Pain Free for Life

by Scott Brady, William Proctor

Genres: Historical Christian; Family Life; Literary Fiction

Synopsis

More than fifty million Americans suffer today from chronic pain. Dr. Scott Brady was one of them. Doctors told him he would live with his back pain for the rest of his life. Having exhausted all options offered by conventional medicine, Dr. Brady overcame his pain using a mind-body-spirit approach'in an incredible four weeks. In 2000, he founded the Brady Institute, where more than 80 percent of his patients have achieved 80-100 percent pain relief, without surgery or drugs. In Pain Free For Life, Dr. Brady sets a clear course for readers to diagnose what is really causing their pain 'autonomic overload syndrome, which is brought on by the repression of harmful negative emotions with profiles of pain-prone personalities and an innovative spiritual health inventory. He reveals the techniques behind his remarkably effective recovery plan, including the practice of depth journaling and prescriptions to boost the power of personal belief. Dr. Brady's approach has helped his patients overcome such conditions as chronic back pain, nagging neck and shoulder pain, migraine or tension headaches, muscle pain, irritable bowel syndrome, insomnia, and many other chronic pain-associated ailments. The principles and techniques described in Pain Free For Life will be illustrated by in-depth case studies. His proven 6-week program produces results in as little as thirty minutes a day.

Release date: October 15, 2007

Publisher: Center Street

Print pages: 305

Sample

TESTIMONIES FOR DR. BRADY’S

PAIN-FREE FOR LIFE PROGRAM

“Pain affects everything. It affects your job, it affects your relationships, it affects everything you do because when you are in constant pain, everything else is put on hold. I got to the point where I just couldn’t move. When I’d get out of bed in the morning and put my feet on the ground, pain would shoot up from the ankles all the way to the back of my head. I went to three different doctors; they ran MRIs on me and all said, ‘You have herniated disks in your back. You have to watch what you do. Don’t pick up anything heavy. Learn how to squat down to pick up a box.’

“Now, I feel great. People that I talk to about Dr. Brady’s program have a hard time believing it. I tell them, ‘I’m living proof—you’re looking right at it.’ I chop wood, cut down trees, ride my motorcycle—I do anything that I want to do.”

—BILL, president and CEO of an industrial supply companySuffered from chronic back, neck, and shoulder pain

“I was in a car accident six years ago. The pain in my lower back and sciatic area lasted for about five years, until I started this program. It was a constant burning, throbbing pain. I couldn’t sit for more than fifteen minutes at a time, so I had to stand up a lot at work. They even moved my computer station so I could stand while working. I wore bedroom slippers to the office instead of heels. And I ended up working part time instead of full time.

“I tried the Mayo Clinic and all sorts of pain specialists. But I was afraid of taking pain pills because I didn’t want to get stuck on them. I went to a chiropractor for two years of treatment, saw three different orthopedics, and received a tremendous number of steroid shots.

“Nothing gave me lasting relief until I tried Dr. Brady’s program.”

—BRENDA, corporate VP, financial adviser, mother of threeSuffered from lower back pain, sciatic nerve pain, and irritable bowel syndrome

“It started when I was in ninth grade. I came home from school every day with a headache, and the pain got progressively worse throughout high school. By college, I was suffering from full-blown migraines and fibromyalgia pain. I was desperate because I was just unable to function normally. I reached the point where I was open to trying anything. I saw every doctor I can imagine—acupuncturists, neurologists, and chiropractors—and tried every migraine medication on the market. Nothing helped.

“But now, after going through Dr. Brady’s program, I live a normal life. I’m not debilitated and I’m not controlled by the pain. For people in pain, like I was, there is hope and there is an answer. It’s Dr. Brady’s program.”

—CHRISSY, college student and nannySuffered from fibromyalgia and migraine headaches

“I suffered from chronic back pain for thirteen years. Some days were intense. There were times I had severe sciatica with the pain running down my back, all the way down to my feet. It was difficult to walk, and I certainly couldn’t bend over. Sometimes I had people put my shoes on in the morning because I couldn’t do it myself. I’m a contractor with a physical job, and it felt terrible when I realized that I couldn’t perform the duties I used to do. I thought about leaving my profession because I couldn’t physically endure the pain every day.

“Now, I have a new lease on life. I’m a walking poster child for Dr. Brady’s program—I was in severe pain and I am now pain-free. I don’t have to hold back, because I know I won’t hurt the next day.”

—DAN, contractor, builder, and fatherSuffered from chronic back pain and sciatic pain for thirteen years

“I had fibromyalgia. I avoided going out and doing much because I had these zinging pains. I became kind of a hermit, even though I’m a very outgoing person. I’m a mom, and I love my kids, so I can’t afford to not feel well. I enjoy chasing them around the yard and doing fun things together. I didn’t want to feel bad playing with them.

“When I heard about Dr. Brady’s program and the success other people had with it, I was a little doubtful. It almost seemed too easy.

“After about a month on Dr. Brady’s program I felt great. I wasn’t experiencing any more pain. Now, after almost a year, I still have no pain at all! To anyone in my situation: Try Dr. Brady’s program.”

—CAROL, homemaker and mother of threeSuffered from fibromyalgia

“I’ve been pain-free for eight years straight. I’m not living my life cautiously anymore, or with the fear of triggering the pain again. I feel like I’m eighteen years old.

“You start this program and all of a sudden, it changes your whole lifestyle—because you get rid of the pain permanently”.

—MIKE, salesman and business ownerSuffered from chronic lower back pain

“My pain started when I was fifteen. If I didn’t have pain in my lower back, it was in my upper back, shoulders, and head. Sometimes my left hip knotted up, and made it very difficult to sit in a chair for any period of time. Some doctors told me I had curvature of the spine (scoliosis); others told me the muscles around my spine were weak, that they weren’t holding the spine in place.

“I love all kinds of sports, and I couldn’t play any of them because my back hurt. It was difficult for me to work in the yard for long periods of time. Long rides in the car would cause a lot of back pain. It was stressful for my family when I was irritable and hard to deal with because of the pain.

“At first, I was very skeptical about Dr. Brady’s program. I’m thirty-six now and I’ve had back pain for such a long time it was hard to believe I could make it go away. But now, my life is unbelievably better. I do all the things that I used to dream of doing. Everyone who is struggling with pain needs to know about this program.”

—CHRIS, youth director and father of twoSuffered from lower back pain and sciatic nerve pain for fifteen years

“It was hard for me to believe that so much pain could be caused by tension and stress. But after I accepted in my mind that my pain was a result of Autonomic Overload Syndrome, the pain dissolved. Thank God for Dr. Brady’s Pain-Free for Life Program! It saved me from having surgery again.”

—ANGIE, wife, mother, and computer trainer Suffered from chronic lower back pain and pelvic pain

“I had problems everywhere—my feet, neck, shoulders, and knees. Everything I needed to do around the house or with the kids required a huge effort. When I was finally diagnosed with fibromyalgia, the doctor told me I would have it for the rest of my life. He gave me muscle relaxants and a mild antidepressant, which made me tired and foggy-headed. Then I was told to adjust my lifestyle and change my diet.

“Nothing worked until I used Dr. Brady’s program—it took away the pain completely. Now I know you don’t have to be conquered by pain; you can actually conquer it!”

—DEBBIE, family counselor and motherSuffered from fibromyalgia and irritable bowel syndrome

“Each time I went to a doctor for my lower back pain, the treatment would work for a while. But the pain would always come back. Sometimes it would come back to a different part of my body. That really disrupts your life.

“As a pastor, I was intrigued when Dr. Brady explained how closely the mind, body, and spirit are connected, especially when it comes to how the body expresses anger. Part of the problem is that if you see yourself as a good, moral, religious person, you may view anger as an unacceptable emotion. So many of us think that it’s not okay to express anger or show it. Instead we keep it inside; we stuff it down. When that happens, the negative emotions get buried and produce physical pain. I’m convinced this was the cause of my pain.

“Now, thanks to Dr. Brady’s plan, I’m whole again. It’s wonderful. You make plans and count on things that you just weren’t able to count on before.”

—CHUCK, pastor and father of fourSuffered from chronic lower back pain

“I had lower back pain. One doctor told me I had stenosis of the back; another one said I had tendonitis; another one said bursitis; another one threw up his hands and said he didn’t know. I found doing my housework and walking were excruciating. There were many times I would cry.

“Dr. Brady’s program worked in a matter of days.

I was practically hysterical, I was so happy.”

—ELSIE, active retiree and court volunteerSuffered from chronic lower back pain

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am so thankful and deeply grateful for the confidence and support supplied by my family, colleagues, and friends, from the beginning to the end of this project:

My wife—who has walked alongside (and often carried) me through years of personal pain. Your faith, love, and encouragement inspire and energize me. You are still the most wonderful person I’ve ever known.

My four daughters—Abigail, Lydia, Sarah, and Hannah: angels, princesses, Daddy’s girls. I’ve missed too many bedtime stories writing this book. Your joy and laughter are medicine to my soul.

My parents—who sacrificed for me, my family, and my education. I am so grateful to you.

Dr. John Sarno—my mind–body medicine mentor. I appreciate you and am always grateful to you for showing me another way in medicine.

Dr. Don Jernigan and Dr. Des Cummings—your strong and godly leadership of Florida Hospital and your vision and dedication to our mission have made this work possible.

Dick Duerksen—your limitless energy and encouragement have jump-started this work many times when the battery was running low!

Chuck Holliday—your message of Grace gave me strength to look at myself deeply—and be healed.

Shannon Sayre and Adeo Media Group—you’ve been the creative engine behind the Brady Institute from the very beginning. You have God-given genius—thank you!

Many others have contributed to our efforts, and it would be impossible to list everyone. But Bill and I would like to recognize the following individuals for their hard work and support—a reservoir of encouragement that has succeeded in keeping the research and writing of this book virtually “pain-free”:

Todd Chobotar—quite simply, without you there is no book. You did so much hard, behind-the-scenes work, but always with a joyful spirit.

The Review Board—Dick Duerksen, Dr. Ted Hamilton, and Dr. Dick Tibbits. Thank you for the tremendous insight, balance, and encouragement you gave on the manuscript.

Sy Saliba and the Florida Hospital Marketing Team—your energy and creativity helped expose this book to many who have suffered; thank you for the great teamwork.

Barbara Smith, Laura Gonzalez, and Lillian Boyd—executive assistants who helped so wonderfully with typing and research, and kept the materials flowing smoothly.

Our agent, Lee Hough of Alive Communications, has exerted his vast expertise in shepherding this project from a raw idea to a publishing reality.

Thanks to the whole team at Time Warner Book Group—including Rolf Zettersten, publisher of Center Street; our senior editor, Chris Park; Lori Quinn, associate publisher, marketing, for Center Street; and Jana Burson, publicity director. You have all demonstrated great faith, enthusiasm, and understanding in paving the way for a book that we trust will free millions from the multiple pains of the Autonomic Overload Syndrome.

Scott Brady,

MD William Proctor

1

THE HOPE OF A PAIN-FREE LIFE

Susan was sitting expectantly in front of me, hoping for a miracle. As her story unfolded during our preliminary interview, I could see why she thought a miracle was the only possible answer to her problem.

Having suffered excruciating back and leg pain for more than seven years, she had reached a stage where she felt hopeless about her prospects for finding relief or resuming a normal pain-free life. Although she was once a vibrant nurse who had literally run about the halls of her hospital tending to patients, her pain had reduced her to a shell of what she had been. Now, thoroughly debilitated by chronic back pain, she couldn’t go to work. She was bedridden seven days a week; her husband even had to carry her downstairs when she wanted to get out of bed.

The pain interrupted her rest, to the extent that she hadn’t had a good night’s sleep for years. All the activities she once enjoyed were now out of her reach: going to the movies, playing golf, taking vacations, driving, or even riding in the car. Her persistent pain had taken her life away.

As you might expect, Susan had run the gamut in her search for medical help. She had seen physical therapists, orthopedic surgeons, acupuncturists, chiropractors, and various pain specialists. Five years earlier, an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan showed herniated disks in her back, and as a result she had undergone back surgery. But the pain soon returned. Another MRI showed more degenerated disks, so she had another back operation. After that, the pain again got better for a few months—only to return worse than ever.

Then came the epidurals (shots into the thick outer covering of the spinal cord) and nerve blocks (injections of anesthetics into nerves to numb sensation). Again, she experienced more temporary relief—but the pain returned.

Seven months earlier, Susan had been evaluated and treated by experts at a leading national health clinic, who had performed another surgery to implant a spinal cord stimulator in her back, a procedure that was supposed to relieve the pain.

“That helped for about one month,” she told me. “But then I lifted something, and bam, my back has hurt worse ever since.”

“How are you feeling today?” I asked. “Describe your pain on a scale of one to ten, with ten being the worst pain you can imagine.”

She sighed before beginning her litany of complaints: “My lower back pain is eight out of ten—there’s burning, aching, and sometimes cramping pain. And I have sharp pain in my buttocks going down the back of my leg. That’s the main problem. On occasion I also get migraine headaches, and awhile back I was diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome.”

As Susan sat on the verge of tears in my office, my mind started racing. Her complaints were obviously chronic, and she was at her wit’s end. She had seen so many physicians, but no one had been able to cure her. Of course, she had received several diagnoses— including degenerative disk disease, herniated disks, and sciatic neuralgia. But none of these diagnoses had led to a cure for her pain.

In any case, countless experts had tried to help her but had fallen short. She had submitted to more surgical procedures, injections, X-rays, MRIs, and other diagnostic tests than most people can even imagine. But conventional medicine had failed Susan. Her back was still riddled with pain—pain that had taken all the “life” out of her life.

BEYOND “BODY” MEDICINE

During fifteen years of traditional medical practice—or what I now call “body” medicine practice—I had seen many patients like Susan. Most physicians don’t enjoy seeing chronic pain patients like Susan: They’re frustrating to us because it’s unclear why they continue to suffer, and it’s usually impossible to bring them out of pain by conventional treatments.

In my former body-medicine mode, I would have given her the conventional evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment plan. In other words, I would have increased her dosage of pain pills, recommended a fourth round of physical therapy, and talked to her about a newer generation of medications that might help curb her symptoms a bit. Then I would have sent her on her way to yet another specialist—without giving her any real answers or any hope that a cure was possible.

But now I was able to understand Susan’s condition differently. Her chronic back pain, headaches, and irritable bowel syndrome finally made sense to me. I myself had once been in almost the exact condition as Susan; I had also listened to the conventional medical wisdom and failed to find relief from the treatment plans given to me by modern body-medicine experts.

My personal path and research had led me out of pain and into a new understanding of the true cause of Susan’s problems. Her back pain was not related to her degenerative disks or heavy lifting; the source of her complaints was deeper and broader and involved her mind and body and spirit. Specifically, I determined that Susan was suffering from symptoms related to Autonomic Overload Syndrome (AOS) —a term I’ve formulated to describe the physiological process that results in different types of chronic pain. Furthermore, the great news about AOS is that, in most cases, patients like Susan who suffer from this syndrome can become pain-free.

So I spent about forty-five minutes with Susan, probing her physical symptoms, her psychological makeup, her personality traits, and her stresses and pressures in life. We discussed her past medical problems, her family history, and her spiritual history. I asked her about her personal beliefs and spiritual background, because a person’s deepest convictions and worldview can become powerful factors in recovery from physical pain.

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 over-stimulate 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 (which is described in chapter 8), 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. . .