us from dealing with our problems. The pain or illness is
very real because the Supreme Ruler impedes blood flow to selected areas of the
body which, in turn, produces inflammation and pain.
According to Dr. Sarno, this is done in order to
force us to focus solely on the physical problem and never on the mental
origination of it. The problem is not truly psychosomatic, a term
implying that it's "all in your head” and not real. Rather, Sarno
coined a new term for this phenomena called Tension Myositis Syndrome or TMS.
TMS refers to musculoskeletal and
nerve symptoms that are real but are caused within the mind. They are
not imaginary at all.
During his many years as a prominent back
surgeon, Dr. Sarno could not understand why so many of his patients did not
improve. After much analysis and research he discovered some interesting things
such as many people with horrible looking backs on X-ray have absolutely
no pain while people with normal X-rays have terrible pain. Deciding that the
answer was something other than performing surgery, endless physical therapy or
prescription pain medication, Dr. Sarno began focusing on the power of the
mind and quit performing surgery. He started practicing rehabilitative medicine
and his cure rate skyrocketed.
Dr. Sarno has helped well-known people like
ABC's 20/20 reporter John Stossel, radio personality Howard Stern, the late
actress Anne Bancroft and thousands of other people, including myself, get
better after they understand and fully accept that it is the subconscious mind
causing the difficulty. Of course, he stresses that one must always rule out
the chance of serious disease through proper testing.
TMS can be a difficult concept to accept
but for many people, just the "acceptance" of TMS as the true source
of their pain or illness is quite enough. However, Dr. Sarno suggests
some sort of psychotherapy for those who do not improve after researching this
and applying it to their own health situation.
In addition, I believe that TMS is an
important source of the current prescription opioid addiction problem in the
United States as more and more people are desperately seeking relief of their
pain.
Do your own research on this enlightened
physician by reading one of his fascinating books The Mindbody
Prescription, Healing Back Pain, The Divided Mind and check
out what so many have to say about him online.
You may be skeptical about TMS. I was too
but the more I learned about TMS, the more I realized that this man is on to
something. I know one thing ... I am cured.
