Never saw a response on this, so I thought I would share a snippet I found from one doctor's opinion on trying to distinguish between neurological and arterial TOS.
Quote:
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Confusion regarding the differentiation between arterial and neurogenic TOS is common because many patients with neurogenic TOS have symptoms of coldness and color changes in their hands along with their other symptoms. These symptoms do not establish a diagnosis of arterial or vascular TOS. They are the result arteriolar vasoconstriction brought on by sympathetic nerve stimulation from compression of the sympathetic nerve fibers that accompany the C7 and C8 nerve roots [2]. Thus, these symptoms are those of neurogenic TOS and not the result of arterial compression when the arm is elevated. Several studies of provocative positions in asymptomatic volunteers reveal that the incidence of arterial compression is over 50% [3–5]. Therefore, the use of tests to demonstrate arterial compression to diagnose neurogenic TOS is totally unnecessary and the results misleading. To date there is no reliable objective test with which to diagnose neurogenic TOS.
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Have an appointment with a vascular surgeon just to get an opinion on my symptoms. Hoping he will rule out anything dreadfully serious so I can continue on with trying to PT my way out of this mess.