5 ms·

Mind-body program outperforms other forms of treatment for chronic back pain

13 points by samwillis 4y ago

hirundo 4y ago
I'm a supporter of the Sarno approach and it has done me a lot of good. But I don't think that's because of the psychological side of this. It isn't about working out sublimated psychological issues, and mindfulness exercises won't help. It's about convincing people to get back in motion. If you break a leg and walk on it, it will get worse fast. If you have a charlie horse and walk on it, it will getter better, usually fast. Sarno's success is in convincing people that what they have -- a capillary response -- is more like a charlie horse than a broken leg. The details of his story in convincing people of that are less important than the result ... getting them to move, to oxygenate that tissue and relieve the restriction. This worked for me. I was laying in bed in agony on day three, reading Sarno's book on kindle. It sounded like another scam, but I was desperate and the reviews were impressive. Halfway through the first chapter Sarno had convinced me to get up and move. A few hours later I was a functional primate again. If the psycho-babble is a turn-off, ignore it, and focus on movement cure.
hollywood_court 4y ago
I’ve been struggling with chronic neck and shoulder pain for approximately 8 years. I’ve had a cervical fusion and also a labral repair surgery. Neither surgery offered me any relief whatsoever. That’s when I began to convince myself that the pain had to be in my mind. I found Sarno’s book about a month ago after someone on HN mentioned it. I have not been able to completely shake the pain but I have found myself being more productive. Whenever the pain is really getting to me, I just tell myself “focus on your breath, it’s all on your head.” Then I’m usually able to handle my business for the day even though the pain is still there nagging me; I just choose not to focus on it and let it ruin my day. Since reading the book, I’ve been able to have about 3-4 decent days per week when before I was experiencing debilitating pain daily.

13 points by samwillis 4y ago

I'm a supporter of the Sarno approach and it has done me a lot of good. But I don't think that's because of the psychological side of this. It isn't about working out sublimated psychological issues, and mindfulness exercises won't help. It's about convincing people to get back in motion. If you break a leg and walk on it, it will get worse fast. If you have a charlie horse and walk on it, it will getter better, usually fast. Sarno's success is in convincing people that what they have -- a capillary response -- is more like a charlie horse than a broken leg. The details of his story in convincing people of that are less important than the result ... getting them to move, to oxygenate that tissue and relieve the restriction. This worked for me. I was laying in bed in agony on day three, reading Sarno's book on kindle. It sounded like another scam, but I was desperate and the reviews were impressive. Halfway through the first chapter Sarno had convinced me to get up and move. A few hours later I was a functional primate again. If the psycho-babble is a turn-off, ignore it, and focus on movement cure.

hollywood_court 4y ago

I’ve been struggling with chronic neck and shoulder pain for approximately 8 years. I’ve had a cervical fusion and also a labral repair surgery. Neither surgery offered me any relief whatsoever. That’s when I began to convince myself that the pain had to be in my mind. I found Sarno’s book about a month ago after someone on HN mentioned it. I have not been able to completely shake the pain but I have found myself being more productive. Whenever the pain is really getting to me, I just tell myself “focus on your breath, it’s all on your head.” Then I’m usually able to handle my business for the day even though the pain is still there nagging me; I just choose not to focus on it and let it ruin my day. Since reading the book, I’ve been able to have about 3-4 decent days per week when before I was experiencing debilitating pain daily.