hello everyone , 6 years ago i lifted something heavy, had a wry neck and now im introducing myself to persons i can not see through a type of forum i have never used before. during the course of my problem i have suffered many of the symptoms that most people with TOS suffer. i believe that the medical practitioners are not looking at the problem logically. various medical experts have suggested that 1)the heavy arm feeling is due to vascular reasons. 2) TOS causes scapular instability 3) there is a changed breathing pattern in TOS sufferers (they chest breathe when they should be abdominally breathing, the suggestion being that chest breathing causes overuseof the scalene muscles thereby compromising the brachial plexus).4)the head forward posture is a cause of TOS.
I believe that their cause and effects are back to front.
1) The heavy arm feeling is not caused by vascular problems but instead it is due to varying scapular instability.
2) TOS does not cause scapular instability, scapular instability causes TOS
3) Many experts on TOS suggest that sufferers of TOS, chest breathe when they should be abdominally breathing. I believe that chest breathing causes partial compromise to the Long Thoracic nerve as it travels over the second rib. This then causes further scapular instability and greater compensation by the pectoralis minor which causes compromise to brachial plexus.
4) The forward head position is not the cause of TOS, it is a symptom. If the brachial plexus is being compromised behind the pectoralis minor muscle (as is suggested by some doctors such as Dr Richard Saunders) then the body's automatic reaction is to try and minimise the total compromise to the brachial plexus(BP) by moving the head forward and remove what would otherwise be normal pressure on the BP. the theory of cumulative pressure on nerves is called Double Crush. as i said this is the first time i have been a member of such a community. i need to go now i will list some of the measures which i have used to lessen my symptoms next time i log on