okay, so long story short i have tos from an rsi injury/bad posture. ive had it since jan i think. one day in march i went from feeling okay to bedridden for like 2 days. i was in so much pain. up until a mos. ago i thought it was my elbows so i lifted weights, iced my arms. attempted nerve glides etc. for about a week in august i felt normal and i was SHOCKED. then i lifted weights (the one where you have your arm straight behind your head and bend and also those resistance band exercises)

needless to say it totally undid whatever progress i made. so i went to chiro, he told me my neck was "too straight" and said i have tos and i needed to do shoulder exercises (not arm) so i did those and i ahve to say i felt worse. it wasn't obvious while i was doing them but i can tell i have big knots in my shoulders/neck from it. one time he gave me ultrasound massage on my shoulders and that actually really helped until i lifted weights then i was in pain. i cannot do any nerve glides at all anymore. i can't straighten my arm out at my side, it pulls @ my elbow.

i was in a lot of pain so i thought i'd ditch chiro and go in for trigger point massage and class iv laser therapy. ive only had 2 txs. my fingers are still totally numb as we speak.

also i believe i have EDS (mildly but it doesn't help things) and i believe my shoulder blades wing out a little.

what would you guys suggest i do next to help manage the pain? i'm about to get a 20/hr a week job on comp and i am scared

oh and also this weekend i was on the computer intermittently and stretching a lot. maybe too much and i got stabbing pains in the muscle on the outside of my arm pit. hopefully the trigger point helped with that but i don't know what to do if i get one again.

Which type of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) do you think you have per your symptoms?

The link below has the different types.

[Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) is a heterogeneous group of heritable connective tissue disorders characterized by articular hypermobility, skin extensibility and tissue fragility. Individuals with EDS have a defect in their connective tissue. It is this tissue that provides support to many body parts such as the skin, muscles, ligaments and organs. The fragile skin and unstable joints found in EDS are due to faulty collagen. Collagen is a protein that acts like glue in the body adding strength and elasticity to connective tissue.]
http://www.ednf.org/index.php?option...temid=88888969


For the most part weights & exercise bands are not good for those with TOS , especially if you are above a 2 on the pain level scale.

If you do get your pain & sx reduced so that you feel really ready to start increasing activities - start up very slowly and in small steps to build back up.
And with awareness to any increase in pain or sx.

If sx or pain increases - back off until those go away, do passive posture work like laying on the floor in a corpse yoga style pose, focus on relaxation and deep diaphragm breathing, let the tension fade away.

only resume activities when sx & pain are reduced

If you over do any hand, arm, shoulder exercises with TOS you most likely will get trigger points and or spasms.

my chiro does ultrasound on my neck/shoulders/traps nearly every time, sometimes if needed he adds the IF stim at the same time.
If I have a specific joint problem or sore spot he will treat it with the LLLT {laser therapy}.
So nice to have a DC that does all those modalities in once visit - saves time and travel.

Sooo, I'd suggest seeking out an advanced PT or a expert DC that does all of the modalities mentioned - and doesn't suggest you start doing weights or bands until the time is right for you.

you might also ask them to check your top ribs, see the other thread for more about that.
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread136153.html

i would guess (this is a guess) that i'm hypermobile. when i get health ins. i'm going to get tested for it. i can do all of the finger tricks they talk about and my dad said when he was a kid he was so skinny he could make his shoudler blades touch also my chiro said it looks like i have a whiplash injury but i'm not sure how much i trust him since he suggested lifting weights. i NEVER had neck pain before like this. just a tired neck sometimes, not in pain

my shoulders creak whenever i rotate them too. i'm not sure if that's normal with tos?

thanks for the help. i will have topnotch health ins. if i get this job so im sure the physical therapy will be advanced. i need to look up some yoga moves. lying on my back though helps a lot.

another question, if i feel semi-normal after getting ultrasound massage.. is it just tricking my body into feeling good? or is the problem tos due to inflammation in the shoulders?

I'm not really sure about why or how it helps..
I know US involves "sonic" vibrations of a sort so maybe it is just the internal warming and getting the cells moving & detoxing???

Had time this am to do a quick search about it.

[Physical Therapy Ultrasound
# Physical therapy ultrasound is recommended for both muscle and joint pain. It works via a variable intensity of sound waves "shot" at the body. The energy from these sound waves can penetrate as far as five centimeters, though the intensity of the waves (and thus effectiveness) decreases the further it penetrates. One chief benefit is that these waves cause microscopic air bubbles that seem to stimulate the parts of the cell membranes important in healing inflammation, thus helping alleviate both sore muscles and joint pain.]
http://www.ehow.com/how-does_5645109...und-work_.html


[Ultrasound — ultrasound uses high-frequency sound waves to reach sore muscles and other tissues that are over two inches below the surface of your skin. As the sound waves pass through your body they vibrate molecules, causing friction and warmth. This heating effect helps flush the sore area and brings in a new supply of blood that is rich in nutrients and oxygen.]
http://www.allaboutbackandneckpain.c...al-therapy.asp


When I was having spasms and the acute pain & symptoms My neck was very creaky and shoulders somewhat at times.
We call the creaky neck sound - the "rice crispies" sound... it that sound what yours is like?

Do you have times where you can hear a pulse sound inside your head? or a whooshing sound - that could be a bruit - usually the scalenes are tight & pressing or spasmed on the artery and so the pulse sound is vibrated thru so that's why/how you hear it.
Mine was so loud it would keep me awake at times.

the thing about any exercise is go into it gradually to see how you react. it may not hurt when you do it but later. listen to what your body says about any exercise before doing too many reps.

Hi Penny, I think we do trick our bodies temporarily with massage and most certainly with pain medicine.... I often thought I was "all better" after treatment and tried to do PT and what would happen is I was so goal oriented that I went full tilt on all my exercises during the good times that I exacerbated my tendon and nerve problems further.
One step forward, 5 steps back.

I have been doing acupuncture now at a community clinic (which is more economic than individual session work) and I have seriously improved. My inflammation is down to almost 0% and I have been able to do arm excercises now without consequence

Here is my bigger post taling about my experience with acupuncture:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...d.php?t=119303

Hang in there Penny!

Also >
Nerve Glides were absolutely hell for me. I always flared up from them!

I had problems from Bilateral Cervical Ribs that got so bad I had them removed; some excercises can be bad for TOS; you need to only do the ones that open the TOS area. Some Physical Therapist know or search online Good luck! Richard