explaining what TOS is in 30 seconds
 

Sometimes when I am around new people or people I know casually, I need to explain what TOS is but I don't really want to go into all the details.

This is my 30 second speech when I am asked if what I have is carpal tunnel syndrome (only thing people know about if you say you have a repetitive strain injury)

I say what I have is like carpal tunnel syndrome's evil stepmother. The injury is near my neck not the wrist so my whole arm and shoulder is injuried. (No offense intended to real stepmothers....)

It gets the idea of the problem across quickly so people understand the limitations. Plus the response is flip/funny enough to generally discourage long discussions and/or advice on how to work/get better. (which I don't really want to get into in people I don't know well)

Just thought I would pass on the tip in case it's helpful to someone.

How to you explain TOS quickly to strangers when you need to?

I often say it feels like somebody is constantly throttling your neck but you can still breathe normally.

I can't breathe normally without the use of inhaled Steroids, so that def rules me out.

I usually say I have a neurological issue with my upper torso, so thanks for carrying my bag of groceries out :).

Def sounds like spasms & raised top rib/collarbone.:( not fun at all...

when I had those things happening it was like a too tight turtle neck sweater on all the time & something kind of stuck in my throat feelings.
It really limited my arm use too as that whole area was compressed and the nerves & blood flow were compromised.