The Hope of A Pain-Free Life, Part 2

Pain Free for Life
by Scott Brady, M.D., William Proctor

(Page 2 of 4)

Early on, I noticed an important feature of her personality that had set her up for chronic pain: her tendency to be a Perfectionist. Susan set extremely high standards for herself and others. Her lists of things to do were never-ending. But even though she put a lot of pressure on herself in her professional and personal life, she usually found that she didn't measure up-and, of course, neither did those around her. Like most Perfectionists, she became irritated and frustrated easily. But you would never have known it, because she had learned quite well how to "stuff," or bury, her dangerous emotions into her subconscious mind.

"I don't consider myself an angry person at all," she said. "Yes, I get frustrated and irritated with people, especially doctors. They think they're always right and they know everything. But of course I don't show it-I'm just a nurse, and you don't tell doctors what you really think!"

Then I gave Susan a physical exam-looking for any dangerous conditions such as cancer or neurological disorders that might explain her pain. I tested her reflexes and her muscle tone. I pressed on her muscles and joints, looking for areas of increased tenderness. I have found that patients with Autonomic Overload Syndrome often have tenderness in several specific muscles and tendons in the back, neck, elbow, shoulder, and thigh.

During the exam, I reviewed the X-rays of her back. It was true that these X-rays didn't look the same as those of a twenty-year-old female. But then again, Susan was in her fifties. Radiologists had interpreted her X-rays as "herniated disks" and "degenerative disks at multiple levels." In fact, the radiologists were correct in their assessments, but her physicians were incorrect in concluding that these findings were abnormal and the cause of Susan's pain.

I explained to Susan that her X-ray findings would be normal in 30 percent of people in their thirties and still normal in 70 percent of people as they get older. That is, an increasing number of people have these conditions without any pain symptoms as they age. Most elderly folks in nursing homes have herniated and degenerative disks, yet nursing home residents actually have a lower incidence of back pain than people in their thirties and forties! In my personal experience with patients, bulging and degenerative disks are normal findings; only rarely are they the cause of chronic back pain. Or as I sometimes tell my patients, "They are common-yes. And normal- almost always."

Finally, we returned to my office to talk. "Susan, I think I can help you," I said. "I believe that all your symptoms-your chronic back pain, migraine headaches, and irritable bowel syndrome-have a common cause and a common solution. I believe you can become pain-free."

At this reassurance, she began to cry. But these were tears of hope. Her husband, Bill, who had joined us for this final, wrap-up part of the exam, consoled her, but he seemed rather skeptical. I understood his doubts because I had been there myself only a short while before. So I went into a little more detail about the scientific and clinical explanation of the treatment I was recommending.

The Real Source of Susan's Problem

I explained to Susan and her husband that she was suffering from a pain-producing condition that I call Autonomic Overload Syndrome. Here's a simple definition:

Autonomic Overload Syndrome (AOS) is a group of chronic pains and other symptoms caused by harmful levels of stress, pressure, and repressed strong negative emotions that have built up in the subconscious mind.

In AOS, subconscious emotions and stresses build up and overstimulate the autonomic nervous system and related mechanisms- which control many automatic bodily functions, such as muscle tone and hormone production. When these systems are turned to an "on" position for long periods, various physical symptoms emerge-many of which involve pain. These AOS symptoms can involve back pain, headaches, irritable bowel syndrome, insomnia, and other complaints.

Probably the easiest way to understand AOS is to think of your mind, body, and nervous system in terms of an automobile. A car engine is built to travel at moderate speeds most of the time and can generally be expected to last many years without problems. But the car will begin to show a lot of wear and tear if we constantly step on the accelerator and keep the speed at a hundred miles per hour for hours at a time.

Similarly, our minds and bodies usually work well if we keep our autonomic nervous system and fight-or-flight stress hormones at moderate levels of activation for short periods of time. Unfortunately, though, the stresses and pressures of modern life activate these stress systems for extended periods. Also, when the pressure builds, strong emotions come into play. Yet these emotions, such as irritation, anger, guilt, fear, and shame, are dangerous and unprofessional to express. So we tend to stuff or repress them to the subconscious recesses of our minds. Unfortunately, though, they are still there inside us, constantly pressing to get out and keeping our stress system turned on.

But I had some good news for Susan and Bill. "I've learned that you can correct these malfunctions of your autonomic nervous system- and eliminate your pain-by pursuing several simple treatment strategies," I said. "These have worked for me, they have worked for others, and they can work for you as well."

Susan Finds a Solution

After I provided her with an individualized version of my 6-week Pain-Free for Life Program, Susan went home with increased hope and a can-do attitude. During the next few weeks, she diligently applied the strategies that I had taught her-and that you will learn about in this book.

Three weeks later I received a letter from Susan-a message that made my day:

"It is true!" she wrote. "I'm better! I can hardly believe it. I can walk without pain-go down the stairs-and sleep through the night! I even turned off my spinal cord stimulator for the first time since it was implanted."

Then came the best part: "Hallelujah! I have so much to be thankful for! I am getting my life back. My husband and I are finally going on a trip-it's the honeymoon we never got to take!" I don't think that I've ever had a patient who shouted "Hallelujah!" after seeing me. And it didn't matter one bit if that shout was on paper.

After re-reading her letter a couple of times, I sat quietly in my office, awaiting my next appointment and musing over how I had arrived at this remarkable juncture in my life. As a victim myself of seemingly incurable upper and lower back pain, I had found not only a way to overcome my own anguish-but also a methodology to treat patients who were at the end of their rope, feeling hopeless that they could ever escape their pain.

Copyright © 2006 by Scott Brady, MD

About the Author

Scott Brady, M.D., has spent the last decade developing his holistic, noninvasive treatments for chronic or recurrent pain. In 1998, he founded the Brady Institute for Health at Florida Hospital, where his powerful techniques have helped hundreds of patients overcome debilitating pain that routine therapies have failed to heal. Dr. Brady and his family live in Orlando, Florida.