Development of the Mind = Pain Reduction

[Troy Griffin]

Sifu,

Last class you related your experience with back pain, and how you cured it through finally realizing the pain was not the result of any lingering injury, but was 'in your head'. This hit really close to home since I've been suffering from moderate lower back pain for the last three years. I've also had lingering knee and shoulder pain over that time. It's been really frustrating b/c I know I'm in the best shape of my life; I'm bigger, stronger and have better endurance than ever, yet I’m always limited by nagging pain in my back and joints.

I definitely took your words to heart, but I'm not the type of person that can simply accept the phrase 'The Pain is in Your Head' at face value. What specific techniques did/do you use to mentally assure yourself that the pain was not physical but physiological?

I’ve done some research, which I’ll share below. Are these findings consistent with your experiences in mentally overcoming pain and other obstacles?

I checked out three books by a noted author on the subject, John E. Sarno, M.D. I was so intrigued by the first that I read all three in one night. The books are:

• Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection


• The Mindbody Prescription: Healing the Body, Healing the Pain


• Mind over Back Pain: A Radically New Approach to the Diagnosis and Treatment of Back Pain

His theory is that many chronic pain disorders like back pain are not the result of injury, but the result of muscle tension. The muscle tension restricts blood flow, thereby reducing oxygen to the location and causing pain - which is physically harmless.  However, the muscle tension is caused by your unconscious mind repressing emotions such as anxiety, and/or fear. The unconscious mind doesn't want these emotions coming to the surface so it creates a diversion in the form of pain. Once you accept this and acknowledge your repressed emotions your unconscious does not have to create the pain as a diversion. This is definitely an oversimplification of his theory, but I think this highlights the major points.

 

In the two days after reading these books, I've had a drastic reduction in the pain in my back and knees. I guess I'm buying into the theory. I'm consciously acknowledging as many repressed emotions that I can - whether it's anger from my childhood, anxiety from work, or my FEAR of hurting myself from doing acrobatics! It seems every time that we do acrobatics, my back hurts for days afterwards. It's to the point that I've cringed when we drag out the mats because I don't want my back to hurt. Hopefully, I'm on the path to addressing that fear (since I now believe that the acrobatics are not hurting my back) and I think this can result in improved acrobatics.

 

What are your thoughts/suggestions?

 

Troy

[Troy Griffin]

What specific techniques did/do you use to mentally assure yourself that the pain was not physical but physiological?

I meant psychological not physiological ...

[Harvey Meeker]

I tried to get Sifu to read the Healing Back Pain book when he was still having back pain almost a year after he injured his back.  He doesn't like to read though.

He actually went to a faith healing session and got the "hallelujah, you are healed" bit and that made the pain go away for him.  I think later on he realized that it was his mind causing him the pain and that the faith healing session was just something that broke the mind/body pattern of pain development for him.

I've read the first two of those Sarno books and they do help with chronic pain problems such as back and shoulder pain.  I had recurrent shoulder pain over several years that would come and go that was helped by reading the first book.  My father and my aunt's as well as several friends have also benefited from reading those books as it has eliminated their back pain.

When it comes to pain in general there are a few different types of pain.  One type is that which you feel when you are damaged and your body needs to heal, that is the sort of pain that you don't work through.  This can be caused by an actual injury to joints or tissue or just by overworking your muscles.  Either way it requires that you rest until that particular pain recedes. 

The other type is the pain caused by working muscles to the point of failure and beyond, this is the lactic acid buildup in your muscles that goes away quickly after you cease working the muscles.  Ignoring this pain is part of training and the way you push yourself to new levels of performance.   Don't mistake this immediate muscle pain for later aches and pain that you feel in your muscles.  Pain that comes later is caused by micro-tears in the muscle fibers.  Getting enough rest so that these tears can heal is what enables you to build more muscle.

 

[SiGung Vincent A. Cabais]

Troy,

 

I was going to answer your question but Harvey did such a good job that I felt saying anything else would just be redundant.  I will endeavor to assist in your understanding.

 

The interesting thing about my past injury is that Harvey was actually there!  He saw how, after a serious accident, I still endeavored to work through the pain.  I have always believed that someone must work through their pain.  The picture that you see at http://www.shaolinkungfu.org/master.asp was taken approximately one week after the injury.  A lot of people are impressed with that picture.  I am not one of them.  In fact… I have been trying to get that picture removed for some time now.  Harvey (our Webmaster) doesn’t like any of the other pictures that I have submitted to replace that on.  When that picture was taken… I was only at thirty-percent (30%) of my abilities.  It was frustrating to say the least.  But, I continued to work through my injury.

 

Pain is just an emotion!  It is a feeling that can be controlled or ignored.  That is what I did for over two years.  I ignored the pain.  Since my injury happened at work… I was required by my company to continue to go to therapy.  Most of my therapists (Chiropractor, Physical Therapists, Acupuncturists, etc.) felt that I was insane for continuing my Kung Fu training.  They though it especially insane to continue with the same intensity that I had before the injury.  That “intensity” is what saved me in the first place.  I should have been crushed.  I was not about to stop just because of a little (okay, a lot) pain!

 

I have worked through intense pain before!  I developed my pain threshold with the “Horse Stance” when I was very young.  Strength is an important when it comes to stance work.  However, the “Mental Development” one gains from this exercise can be utilized in more areas of one’s life than can be counted.

 

Harvey is correct.  I don’t like to read.  Even though it is a necessary step in the process of understanding others.  I find that “experience” is a better teacher than scholastic study.  The study of “Human Development” is a passion of mine.  I have always wanted to find that “one specific thing” that makes people achieve amazing and unique results in their lives.  Finding the reason for “success through insurmountable odds” has always been a priority to me.  I have started to realize what that “one thing” is.  It is “Desperation”!!

 

The strongest motivators for successful people are “Inspiration” and “Desperation”.  However, “Desperation” is the strongest motivator.  Those who are desperate achieve the most drastic results.  I think that is what I did to alleviate my pain.  I became desperate to return to my full potential.  I later realized… that is exactly how I achieved my skills in Kung Fu anyway.

 

If you want to achieve something that seems impossible… you must become desperate in your efforts.  Ignore the pain until your subconscious realizes that it is “wasted energy” to focus on the pain.  It is your choice to take control of your mind.

 

-Sigung Cabais-

[Troy Griffin]

Thanks Sifu and Harvey,

I guess I've always viewed desperation as a weakness (unless in the face of a life threatening situation), but I understand what you mean.  Some more information to throw in my subconscious ... it's getting crowded in there.

[Harvey Meeker]

In fact… I have been trying to get that picture removed for some time now.  Harvey (our Webmaster) doesn’t like any of the other pictures that I have submitted to replace that on.

Well, if you gave me a picture that actually looked like it was taken in this century I might consider removing that one!  Besides, you only tried giving me that one other picture that you think looks good.  You make it sound like you have been giving me all sorts of different pictures to replace that one.