Akash,

My symptoms:

* Right Side: Burning scapula pain, burning upper arm pain, sharp pain at the elbow, tingling in fingers.
* Left Side: Severe throbbing in my forearm, neck/upper trap pain.

As for PT causing more harm, I'd say a couple of things. First, these exercises would build muscular endurance and would not promote muscular growth. All of these exercises would have you doing 15-20 repetitions or doing static holds for anywhere from 30-60 seconds. This type of exercise will not "grow" the muscle. You have to lift heavier weights in a repetition range from 6-12 to promote hypertrophy.

I'd also say that exercise could cause inflammation or irritation in the early stages. I'd have to think that if those nerves are glued in due to too much compression, unsticking them will not be pleasant initially. That said, all of these exercises should increase the space in the thoracic outlet and increase the likelihood that your body can maintain that space longer term.

Now this all assumes that your anatomy has remained unchanged. I have cervical ribs, but there is no data that I have in hand (or from Dr. D) that says these ribs have changed since I was say, 18 years old. If that's the case, then there was something fundamentally wrong with the way I was moving as a human being over the past few years. These exercises attempt to improve that movement.

In your case, I see you had an accident. If your anatomy has drastically changed since this accident, my situation vs. yours is probably not apples to apples. I'm not saying these exercises wouldn't work, but I'd take a very cautious and measured approach towards PT.

KY