chroma,
I am new to the group and have been reading your tips on ways you manage your TOS. I actually ordered the Egoscue DVD, but putting pressure or weights on my arms seems to cause flareups (afterwards) I am trying to find ways to cope so I can avoid any surgery. I do think mine is more posture related - since my shoulders are rounded and being pulled forward. My posture was perfect in pics just 2 years ago - so I am just dazed and confused over this peculiar syndrome! Thanks for the helpful suggestions.

Chroma: is egoscue good for tos or just lower back? There is an egoscue center near me.

I have tried it and i find it to be mainly core focused (alot of mat work). It seems like it would be benefical if you don't have arm/shoulder problems. It was too much pressure on my arms. If you can do downward dog/cobra yoga poses, planks etc then it would be beneficial. Unfortunately, i felt like i couldn't go alot of the exercises because of the weight to the arms.

I started with Egoscue "Pain Free at the PC" and found it useful. I don't recall any downward facing dog or planks in that one. And you can always skip things that don't work for you.

I still do the "air bench" aka "wall sits".

Another one was laying on your back with your legs propped on a block and your arms out. That was good for getting my head back over my shoulders and stretching my chest which was so tight that just laying like that, I could feel a pull in it.

Another good one was the one where you bring your elbows together in front of your face. I couldn't touch them at first and over time I my upper back opened up.

So I still have a positive perspective of it. If you have a clinic nearby, it could be very informative to have a postural specialist analyze you and prescribe exercises. If you have limitations, just share them and ask if there are modifications or alternatives.

Since we're on this subject, I have to give another call out to the book "3 Minutes..." by Weisberg and the video "Aligned and Well: From the Shoulders Up" by Katie Bowman. I reviewed the latter on Amazon as it did not have enough reviews. I use a different handle, but you'll have no trouble guessing which one is mine.

Good luck, everybody.

Ok, i check and i have the Pain Free Workout Series Part 1 for beginners. This one I found does have mat positions putting pressure on the arms and shoulders. Of course i could have skipped them, but silly me decided to punish myself thinking I could do them! I used to do all types of workouts....sigh. I have gotten the Aligned and Well, Shouders Up (based your recommendation) but have not used it yet. Thanks for all of your recommendations. I'm determined to find something that works! I live no where near civilization, but you mentioned a clinic. What would I look for - i can always make the trip to DC if i can find something that might work.

@Woodstock3, what you're essentially looking for is a PT who will eval your TOS and your posture and get you on the right track probably through a combination of manual therapy and prescribed stretches/exercises.

Since you are removed from civ., don't be shy about calling places and asking to talk to the PTs directly. Write down your questions ahead of time.

One thing I experienced earlier on was that whether it was a PT or a chiro that was checking me out, I learned some things about what was wrong with my posture and biomechanics. It's useful to have those expert set of 3rd party eyes have a look-see.

If you want some things right now that are unlikely to flare you up, here are some ideas off the top of my head:

-- corpse pose and variations such as bending the legs or putting the arms in different positions. youtube for details.

-- brugger relief pose/exercise/movement. youtube again.

-- the aligned and well, shoulders up which you already have can be watched in one evening

-- if you think you have muscle tension problems and/or you have TMJD, neck tightness or tension headache, I now highly recommend "The Quieting Reflex" by Charles Stroebel. while waiting for the book, you can google for it and find instructions and start immediately

And maybe you're already doing some or all of these, but I can't tell from here, so thought I would throw them out there.

Good luck.

You hear people say "No pain, no gain" doesn't apply to TOS. Well, yes and no, in my experience.

I agree that you don't want to push too hard and make your muscles go into spasms. If that happens and you go into a flare, you can't really exercise until it calms down.

Inflammation, however, is another matter. I've been doing these mobility exercises for almost 2 1/2 years now and I still get some inflammation in my shoulders and arms at times. It's not nearly as bad as it was in the beginning, but I still get it. It just means I've stretched some tissues and nerves that aren't used to it. Usually when I do something new. It's actually a good thing. It's necessary for healing, I've learned.

I used to think if I did something like this that caused pain, or exacerbated my symptoms, I shouldn't do it, but when I could hardly move anymore, I realized that my thinking was wrong. If I had to work, I don't think I would've been able to keep this up because in the beginning the pain was pretty bad. There's kind of an art to this. It takes a lot of experimenting. Most of what I've been doing really isn't in a book, or on a DVD, it's just me moving around looking like a dork.

how do you tell the difference between a flare and inflammation? Also between nerve pain and muscle pain ? I tend to stop doing the strengthening when I am in pain,therefore not as much as I should be. maybe I should just power through it.

It's kind of hard to tell the difference between inflammation and a flare because they feel a lot alike. I think the biggest thing is inflammation calms down faster, usually in a day or two. A flare may take a week or two to calm down for me.

Nerve pain for me, is usually more of a burning feeling and a lot of times I get some tingling in my hands. If I have inflammation, or nerve pain or tingling, I usually let it calm down before I exercise again. So when I feel good, I do more, and when there's pain, I don't push things too much. I keep my movements a lot more gentle.

What's the point? That was my attitude last week when I woke up at 5:00 AM Friday morning with pain in my neck and shoulders and couldn't sleep. Why even bother? I've been dealing with this crap for more than 30 years. I'm just kidding myself to think I can ever get better. And that may be true. Why do I keep trying?

I think the reason is, because I have made a lot of progress, and I am feeling better than I have in many years. But, it is very discouraging when you think that maybe you can do something, after all this work, and you can't, without a flare up. It's very tempting to throw in the towel, and just say, "I quit". When I started this, I made a vow that would keep going, no matter what. I'm sticking to that, no matter how hard it may be at times.

2 1/2 years seems like a long time, but I guess since I've been dealing with this for more than 30 years, that's not even 10%, so maybe that's not so bad. I have to get my head back in the game and just keep pressing forward.