I've been looking at this website posted by Jo (Today I...) regarding TOS in conjunction with Fibromyalgia and/or Chronic Myofascial Pain. Very interesting Jo--thank you! I think the topic is worth a thread of it's own.

I wonder what the relationship is between TOS and CMP. I know that I and several others here have been diax with Fibromyalgia but I think my case is more a case of CMP that has turned into TOS and then Fibromyalgia or "Fibromyalgia like" symptoms.

I want to give Trigger Point Therapy a try and am wondering how successful it has been for others here?? And did your PT understand TOS and if so or not was it helpful? Sover.net has links to Trigger Point therapists but the one in my area has never even heard of TOS even though she was an instructor of TPtherapy (seems odd). At any rate my PT dollars and my own are very limited and I want to choose wisely before trying trigger point.

This is the site where I found a list of Trigger Point PTs. If anyone knows of additition sources please post them. Thank You.
http://myofascialtherapy.org/locate.asp

fern


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from Jo's post:
Have you seen this website about FM? {and CMPS}
http://www.sover.net/~devstar/define.htm

this is interesting -
[ Physical therapy and all other forms of treatment must proceed very carefully when both of these conditions are involved, because any excess pain caused by the therapy can further sensitize the central nervous system. Any treatment regimen will be both more complicated and less successful than if the patient had only one of the two conditions.

and some of the treatments normally prescribed for FMS patients can cause damage to CMP patients, and the reverse is also true. You cannot strengthen a muscle that has a TrP, because the muscle is already physiologically contracted, for example. Too many physical therapists see a weakened muscle and immediately attempt to strengthen it without testing for the presence of TrPs. Attempts at strengthening a muscle with TrPs will only cause the TrPs to worsen and may develop satellites and secondaries. ]

I think this is why many with TOS, CMPS, FMS often don't have a good results with PT.
They don't look deep enough for a person's specific causes & needs.
They just do the old generic cookie cutter PT plan....
__________________

Jo