Is Tension the True Cause of Pain?

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The concept that pain means injury or damage is deeply embedded in the American consciousness. “I have never seen a patient with pain in the neck, shoulders, back or buttocks who didn’t believe that the pain was due to an injury, a “hurt” brought on by some physical activity.” Says Dr. John E. Sarno, M.D. “The pain started after I lifted my little girl” or “Ten years ago I was involved in a hit- from- behind auto accident and I have had recurrent back pain ever since.” Of course, if the pain starts while one is engaged in a physical activity it’s difficult not to attribute the pain to the activity. “But this pervasive concept of the vulnerability of the back, of ease of injury, is nothing less than a medical catastrophe for the American public, which now has an army of semidisabled men and women whose lives are significantly restricted by the fear of doing further damage or bringing on the dreaded pain again” (qtd. in “Healing Back Pain”). With good intentions, this idea has been encouraged by the medical profession and other healers for years. It has been assumed that neck, shoulder, back and buttock pain is due to injury or disease of the spine and associated structures and ligaments surrounding these structures- without scientific validation of these diagnostic concepts. “On the other hand,” States Dr. Sarno, “I have had gratifying success in the treatment of these disorders for seventeen years based on a very different diagnosis. It has been my observation that the majority of these pain syndromes are the result of a condition in the muscles, nerves, tendons and ligaments brought on by tension.”

Sarno is well aware of what his critics say. “They point out that his evidence for...

... middle of paper ...

...t everyone thinks they are due to injury. Dr. Sarno works hard to educate those suffering about TMS. The moment the awareness sinks in, the deception doesn’t work any longer; pain stops, for there is no more need for the pain. And it’s the information that gets the job done.

Works Cited
Hunton, Hal. “The Back of My Mind.” Back of My Mind 29.6: 63. Alt HealthWatch. Web. 29 Nov. 2009. .

Sarno, John E. Healing Back Pain. Illus. Giorgetta Bell McRee, Anne Twomey, and Superstock. New York: Warner Books, 1991. Print.

Underwood, Anne. “Emotional Roots of Back Pain.” Emotional Roots of Back Pain 34.10: 2267. Alt HealthWatch. Web. 1 Dec. 2009. .

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