hello again, if anyone is interested i would like to mention the strategies that have improved my situation the most.
For the first 20 months of my problem, my condition deterioted markedly. i went from an injured shoulder and able to go on 10 mile bushwalks around steep terrain to three months later needing to lay down for most of the day. there were the very painful (8/10) muscle spasms in my upper back . no amount of capadex, celebrex, feldene, norflex, voltaren, vallium and other drugs that i have now forgotten would ease the painful muscle spasms. things were pretty bad. sleep was terrible, loss of and altered sensations in my right hand and arm.
A) there was one thing that a pt suggested that i do which changed my life around. the pt gave me a 5 inch diameter ball (chi ball) which could be inflated or deflated to suit my needs and showed me how to position the ball between my shoulder blades as i lay on it and relax my shoulder blades (scapulae) to the floor. the pressure and discomfort that it relieved was tremendous. i was telling people that i could now take my pain levels down to 0/0. the pt said that it was a thoracic mobilization exercise, i have seen the same exercise described by chiropractors as a pectoral stretching exercise. it became a necessary part of my routine to lay on this ball and take the pressure off of this area. when i do this i regain scapular stability. i believe that what i am doing is taking pressure off of the nerve which goes to a muscle called the serratus anterior which is under my shoulder blade.

Something changed physiologically in the months from being able to walk for 10 miles through mountainous terrain to needing to lay down for most of the day. i was lacking any energy. i was being told by physiotherapists that i was chest breathing when i should be abdominally breathing. Internet searches showed that many treatments for TOS involve a retraining of the TOS sufferer in the manner that they breathe, pilates, feldenkrais and yoga are used. researchers postulate that the autonomic nervous system is somehow affected, proponents of a condition called T4 syndrome (with symptoms like TOS) suggest that the nerves from T2 are affected, the nerve that cause bronco constriction comes T2. so somehow the physiotherapist is going assist the sufferer to correct a breathing condition that no one is really sure why it is occurring. what if they are unsuccessfull? As the condition of TOS is disputed and not well received by the medical community. complaints of strange symptoms are viewed with incredulity and are not given the significance that they deserve.

B) six years after my initial shoulder injury an x-ray of my heart to preclude heart defect as a reason for high blood pressure found that "the lung fields are over inflated and there are signs of chronic airways disease"
subsequent visits to pulmonary specialists (who asked that the x-ray be redone as she couldnt believe what she saw) and pulmonary function tests (involving continuous deep breathes which made my r upper back very sore again).my comments regarding the improvement that i had had when i had taken asthma medication previously and how it had improved my shoulder situation and the symptoms down my arm. prompted the specialist to consult with her senior and they prescribed a course of pulmicort.
not long after commencing the pulmicort the changes were evident. it was as though i was sleeping on a different mattress. Gastro Oesophageal Reflux which had been really bad since the deteriotion of my condition (an endoscopy 6 months after my injury showed that i had 3 ulcers in my oesophagus, they said it was due to the anti- inflammatory drugs i had been taking. since the endoscopy i had been taking somac at least 5 times a week). since the pulmicort and subsequent change in breathing in 12 weeks i have taken no more than 8 tablets. exercises which i have previously attempted (3 mile walks)and had left me tired and needing to recooperate by laying on the chi ball. now dont cause the same deteriotion of my condition. my arm is improving apart from a setback when a health professional manipulated the area near my scapula which caused scapula instability. i can't but help wonder if other TOS sufferers who may have the breathing problem might improve if they had similar treatment. i wish you well