The Mindbody Connection: TMS: Past, Present and Future
The terms mindbody connection and mindbody pain may sound futuristic if one is not familiar with their meaning. In contrast, the study of the mindbody connection, or tension myositis syndrome (TMS) as it was first introduced, has been around for over 35 years. Brought onto the scene of rehabilitation medication by Dr. John Sarno, TMS was defined by Sarno as “psychosomatic illness causing chronic back, neck, and limb pain which is not relieved by standard medical treatments.”
While he was not the first physician to consider the relationship the mind has with physical symptoms, Dr. Sarno is credited with bringing the topic to the forefront of medicine and originating the term tension myositis syndrome (TMS).
Dr. Sarno’s theory, controversial still to this day, is that most nontraumatic instances of chronic pain such as back pain, headaches, fibromyalgia, and digestive disorders, are physical manifestations of our psychological stressors and anxieties.
Despite his four published books and a documentary film storying his life, Dr. John Sarno is not necessarily a household name. However, many think of him as America’s most famous back pain doctor, and for good reason as he spent his 50-year career studying the development, diagnosis, and treatment of chronic pain and has helped many thousands of individuals recover from chronic pain.
Here we will discuss Dr. Sarno and his theories in more depth, as well as how they have evolved over time into the practice used by many pain specialists today.
The Origins of Mindbody Syndrome
Digging into the theory behind TMS and mindbody pain, we begin to see why it is so vastly different than the traditional and even current treatment methods for chronic pain, and perhaps why many struggled with Dr. Sarno’s ideas.
Dr. Sarno contended that certain types of physical pain we experience, such as those we listed earlier on in this article, are the result of a process our brain goes through when we are experiencing internal conflict or stress.
He educated his patients that, if given a conscious and concentrated effort, they could rid themselves of their pain by understanding its psychological origins.
Dr Sarno wanted his patients to believe that they have the power to overcome their pain by releasing their anger and emotions, and to stop thinking of themselves as being injured. He wished the focus to be on resuming physical activities and eliminating physical treatments for the pain. Truly a mastery of mind over matter.
Sarno contended that to distract us from the difficult emotions associated with the stress and anxiety, our brain creates physical pain in the body. This can become really quite effective, to such a degree where the pain becomes chronic.
The diagnosis that Dr. Sarno used for this type of pain was tension myositis syndrome (TMS), although it goes by other names that we have referenced here as well, such as mindbody pain or mindbody syndrome.
An outspoken follower of the work of Sigmund Freud and his focus on the unconscious mind, Sarno also believed that pain was the result of reduced oxygen and blood flow to parts of our bodies. Meaning, our brains are unconsciously redirecting blood flow away from these places, causing the pain.
Who is Dr. John Sarno?
The controversial nature of his beliefs and practices did not gain him popularity amongst his peers, however he has many devoted patients to this day whom he helped cure from years of chronic pain.
Perhaps a cause for the divide between him and his peers, Dr. Sarno did not play by traditional rules of medical science, nor did he fit into the traditional western medicine approaches. He maintained that there is no quick fix, nor specific pill or operation that can prescribed as a cure for chronic pain, instead preferring to look at causes instead of symptoms and addressing the whole of the person in the approach for solutions.
Additionally, Sarno did not feel the need for extensive testing or statistical studies to validate the theories he spent his career developing, preferring to focus on his observations of the patients he treated. Many researchers and clinicians find this irresponsible, as it can be easy to make decisions on evidence in favour of a belief.
Despite the different methods Dr. Sarno used in comparison to his colleagues, one thing that can be stated without question is the number of people who claim to have been cured by his methods. As a result of his work, he has re-popularized the belief that not all physical pain is from a structural cause. It is an admirable trait for one to have the courage to hold their own view and principles despite feedback from peers, and an even greater accomplishment when the outcome is success.
Dr Sarno’s Published Books and Documentary Film
Over the course of his lifetime, Dr. Sarno published four books about the mind-body connection and chronic conditions. The New York Times best-selling “Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body connection” has proved the most popular, with thousands of people claiming to have been cured by reading it.
The first of his books “Mind Over Back Pain”, was first published in 1984. The aforementioned “Healing Back Pain” was published in 1991, followed by “The Mindbody Prescription” in 1999 and “The Divided Mind” in 2006. All these works are expansions of Dr. Sarno’s theories as he continued to learn and understand the effects of his practices on his patients.
In 2016, a documentary film about Dr. Sarno’s life and practice, “All the Rage (Saved by Sarno)” was released worldwide. The film focuses on Dr. Sarno’s journey battling the pain epidemic through the mind-body connection, and interviews well-known patients regarding their experiences.
The Evolution of Mindbody and Present-Day Practices
As mentioned earlier, past and present-day physicians have been skeptical about Dr. Sarno’s theories, specifically due to the fact that they were not validated by scientific methods or tests. This is true in the example of his belief that redirected blood flow by the brain causes pain.
Many physicians also thought it too short-sighted to attribute pain solely to one’s emotional state, ignoring other aspects of our psychological and neurological systems that we now know play active roles in how some people experience pain.
While some of Dr. Sarno’s theories are seen as outdated, there are physicians who have continued with and expanded upon his work to validate and test his theories. Dr. Howard Schubiner, founder of a mindbody program at Providence Hospital in Southfield, Michigan, has based his practice on the work of Dr. Sarno, and has seen a high degree of evidence and success treating patients with his methods to suggest that Sarno’s theories require more research and consideration. Schubiner, along with other doctors, have been able to prove the linkage of the brain and emotional stimuli.
Using Dr. Sarno’s theories as simply one part of a treatment plan for a patient suffering from chronic pain rather than the entirety of it, physicians have found success treating the whole of a patient’s physical and emotional environment. There are many patients today who could benefit from the psychological approach to pain management in addition to or in lieu of the traditional treatment methods that have yet to give them lasting results and freedom from pain.
Dr. John Sarno passed away June 22, 2017, leaving behind a legacy of work dedicated to the patients he has and will continue to help through his publications as well as the doctors that are continuing to build off the mind-body foundation he constructed.
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The way I work is an approach which has grown from the findings of Dr John Sarno. So, if this approach interests you and you’d like to discuss it, book a complimentary Discovery Call with me, I’d love to hear from you.