Musculoskeletal diseases, which include back pain, arthritis, bodily injuries, and osteoporosis, are reported by persons in the U.S. more than any other health condition. In 2004, the estimated total cost of treatment and lost wages associated with musculoskeletal diseases
was $849 billion, equal to 7.7 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). Doctors still don’t have the answer to effectively manage these disease, so perhaps it’s time to go back to ancient wisdom of mind-body healing?
I have met with many people currently going through these horrendous physical frustrations. My main challenge when I speak to potential clients is to present the idea that most, if not all, physical pain, has deep roots in the emotional and psychological realms. When you’re suppressing anger, fear, worry or other powerful, negative emotions and you keep it suppressed for months and years, those thoughts and feelings manifest themselves as physical pain.
I was excited when I found out about Dr. John Sarno’s work. Dr. Sarno is Professor of Clinical Rehabilitation Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, and attending physician at the Howard A. Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, New York University Medical Center.
Dr. Sarno’s controversial but most notable work is drawing the mind-body connection in physical pain management, and the crux of his studies is thatyou need to heal the emotional and psychological pain, and once you do, your physical pain will go away all on its own.
But what if the MRI and whatever other medical procedures could prove that there IS something physically disaligned and therefore is causing you pain? Dr. Sarno strongly suggests that that is merely your body’s way of distracting you from the real ( inner ) issues.
Here’s a 14-minute video shown on 20/20 ( I know, 14 minutes is a tad long but if you or someone you know is suffering from musculoskeletal diseases, wouldn’t you want to take the time to find out what he has to say? ).
As a stress and pain management expert and having worked with numerous clients myself, it is always wonderful to see medical professionals to prove that the mind-body connection is not a bunch of doo-doo… 
If your company is spending lots of money paying for pain medication and ergonomic solutions, I think it would be wise to heed Dr. Sarno’s wisdom…
