Hi all, my name is Michael and im 20 and was diagnosed with bilateral TOS at age 18 from a lifting injury/aggravations.. i just tried to post a new thread on my recovery, but ill repost it here incase it doesn't go through.. hope some of this info helps yall, it has helped me a TON..



Hi all, just want to share some things that helped me after being diagnosed with TOS -- whether i REALLY had or not, im not 100% but several therapists/orthos claimed it as well as an ultrasound confirming certain arteries losing blood flow when i raised my arms).. i also was misdiagnosed with having bilateral cubital tunnel syndrome and even got an ulnar nerve transposition in my left arm, which did little to help..

i went to PT for 2 years, had 1 surgery, masage therapy, as well as some other treatments which all helped to an extent, but ill share what REALLY has helped..

one other thing, i was lifting a ton before i really became unable to do things because of severe pain/numbness/weakness in pretty much all upper extremities, especially on the left.. however, as I stopped lifting (having to) and i got in worse and worse shape, my condition worsened contrary to what many as well as myself would believe.. i believe this is because of postural reasons(???) as most PT/recovery treatments influence strengthening to keep the postures/nerves/etc supported

anyway, i was introduced to something called Active Release Techniques (active release dot com) (aka ART) from a friend who receives it weekly (he is a D-1 athlete) for various injuries.. i really wasnt too optimistic of it working as nothing as, but this chiropractor who is certified in ART did more for me in TEN MINUTES (i swear to God, 10minutes) than 2 years of PT/Massage/surgery/etc.

what he did was relax (i guess is the word?) my scalenes with his hand(above the collar bone), altered my head/neck in several set directions each time, then glided the median/ulnar/radial nerves through with 3 different movements(they wouldnt glide without him relaxing the scalenes) and then did a number of "techniques" on my SCM/neck/subscap/forearm/wrist/and some other upper extremities which seems to keep the nerves freed up everywhere they pass through and eliminates scar tissue which can pinch/trap them.. i visited back every other day (or maybe every 2 others, i forget) for about 7-8 days, each time feeling significantly better and the nerves gliding with less and less of him altering soft-tissue/muscles.. i now go back every other week for this injury among others..

anyway along with ART, i learned several other things to do/not do to alleviate pain/nerve irritation..

-IF you get ART like i did/am, STOP doing those PT nerve stretches that invlove HOLDING the stretch for a number of seconds.. just simply emulate the 3 stretches the ART chiropractor/trainer/etc uses (they are pretty similar to the PT ones) but do NOT hold them-maybe for a second or 3, just do the movements.. i realized holding them for 10+seconds or so provided instant relief, but long-term irritation.. just doing them for 1-3 secs provided the same relief without really overdoing and damaging the nerve.. however ART did NOT completely fix my problem but these things have helped a TON along with it..

-muscle stretching.. you guys know all these.. dont overdo them though.. scalenes/scm/deltoids/tris/traps/forearms/lats/lat-tri attachment/subscap,chest etc.. stretching is very important, especially before/after strengthening

-next.. STRENGTHENING is KEY.. i went to john hopkins and they told me NOT to strengthen, their top vascular surgeon told me this.. she claimed my build was too small in comparison to my scalenese or something and that i should never ever do chest(bench press,etc) again.. this couldnt be more off.. every single time i work out, i feel ultimately more improved over the next couple of days after soreness subsides.. you def want to start out slow (and dont start to strengthen till a few weeks after your initial ART appointments so the nerves can heal a bit/reduce irritation).. strengthening of chest/delts/upper and lower back/tris have helped so much.. your posture is so much better when you sit in a chair or sleep or anything, i no longer get that instant muscle tightness/pain and nerve irritation when in certain postures like i did before (as well as the 24/7 shoulder/hand/arm/even facial pain i had before ART/strengthening/etc)

i really dont know why all these docs say not to strengthen, like i said the vascular at hopkins as well as DR. Richard Sanders (who i saw mentioned on here, who i talked to on the phone) were completely against any strengtherning - though PT DID influence it

-sleeping.. never ever sleep on your stomach, you all probably know this already.. i also got into a habit before i improved of using a neck pillow or no pillow because it was less painful.. again if you choose my route and get ART/strengthen/etc.. continue to sleep on your back, but with a neutral pillow as a neckpillow/no pillow tightened my SCM/neck very bad.. you also dont want to use too high of a pillow.. your neck should be neutral.. i recently started to sleep on my side sometimes again for the first time in like 2 years and i find it helpful to hug a pillow, it also will prevent (or it does for me) rolling onto your stomach

again, im not 100%, but i am 90000000x better than i was just a few months ago from everything i have posted.. i no longer have numbness/weakness/tingling, no constant pain in shoulders/upper extremities.. my traps are no longer completely knotted/tighted up.. my face/ears no longer feel beyond tight/knotted up.. headaches/lack of sleep/increased symptoms at night - significantly reduced.. chest feels loose, everything is just night and day

Im not trying to advertise ART, I just felt so hopeless/depressed and i know what some of you are going through.. many i am 100% sure have it 10x worse than I did but really if you are desperate, take my advice..

my email is ** if ya's have any questions.. if you want you can post this on another message board... just trying to help

thanks