I’ve spoken about how
1) My scapula stability varies (how heavy my arm feels)
2) The tension on my brachial plexus (BP) varies ( the pressure that the pec minor places on the BP, it increases during the day)
3) The strange sensations/symptoms in my arm vary

May I speak about how the muscles in my thoracic spine used to be in spasm in sympathy with these other problems?

After diagnoses of
• Cervical and thoracic spondylitis, which was changed to
• Thoracic spondylitis (the wry neck symptoms subsided but there was an excruciating pain on the rhs of my upper thoracic spine)
• Thoracic outlet syndrome
• C 5/6 Nerve root irritation ( later a neuro-surgeon told me that the orthopaedic surgeon had read the MRI backwards, the disc bulge was on the wrong side )
• Displaced scapula
• Brachial plexus syndrome
• Discogenic pain of the thoracic spine
There was a diagnosis of Myofascial pain of the erector spinae muscles.
The musculoskeletal doctor asked permission from the workcover authority to inject botox into muscles in my back. Strangely when I asked on 3 occasions into which muscle in my back was he going to inject the botox he would not tell me. His colleague said that I had T4 syndrome. T4 syndrome sounds like the RSD which I am reading of in other TOS sufferer’s stories. T4 syndrome is best described at this link
http://www.iaom-us.com/archive/newsl...9/n19-appl.htm
Please notice how they describe that sufferers often are awakened at night suffering symptoms when they are sleeping on their backs. Other activities such as driving a car or reading the newspaper often provoke symptoms. I read this as they are either lying on their scapula or stabilizing their scapula. also notice how they say that the symptoms are similar to TOS symptoms.

In 2004 our financial position (due to my injury) worsened to the point that we decided to sell our house. The house needed some painting to improve its condition. I was unable to paint some of the positions due to my condition, so I had to show my sons how and where. I have previously described how the tension on my brachial plexus increased as the day progressed ( due to decreasing scapular stability increasing pec minor tightness)
If I climbed on the roof which slopes at approximately 30 degrees early in the morning, I could traverse the roof easily without too much discomfort. If I tried later in the day, muscles in my back would go into spasm and would make it virtually impossible to climb around. I believe that pulling on the nerve in one area causes problems in other areas of ones body. Since my condition has improved and I can’t put tension on my BP I don’t have unexplainable pains in my other limbs. I was told that nerves slide in sheaths by PTs. They tried to show me how to do neural stretches. Unfortunately one of these made my condition significantly worse ( a whole heap of new symptoms such as cyanosis and cold hand) I think it is important not to stretch a nerve when it is trapped. The significance of neural tension became more apparent when I saw an article on the slump test.
http://members.optushome.com.au/physio/slump.html
I am sure that if one can stop the source of the problem, then so many of the other problems will go, if they try and fix problems later in the sequence of problems then there will just be another consequence to take its place.
I hope some of this may be helpful to someone. see you later , towelhorse

Up on the roof, the drifters 1963

When this old world starts getting me down
and people are just too much for me to face,
I climb way up to the top of the stair
and all my cares just drift right into space.
On the roof it's peaceful as can be
and there's a world below can't bother me.
Let me tell you now,
When I come home feeling tired and weak
I go up where the air is fresh and sweet.
I get away from the hustling crowd
and all that rat-race noise down in the street.
On the roof's the only place I know
where you just have to wish to make it so
let's go up on the roof.