What exactly is Tension Myositis Syndrome (TMS) and how does it cause pain?

If you have been told that your scans are “normal” yet your pain persists, you may have come across the term Tension Myositis Syndrome (TMS).

Pioneered by Dr. John Sarno, TMS proposes that many chronic pain conditions are not primarily structural problems but manifestations of psychological stress expressed through the body.

The concept is still considered controversial. Some people credit it with full recovery. Others dismiss it as oversimplified. To understand TMS properly, you need to clarify what it is and what it is not while examining how modern musculoskeletal science explains pain.