Back pain is frequently mentioned as a TMS symptom, but Sarno defines TMS symptoms much more broadly than that:

- "Symptom type:" TMS symptoms include pain, stiffness, weakness, tingling, numbness, muscle contractures, cramps and other negative sensations, according to Sarno.

- "Symptom location:" In addition to the back, Sarno states that TMS symptoms can occur in the neck, knee, arms, wrists, and other parts of the body. Schechter states that the symptoms have a tendency to move to other parts of the body. He considers symptom movement an important indicator that the pain is from TMS.

Tension myositis syndrome (TMS), also known as tension myoneural syndrome or mindbody syndrome is a name given by John E. Sarno to a condition he describes as characterized by musculoskeletal and nerve symptoms, most notably back pain. Sarno, a Professor of Clinical Rehabilitation Medicine at New York University School of Medicine and Attending Physician at The Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine at New York University Medical Center, has described TMS in four books, and has stated that the condition may be involved in other pain disorders as well. The treatment protocol for TMS includes education, writing about emotional issues, resumption of a normal lifestyle and, for some patients, support meetings and/or psychotherapy. In 2007, David Schechter (a medical doctor and former student and research assistant of Sarno's) published a peer-reviewed study of TMS treatment showing a 54% success rate for chronic back pain. In terms of statistical significance and success rate, the study outperformed similar studies of other psychological interventions for chronic back pain.

The TMS diagnosis and treatment protocol are not accepted by the mainstream medical community. However, TMS and Sarno's treatment methods have received national attention, including a segment on ABC's "20/20"; an episode of "Larry King Live"; an interview with "Medscape"; and articles in "Newsweek", "The Seattle Times", and "The New York Times". Prominent medical doctors who support TMS treatment include Andrew Weil and Mehmet Oz. Notable patients treated for tension myositis syndrome include Senator Tom Harkin, John Stossel, Howard Stern, and Anne Bancroft.

Functional somatic syndrome is a term used to refer to physical symptoms that are poorly explained. It encompass disorders such as chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, chronic widespread pain, temporomandibular disorder, irritable bowel syndrome, lower back pain, tension headache, atypical face pain, non-cardiac chest pain, insomnia, palpitation, dyspepsia, and dizziness. General overlap exists between this term, somatization, and somatoform.

Functional somatic syndrome is characterized by ambiguous, non-specific symptoms that appear in otherwise-healthy populations. Overlap exists in different syndromes, including gastrointestinal issues, pain, fatigue, cognitive difficulties, and sleep difficulties. Some have proposed to group symptoms into clusters or into one general functional somatic disorder given the finding of correlations between symptoms and underlying etiologies.

BFS is classified in the fourth revision of the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" (DSM-IV) as a culture-bound syndrome. Individuals with "symptoms" of brain fag must be differentiated from those with the "syndrome" according to the Brain Fag Syndrome Scale (BFSS); Ola "et al" said it would not be "surpris[ing] if BFS was called an equivalent of either depression or anxiety".

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are injuries or pain in the human musculoskeletal system, including the joints, ligaments, muscles, nerves, tendons, and structures that support limbs, neck and back. MSDs can arise from a sudden exertion (e.g., lifting a heavy object), or they can arise from making the same motions repeatedly repetitive strain, or from repeated exposure to force, vibration, or awkward posture. Injuries and pain in the musculoskeletal system caused by acute traumatic events like a car accident or fall are not considered musculoskeletal disorders. MSDs can affect many different parts of the body including upper and lower back, neck, shoulders and extremities (arms, legs, feet, and hands). Examples of MSDs include carpal tunnel syndrome, epicondylitis, tendinitis, back pain, tension neck syndrome, and hand-arm vibration syndrome.

Brain fag syndrome (BFS) was described by RH Prince in 1960. It was first discovered in Nigeria, describing high school and university students with symptoms including somatic, sleep-related and cognitive complaints, head and neck pains, difficulty in concentrating and retaining information, and eye pain. It is caused by excessive external pressure to be successful among the young.

MSDs can arise from the interaction of physical factors with ergonomic, psychological, social, and occupational factors.

Chronic fatigue syndrome a.k.a. Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, Channelopathy, Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, Stickler Syndrome, Hypokalemia, Hypotonia (Low Muscle Tone), Exercise intolerance, Mastocytosis, Peripheral neuropathy, Eosinophilia myalgia syndrome, Barcoo Fever, Herpes, Hemochromatosis a.k.a. Iron Overload Disorder, Delayed onset muscle soreness, AIDS, HIV, Tumor-induced osteomalacia, Hypovitaminosis D, infarction

Most cases of back pain are related to issues in human musculoskeletal system and are not related to severe diseases. Musculoskeletal problems also called mechanical because many of them linked to vertebrae physical motions. Back pain itself is not considered a diagnosis, but rather a symptom of underlying (in most cases musculoskeletal) problems.

following:

- Vertebrae misalignment, which can cause nerve interference (also called subluxation), muscle tension, or muscle spasm

- Strained muscles

- Sprained ligaments

- Ruptured disks, which also called "slipped", or herniated disks

- Degenerative discs (lose their cushioning ability). The degeneration usually caused by repetitive strain, or injury, or aging.

- Irritated joints

Carnitine palmitoyltransferase II deficiency, Conn's syndrome, Adrenal insufficiency, Hyperthyroidism, Hypothyroidism, Diabetes, Hypogonadism, postorgasmic illness syndrome (POIS).

Jumping Frenchmen of Maine syndrome must be distinguished from other conditions involving the startle reflex or tics.

Tourette syndrome is characterized by multiple physical (motor) tics and at least one vocal (phonic) tic. There are many overlaps when compared clinically, but the abnormal "jumping" response is always provoked, unlike the involuntary tics in Tourette syndrome.

Latah from Southeast Asia is a disorder where one's startle response is similar to a state of trance with repetitive speech or movements. Miryachit is a disorder found in Siberia that also displays an action similar to "jumping". Neurasthenia is a disorder with a startle response during periods of great fatigue.

Hyperekplexia is an extremely rare autosomal dominant neurological disease. The symptoms start in infancy with hypertonia, an abnormal muscle tension that decreases flexibility, and an exaggerated startle in all ages of life.

Meralgia paresthetica or meralgia paraesthetica (or Bernhardt-Roth syndrome), is numbness or pain in the outer thigh not caused by injury to the thigh, but by injury to a nerve that extends from the spinal column to the thigh.

This chronic neurological disorder involves a single nerve—the lateral cutaneous nerve of thigh, which is also called the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve (and hence the syndrome lateral femoral cutaneous neuropathy). The term "meralgia paraesthetica" combines four Greek roots to mean "thigh pain with anomalous perception". The disorder has also been nicknamed skinny pants syndrome, in reference to a rise in teenagers wearing skin-tight pants.

The entire distribution of the nerve is rarely affected. Usually, the unpleasant sensation(s) affect only part of the skin supplied by the nerve.

The primary symptom of camptocormia is abnormal forward bending of the torso. This bending becomes worse while walking but does not appear when the affected individual is lying down in a horizontal position. This alleviation of the condition indicates that it is a manifestation of another disease or ailment and is not due to a spine that is actually bent. This is somewhat ironic, since the medically accepted name for the condition is bent spine syndrome.

In an afflicted individual, the abnormal bending consists of an anterior flexion greater than 45 degrees. Because of this bending and the physical limitations caused by the conditions associated with the disease, it is usually impossible for an afflicted person to achieve a fully erect position. In addition, patients suffering from camptocormia often experience low back pain as a result of the condition. BSS often appears in individuals afflicted with Parkinson’s disease, muscular dystrophies, endocrine disorders, inflammatory conditions (myositis), or mitochondrial myopathies. As previously mentioned, the disease is more common in older individuals.

Trichotillomania is defined as a self-induced and recurrent loss of hair. It includes the criterion of an increasing sense of tension before pulling the hair and gratification or relief when pulling the hair. However, some people with trichotillomania do not endorse the inclusion of "rising tension and subsequent pleasure, gratification, or relief" as part of the criteria; because many individuals with trichotillomania may not realize they are pulling their hair, patients presenting for diagnosis may deny the criteria for tension prior to hair pulling or a sense of gratification after hair is pulled.

Trichotillomania may lie on the obsessive-compulsive spectrum, also encompassing obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), nail biting (onychophagia) and skin picking (dermatillomania), tic disorders and eating disorders. These conditions may share clinical features, genetic contributions, and possibly treatment response; however, differences between trichotillomania and OCD are present in symptoms, neural function and cognitive profile. In the sense that it is associated with irresistible urges to perform unwanted repetitive behavior, trichotillomania is akin to some of these conditions, and rates of trichotillomania among relatives of OCD patients is higher than expected by chance. However, differences between the disorder and OCD have been noted, including: differing peak ages at onset, rates of comorbidity, gender differences, and neural dysfunction and cognitive profile. When it occurs in early childhood, it can be regarded as a distinct clinical entity.

Because trichotillomania can be present in multiple age groups, it is helpful in terms of prognosis and treatment to approach three distinct subgroups by age: preschool age children, preadolescents to young adults, and adults.

Trichotillomania is often not a focused act, but rather hair pulling occurs in a "trance-like" state; hence, trichotillomania is subdivided into "automatic" versus "focused" hair pulling. Children are more often in the automatic, or unconscious, subtype and may not consciously remember pulling their hair. Other individuals may have focused, or conscious, rituals associated with hair pulling, including seeking specific types of hairs to pull, pulling until the hair feels "just right", or pulling in response to a specific sensation. Knowledge of the subtype is helpful in determining treatment strategies.

Trichotillomania (TTM), also known as hair pulling disorder, is an impulse control disorder characterised by a long term urge that results in the pulling out of one's hair. This occurs to such a degree that hair loss can be seen. Efforts to stop pulling hair typically fail. Hair removal may occur anywhere; however, the head and around the eyes are most common. The hair pulling is to such a degree that it results in distress.

The disorder may run in families. It occurs more commonly in those with obsessive compulsive disorder. Episodes of pulling may be triggered by anxiety. People usually acknowledge that they pull their hair. On examination broken hairs may be seen. Other conditions that may present similarly include body dysmorphic disorder, however in that condition people remove hair to try to improve what they see as a problem in how they look.

Treatment is typically with cognitive behavioral therapy. The medication clomipramine may also be helpful. Trichotillomania is estimated to affect one to four percent of people. Trichotillomania most commonly begins in childhood. Women are more commonly affected than men. The name was created by François Henri Hallopeau in 1889, from the Greek θρίξ/τριχ; "thrix" (meaning "hair"), along with τίλλειν; "tíllein" (meaning "to pull"), and μανία; "mania" (meaning "madness").

George Miller Beard recorded individuals who would obey any command given suddenly, even if it meant striking a loved one; the Jumping Frenchmen seemed to react abnormally to sudden stimuli. The more common and less intense symptoms consisted of jumping, yelling, and hitting. These individuals exhibited outrageous bursts, and many described themselves as ticklish and shy. Other cases involved echolalia (repeating vocalizations made by another person) and echopraxia (repeating movements made by another person). Beard noted that the men were "suggestible" and that they "could not help repeating the word or sounds that came from the person that ordered them any more than they could help striking, dropping, throwing, jumping, or starting".

When triggered, most people with a specific phobia experience an increase in blood pressure and an extreme amount of anxiety; however, an individual who has BII phobia experiences something different: first, the person’s blood pressure increases and then swiftly decreases the next moment. During this rapid change in blood pressure, a period of a vasovagal response occurs, which causes less blood and oxygen to be sent to the brain, resulting in loss of consciousness momentarily. The heart rate then slows down, due to the activation of the parasympathetic nervous system. The parasympathetic activation is believed to be associated with the disgust response, which is a characteristic of BII phobia, making it stand out from other phobias. Other symptoms can include extreme discomfort in the chest and tunnel vision.

Moreover, FMRI studies have confirmed that the activation level of the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for controlling and regulating emotions, is lower in people with this type of phobia when exposed to a fear-inducing stimuli. This shows that people with BII phobia have less control over their emotions because of the lessened activity in their prefrontal cortex. This lessened emotional control could contribute to the high disgust reaction as well as less control over phobic symptoms, such as fainting.

When initially identified, camptocormia was classified as a psychogenic disease. Although the condition is sometimes a psychogenic manifestation, camptocormia typically originates from either muscular or neurological diseases. However, due to the wide variety of pathologies resulting in camptocormia, there is no singular cause that is most influential for the condition.

Chronic headache, or chronic daily headache (CDH), is classified as experiencing fifteen or more days with a headache per month. It is estimated that chronic headaches affect "4% to 5% of the general population". Chronic headaches consist of different sub-groups, primarily categorized as chronic tension-type headaches and chronic migraine headaches. The treatments for chronic headache are vast and varied. Medicinal and non-medicinal methods exist to help patients cope with chronic headache, because chronic headaches cannot be cured. Whether pharmacological or not, treatment plans are often created on an individual basis. Multiple sources recommend "multimodal treatment", which is a combination of medicinal and non-medicinal remedies. Some treatments are controversial and are still being tested for effectiveness. Suggested treatments for chronic headaches include medication, physical therapy, acupuncture, relaxation training, and biofeedback. In addition, dietary alteration and behavioral therapy or psychological therapy are other possible treatments for chronic headaches.

Symptoms include a sensation of fullness in the ear, otalgia, tinnitus, dysacusis, tension headache and vertigo.

Tension-type headache pain is often described as a constant pressure, as if the head were being squeezed in a vise. The pain is frequently present on both sides of the head at the same time. Tension-type headache pain is typically mild to moderate, but may be severe.

According to the third edition of the International Classification of Headache Disorders, the attacks must meet the following criteria:

- A duration of between 30 minutes and 7 days.

- At least two of the following four characteristics:

- bilateral location

- pressing or tightening (non-pulsating) quality

- mild or moderate intensity

- not aggravated by routine physical activity such as walking or climbing stairs

- Both of the following:

- no nausea or vomiting

- no more than one of photophobia (sensitivity to bright light) or phonophobia (sensitivity to loud sounds)

Tension-type headaches may be accompanied by tenderness of the scalp on manual pressure during an attack.

Based on frequency, tension-type headaches can be sub-classified as

- Infrequent episodic: occurring less than once per month on average, or less than 12 episodes a year;

- Frequent episodic: occurring between 1-14 times per month on average for at least 3 months;

- Chronic: occurring 15 times a month for at least 3 months (CTTH - "chronic tension-type headache").

BII phobia tends to have an affect on people's health, since the individuals with this phobia, usually avoid needles, vaccinations, and blood tests, making them susceptible to diseases and other health-related issues. Women, in particular, suffering from BII phobia, reported to have avoided pregnancy in fear of injections, vaccinations, and the pain associated with labor. BII phobia patients suffering from diabetes or multiple sclerosis are often unable to get injections and are thus more likely to discontinue their treatment.

TTTS (Tonic Tensor Tympani Syndrome) is a disease of the tensor tympani muscle, described by Klochoff et al in 1971. This is a decrease in the contraction threshold of tensor tympani. This hypercontraction (or spasms) leads to chronic ear pain and in particular in the case of hyperacusis and acoustic shock. These study opens an important understanding of the field of pain associated with hearing disorders.