Originally Posted by lindsayshealth

1. Is it possible to have TOS when one day your dr hears the bruit, and not the next?!? He heard it and dx'ed me, then I went for the ultrasound and nothing showed up!

bruit alone does not make for a dx..could be tight or spasmed muscles or positional one day and not the next time.

2. What is up with the red/white blotchy hands? Does this indicate arterial involvement?

Do they turn white when raised up and flush red when lowered down? arterial blood flow related. a small % of non TOS people can have this too. so not a for sure TOS thing.

3. If you have ATOS can you do PT to avoid surgery or is it inevitable?

I'd say it all depends on how your TOS came about ,if you have a skeletal anomaly , poor posture, how long it has been a problem , and if you can find very good PT or chiropractor..
Bad PT can make you worse.
It is very important to learn as much as you can about good PT, and speak up if poor PT is not helping you to feel better , and for sure if you are getting worse.
Don't stay and suffer with a poor PT person.

4. What is the relationship between the sternocleidomastoid muscle + TOS?

For me all of my neck muscles were in severe spasms and pulled up my top rib so it was even closer to the collar bone, so everything in the area was getting compressed.
After my chiro helped to resolve the spasms, I still was having limitations on arm use.and weird choking feelings. So I looked for a PT place that had TOS and RSI info on the website, it turned out to be owned/ operated by a well known PT teacher at the local university.
He was the one to try dropping/mobilizing my top ribs - the first side dropped 1/2 inch or more so he did the other side ,and it was amazing the pressure and choking throat feelings were instantly gone.
I drove home and didn't have to keep changing hands on the steering wheel, a 40 minute drive on winding roads..