Hi, I'm maxbe, new to this forum. Been struggling with TOS, diagnosed in January but had a few flareups last couple years. Also probably have pec minor syndrome, but have had new physical therapist since July who helped me start to return to painting and swimming. Flareup last few weeks. Two weeks ago had pretty bad pain in right shoulder blade. Now it is in outside edge of shoulder blade. Lats have been sore but we thought it might be from the swimming. Now I am wondering how much art I will ever be able to do. I am just seeing PT twice a month now, but go back to see neuro in a couple of weeks.
I know I need to continue to make adaptations and I can live with that, I think.
It would be helpful if I could contact some other artists who have these issues.
Thanks!

If you have no headaches and neck/shoulder pain it may be pectoralis minor only

I'm more of a hobby artist, so I am able take plenty of breaks and time off when I need to.

Holding the arms up/out for very long {easel} & the detail work does take a toll - Leaning over /forward when I work on a lower table top gets my neck /traps burning.

Has your PT worked on any posture imbalances & posture awareness with you?
What PT modalities have worked best for you so far?

I didn't know that. I have neck and shoulder pain too, and get migraines, although I think there could be other causes for the migraines. Thanks for responding.

Well, art has been an avocation/passion for me, not a living(but a good way to live).
Yes my PT helped me to realign my posture, I wasn't putting weight on balls of feet. After I changed my posture it felt like I was leaning forward too much. I've started to get used to it. Also my rib cage was tilted back, changing posture has allowed it to drop. Stretching and heat for relaxation have helped. It has been very hard for me to understand when to move, how much, what kind. How to add in different activities, substitute one thing for another throughout the course of a week. Humbling, really.
It is good to hear that you are painting(drawing?). Gives me some encouragement. Thanks for responding.

Welcome to NeuroTalk.

I am an artist too, with alot of experience with printmaking.
I am not doing it "now" but I did a major of it in art school.

I wonder what kind of printing you do? Silkscreen?
Xylol, which is used in some inks is very hard on the nervous system, and oil based print inks as well have solvents which over time you inhale during clean up.

Over time you can develop a peripheral nerve damage from exposure to the various solvents.

Many of the inks contain heavy metals, and these too, you may become toxic from. Cadmium, lead etc.

Just a thought.

A good thought, too! I do use oil based inks, but stay away from cadmiums, cobalts, also I think chromium green not good. I'll check msds on the presence of Xylol - thanks for that. I use vegetable oil to clean up inks off of tools, and isopropyl alcohol to clean up oil. Sometimes I use SoySolve on glass inking plate and acrylic monotype plates. I tried some collagraphs, but the wiping of the plate was too much for me at the time.(I don't hand wipe, use telephone book pages). I have done some photocopy transfer prints of drawings, sometimes combined with acetate stencils, and I like that process. It doesn't take me too long. I went to art school a million yrs ago, painting major w/a couple of prntmking classes, then more prntmking later on. Good to hear from you.

I was intoxicated by Xylol once in silkscreen class. When I got home, and investigated it, further, I realized that the old university I attended did not have safety hoods. I got permission to drop the screenprinting, without losing that credit and do woodcut and wood engraving instead (which I did at home!) I did complain to the admins there, and hoods were installed finally after I left (a friend told me).

Now that I am older and wiser, and have peripheral neuropathy, the exposures during those classes, always worry me now.

I did litho, and intalgio also.

I imagine that silkscreening today uses other types of ink and that would be far safer IMO.

Our old litho presses were manual and the stones quite large.
I did most of mine on plate for that reason. But I can remember many of us after an afternoon of pulling lithos, we'd stop at the bathroom before going home, and my car pool partner would get so upset when she couldn't raise her arms to comb her hair!
This didn't bother me so much...because I am quite muscular for a gal, but the others had a hard time with the physical aspects of litho. Also the rollers were huge and heavy.

The intaglio did not do that. I only did 2 collagraphs. I seem to recall using cheesecloth for the color wipes. I made the plates with acrylic polymer and various paper textures. They broke down after 5 prints, because of the sensitive nature of the textures.

I have the two specialities, and my other is medications. Over the years I've seen many commercial printers, with terrible hands, and defatted fingertips, due to the solvents. Your methods are much much safer.

But if you get any numbness or tingling in the feet, consider peripheral neuropathy.

I don't have many slides from those days, converted to PC format, but I do have this color intaglio ...a viscosity print. (done with multiple color using viscosity to separate on the plate so I can pass once thru the press):

I am/was an artist. Pen & ink, acrylic, watercolor... then moved to digital art. I have a wacom 12x12 drawing pad and a great program called Painter.

sadly, my hands shake so i have a hard time doing any fine, detailed work. the finer the work, the more it makes me hurt. Go figure. I could sit and draw for 8hrs straight. now about 20min is all i can do without having to stop for the day.

I used to work in the sign industry, applying vinyl graphics to fiberglas panels. Intaglio process also. My TOS never bothered me back then. I was in daily contact with bestine and other chemicals, polyurathane paints, fiberglas fumes, aluminum dust... none of which caused my TOS. Scary tho, neurologically speaking.

Here's a link to some of my work.