If you suffer from a bad back and visit a physiotherapist then you would normally expect some hands-on manipulations.

But not so at one Huddersfield clinic.

Instead, chartered physiotherapist Georgie Oldfield has introduced a new technique based on the principle that chronic pain can be the result of an emotional, rather than purely physical problem.

The Tension Myoneural Syndrome (TMS) Recovery Programme comes from the United States, which sees sufferers of long-term pain conditions and injuries undergo an educational and self-help programme where they explore their life history and personality type.

It aims to help them identify and resolve the stress and emotional upset that may have caused their ill- health in the first place.

Georgie says: "The TMS approach is based on the premise that stress and repressed emotions not only influence pain and ill-health but, in many cases, can actually cause it.

"The mind and body are inextricably linked. Every cell in the body is literally affected by our feelings, thoughts and memories. It is normal to repress emotions so we can get on with life."

Georgie is interested in the patient's life history, including major and minor stressful events, as, she argues, suppressed feelings can build up and threaten to overwhelm the body.

These powerful emotions are repressed in the mind, filling up our "reservoir of rage", according to Dr John Sarno, Professor of Clinical Rehabilitation Medicine at New York University School of Medicine, who discovered TMS more than 30 years ago.

He identified three main sources of TMS symptoms: childhood influences; personality type – particularly high achievers, perfectionists and people- pleasers; major life events, from bereavement, divorce and pregnancy to everyday life pressures such as sibling rivalry and work and money worries.

Key emotions that come into play include fear, shame, guilt, anger and jealousy. To prevent these feelings from overwhelming us, Dr Sarno argues that the nervous system responds by reducing the blood supply to a specific part of the body. This causes mild oxygen deprivation which can lead to nerve, muscle, tendon or ligament pain. These symptoms then become a powerful distraction from the emotional issue at stake.

One patient who believes she has been helped by TMS recovery is Huddersfield solicitor Alison Kaye.

Alison suffered severe sciatica five years-ago just after her dad died. She had constant shooting pains up the back of the legs.

"I was in a lot of pain but I just thought I had overdone it at the gym. I am quite sporty and just thought I'd done too much."

But Alison's pain didn't get any better, despite spending hundreds of pounds visiting a sports physiotherapist and chiropractor.

"It got to the point where I thought I am just going to have to live with it, but is was very difficult and I was no longer able to do the things I love like running and swimming."

Then she met Georgie, who introduced her to the idea of TMS. Alison says she was extremely sceptical.

"I didn't believe it could work. The pain was very real and not something that I was imagining,"

She bought Dr Sarno's book called Healing Back Pain – because she had nothing to lose. It made her realise
that her back pain could be linked to the death of her father and the fact she had a very stressful job.

Alison explored what some of these emotional triggers might be, and acknowledged them. She also picked up some simple self-help "mind over matter" techniques which helped her deal with the pain. "When I feel a twinge I focus on what is upsetting me and might have caused it, acknowledge it and tell it to go away," she says.

Alison has been practising TMS for a year and says it has virtually cured her bad back and she has been able to go back to doing all the sporty things she loves.

Patients learn self-help exercises including keeping a journal, visualisation and other techniques which address attitude and beliefs. No hands-on treatment is involved other than an initial medical assessment.

Georgie adds: "The beauty of this approach is that people begin to recall and get in touch with the major and minor life events that they have not acknowledged. At this point, their body relaxes and is then able to start releasing the pain – sometimes within a matter of minutes."

For more information, call Georgie Oldfield on 01484 452500 for an initial free telephone consultation or go to: www.tmsrecovery.com