What kinds of conditions can be treated by Stronger Than Chronic Pain?

Written By Taija Ventrella
Treat headaches, migraines, back pain, tendonitis, fibromyalgia, without expensive treatments, medicine or exercises.

Programs like Stronger Than Chronic Pain, which are based on releasing unexpressed emotions and unlearning neural pain pathways, can work for an incredibly wide and at times surprising number of symptoms and conditions!

These kids of programs, at least in Western medicine, were first developed by Dr John Sarno in the 1980s and 90s, who observed that people with all kinds of muscle and joint pain, like back pain, shoulder pain, neck pain, knee pain, and wrist and foot pain, could experience complete remission form their symptoms when they learned to fully express their emotions and to think differently about their bodies. 

He observed that even though there was no clear physical source of his patients pain, their brains could trigger ischemia (reduced blood flow) in their tissues that he could actually measure, which caused significant pain. 

He called this phenomenon Tension Myositis Syndrome (TMS), and he successfully treated thousands of people over the course of his career. He also noticed a wide range of other symptoms that could be reduced or eliminated by his work, which he later called TMS-equivalents. 

From his 1991 book, Healing Back Pain, the list of TMS-equivalents include: Pre-ulcer states, peptic ulcer, hiatus hernia, spastic colon, irritable bowel syndrome, hay fever, asthma, prostatitis, tension headache, migraine headache, eczema, psoriasis, acne, hives, dizziness, tinnitus, and frequent urination.

In more recent years, Dr. Howard Schubiner continued in Dr Sarno’s lineage to continue treating an even wider range of conditions and symptoms. He groups this whole range of conditions into what he calls Mindbody Syndrome, as these conditions are caused–and can be healed–by modalities that recognize the interconnectedness of the mind and the body.

From his 2019 workbook, Unlearn Your Pain, the list of conditions caused by Mindbody Syndrome include:

  Chronic Pain Syndromes 

  • Tension headaches

  • Migraine headaches 

  • Back pain* 

  • Neck pain* 

  • Whiplash* 

  • Fibromyalgia 

  • Temporomandibular joint syndrome 

  • Chronic abdominal and pelvic pain syndromes 

  • Chronic tendonitis 

  • Vulvodynia 

  • Piriformis syndrome 

  • Sciatic pain syndrome 

  • Repetitive stress injury 

  • Foot pain syndromes* 

  • Myofascial pain syndrome

  Autonomic Nervous System Related Disorders 

  • Irritable bowel syndrome 

  • Interstitial cystitis (irritable bladder syndrome) 

  • Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome 

  • Inappropriate sinus tachycardia 

  • Reflective sympathetic dystrophy (chronic regional pain syndrome, CRPS) 

  • Functional dyspepsia

  Other Syndromes 

  • Insomnia 

  • Chronic fatigue syndrome 

  • Paresthesias (numbness, tingling, burning) 

  • Tinnitus 

  • Dizziness 

  • Spasmodic dysphonia 

  • Chronic hives 

  • Anxiety 

  • Depression 

  • Obsessive compulsive disorder 

  • Post traumatic stress disorder 

  • Multiple chemical sensitivities

* “As long as the X-rays and MRIs do not show a tumor, infection, inflammatory condition, or fracture, and if the neurological examination is normal to rule out nerve damage, then: the presence of degenerative discs, spurs, facet problems, and bulging discs should not be interpreted to be causing pain.”  (citation: Howard Schubiner, MD)

You can read a more in-depth explanation of the conditions that can be caused by mindbody syndrome on Dr. Schubiner’s website here.

And you can learn more about my program, Stronger Than Chronic Pain, here.

Taija Ventrella
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