Posture
 

My wife mentioned the other day how much better my posture is than it used to be. I guess my work is starting to be noticeable to other people. That's always nice. The thing is, I really haven't worked specifically on my posture that much. It's just that the joint mobility, and myofascial release, gradually loosen everything up so that it's easier to keep better posture.

Another thing is, from doing the mobility exercises, more and more dormant muscles are beginning to fire again. That's one of the big pluses of joint mobility vs. static stretching. It teaches the nervous system to fire those dormant muscles and your movements get much more fluid.

This post was on 6-21-2011, so about 21 months ago. I'm still tighter, and have more pain in the left shoulder and hip, but it's still improving. Progress comes slowly. This is definitely not a quick fix.

I've been using the Thera Cane on my hip flexors and that's helping a lot. I think some of of my lower back issues are partly due to tight hip flexors. The left side seems especially bound up.

Shoulder Rehab Exercises with Clubbells
 

I came across this video yesterday and did these exercises with a 1 pound club. They're using 5 and 10 pounders, that's too much for me right now. The exercises felt pretty good though. You really feel them in your upper back, back of neck, shoulders, and armpits. If I don't have any flare-ups, I'm going to try to work my way up to a 5 pound Clubbell soon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOZyxr9AkUw

3 Year Update
 

I've been doing mobility exercises for 3 years now, so here's an update.

I guess I should give a quick recap. I had TOS surgery on one side almost 22 years ago now.(Scalenectomy only) It made me worse so I never had the other side done. However, I worked that way for 11 or 12 years before I was ever diagnosed. My symptoms started when I was about 18 and I'll be 51 in a couple of weeks. My hand used to swell, and turn purple before the surgery, so I had a lot of vascular symptoms on that side. The nonsurgical arm never did that, but I did have pain in it. My pain levels have been much worse ever since the surgery. The swelling in my hand got a little better, but overall I felt much worse. It's kind of like my body got really tight after, and I was never able to get loosend up, no matter what I tried.

After three years of joint mobility exercises, and myofascial release for about the last five are six months, mainly with a Thera Cane, and my thumbs, here's where I'm at.

The surgical arm is the best it's ever been. It's not perfect, but it's still improving. A lot of the symptoms, like burning, redness, tingling, and pruney fingers, are mostly gone. Also, the pain in my shoulder is getting much better. Overall, I have much better use of that arm.

The nonsurgical arm is feeling much better as well. Most of the pain used to be on the inside of my arm and in my armpit, kind of where the bicep attaches. That arm probably feels the best it's felt in about 30 years.

My lower back and legs are starting to feel a lot better, also. Both from the mobility exercises, and tons of myofascial release in the last few months.

I still have much work to do, but I'm very encouraged with the progress I've made. I keep learning new things all the time and I'm looking forward to seeing how much progress I can make this year.

One thing I've learned is, the right kind of therapy after surgery is crucial. Without good therapy, you probably won't get better. Myofascial release, and joint mobility are very important. I think that probably, the longer you have symptoms before having surgery, the more therapy you will need afterwards. Tight fascia will not release itself. It must be done with massage and movement. That's probably one of the reasons younger people have better results from surgery. The fascia hasn't been affected as much.

Time lost during a flare
 

This last month I had a pretty bad flare. Full body. Arms, legs, back, everything. It took about 2 weeks to calm down and I couldn't exercise during that time because of such bad muscle spasms.

Once a flare like that calms down, I have to slowly, and gradually, ease back into the exercises. I can't just jump in where I left off, or I'll put myself into pain. It probably takes a week, to 10 days, after the flare has calmed down, to get back to where I was. So I figure when I get a flare like that, it sets my progress back close to a month. It can be pretty frustrating and kind of take the wind out of your sails.

Flare ups definitely suck for both the pain and the time they rob us of. What do you think flared you up this time?

I'm not sure this time. It just kind of snuck up on me. Most of the time I know, but sometimes it still takes me by surprise.

Same here.

Chinese Cups for Trigger Points
 

I've been playing around with these Chinese suction cups for about a month now, and they seem to work pretty well on trigger points.

Saturday afternoon, I had these knots in the back of my arm, and shoulder, that were driving me crazy. Kind of in the rotator cuff area. I used the Theracane on them and that helped a little bit. Then I got the idea to use a Chinese cup on them.

I had my wife put the cup on because I couldn't reach back there. I told her to just feel around for a tight spot and put the cup on it. She did, and after about 5 minutes the trigger point relaxed. It felt so much better, that I had her keep moving the cup around, until we covered seven or eight different spots. Anywhere there was a knot.

I'm not sure if these will work consistently for that, but so far I'm liking them a lot. All the muscles I've used them on seem be getting softer and more pliable.

Chinese cups daily
 

I've been using these Chinese cups pretty much daily now. I put them anywhere I can make them stick. Neck, shoulders, arms, legs, back, hips, armpits. Pretty much everywhere.

They seem to do several things. For one, they pull more blood through the muscle and help it relax and soften up. The other thing is, they pull on the muscles, rather than push, so it helps to decompress things and separate layers of muscle. I like to move around when the cup, or cups, are on there, that way it stretches the muscles even more.

Really, the only downside I see to these, is, all the purple marks they leave on your skin, but they fade after a few days, so I'm not too worried about it. I feel like they're helping me move better so it's worth it.

Mobility Cupping
 

I've been using these Chinese suction cups for couple of months now and I like them a lot. I've been putting them on an area and then moving around. I call it, "Mobility cupping". It's kind of like combining mobility exercises along with the cupping. It's working well for me.

I've been able to get more cups at a time to stay on there, so that tells me my muscles are getting softer and more pliable. Sometimes the cups fall off after a while but that's OK. So far, none have broken when they hit the floor. When my muscles are pulled into these cups, and I move around, it gives me a very intense stretch, and I think it helps to decompress things. I know my movement has improved a lot.

Cupping the Thoracic Outlet-Pretty Intense
 

I've been using these Chinese vacuum cups directly on the thoracic outlet area. The sides of my neck, and the upper chest and clavicle area. It's pretty intense. I can't say I enjoy it that much but it needs to be done. I've heard cupping called, "Myofascial decompression" so we'll see how much it helps.

So far, it hasn't made my symptoms any worse, and my movement is improving, so I think I'm on the right track. These areas get really purple after, so that tells me it's pulling a lot of stagnant blood out of there. I've had surgery on one side, so there's a lot of scar tissue there as well. It seems to be softening up some from using these cups.

39 months now and still working alone
 

I've been working on my mobility for 39 months now, so I'm 1/4 of the way into my fourth year of this. Still, no doctors, and no therapists, just me working alone, figuring things out as I go along.

The Internet has been a huge help to me, without that, I would never have gotten this far. I spend a lot of time studying human anatomy and movement. I'm physically not were I'd like to be but the progress is still coming. I'm excited to see how far I can take this. Even if I don't reach my goals, at least I'll know that I gave it my best shot.

Neck, Spine and Ribcage
 

My neck, spine, and ribcage seem to be the last areas to start loosening up. The Chinese vacuum cups are working really well on these areas. They help to pull the muscles away from the ribcage. They work really well on the neck as well.

I think the reason lying on foam rollers never worked well for me, is, they just put too much pressure on everything and caused flare-ups. These cups pull on small areas of muscle and fascia so they gradually loosen things up. I use them daily and keep rotating the areas I put them on. It's kind of like connect the dots.

Cupping Scar Tissue
 

I've been using these Chinese vacuum cups for a little more than three months now and they work really well on scars, and scar tissue. Even though my TOS surgery was 22 years ago, using the cups directly on my neck scar has really loosened things up. It feels the best it's ever felt. It still needs work but I'm getting looser all the time. I think on the neck, cupping works better than massage.

I also have a scar from having open heart surgery last year and I've been using the cups on that. It was very painful at first but it's getting better all the time. The scar has faded and loosened up a lot.

When I first started using these cups, I was afraid it might cause a TOS flare but so far it hasn't. In fact, I haven't had TOS flare since I've been using these. Hopefully I didn't jinx myself by saying that.

Joint mobility is good stuff and it works even better when you put some of these cups on and do it.

40 Months
 

I'm at the 40 month mark now and still making progress. Slow and steady wins the race when you're doing this.

Along with the cupping, I've gotten a little bit more aggressive with my myofascial release. I've been using a 2" hard plastic spikey ball on my upper body and a bamboo stick on my legs. I put one end of the stick against the wall and the other end against the tight muscle and lean into it. It penetrates deeper into the muscle than anything else I've tried.

I've gotten most of my ideas on myofascial release, including the cupping, from Naudi Aguilar at Functionalpatterns.com. He has a lot of good videos on myofascial release and he points out that you should keep working towards harder objects to get deeper into the muscle fibers. Foam rollers are too soft in his opinion. Some of this stuff hurts but it gets results.

I had pain in my entire body when I started this and I'm starting to feel much better head to toe. As my movement improves, my pain levels are getting much lower. It just takes time and patience.

Checking up on myself
 

This post was on 11-18-2012, so about nine months ago. I was just reading through some of my old posts to see when I started working on myofascial release. At that point, I had been doing joint mobility for 31 months.

I was thinking that if I'd started doing myofascial release earlier on, I might have made faster progress, but after reading this, I'm not sure. I think that it took the 31 months of joint mobility before my body was ready for it.

I've heard people say that myofascial release should come before mobility work, but I think in my case, that was just too aggressive. In the beginning, I got a lot of pain and inflammation after doing mobility exercises, but over time, that's gradually gotten a lot better. I think early on, myofascial release would have been too aggressive, and caused flare ups. I think my intuition was correct.

Wow! After 23 years, I can squat without pain
 

I had lower back surgery in 1990, and I haven't been able to squat since then, without flaring up the nerves in my lower back and legs. In fact, about two years ago I had to make a couple of trips to the emergency room, because I flared my lower back up so bad from trying that. It's in one of my old posts.

In the last week or two, I started squatting, and so far, no pain. I'm being very, very careful and gradually working at it. It's been 23 years since I've been able to squat, so I'm having a little bit of trouble fathoming this. It just seems surreal. I'm excited, but I'm still a little scared something's going to go wrong. It's taken 40 months of hard work to get to this point. Still a lot of work to do though. Hopefully, the progress will continue.

Coop: I enjoy checking in on your progress now and then. Slow and steady does seem to win the race. Even if it doesn't completely get you to the finish line, hopefully it will get you to a spot where you can live a full, satisfying life.

I may get a set of those cups. I've been cupped many times before and it was amazing to see the decrease of "darkness" in the skin the longer you cupped. I also would like to try the sliding over the skin method. I have an appointment with a new acupuncturist in a few weeks who does cupping, but not traditional Chinese. I'm hoping she can offer up some "at home" suggestions.

Thanks for the update. You are an inspiration! Keep up the good work.

It is interesting to see the color changes from the cupping. When I first start working on an area, the skin usually turns pretty dark purple, but as things get healthier, it just turns more of a nice pink color, and the marks fade away much faster. My thoracic outlet area, chest, neck, and the front side of my shoulders still get really purple when I cup them, but they're moving a little bit better all the time, so I keep at it.

Hi, I was wondering where u bought the Dvd from?
Thanks for info.

This is Scott Sonnon's website and I think Amazon carries it as well.

https://rmaxinternational.3dcartstor...Audio_c_6.html

Cupping the face and neck
 

I've been doing a lot of vacuum cupping on my face and neck and it really works well. I think it's better than massage. I've been using these for about four months now and my neck is moving better, and better, all the time.

I was making good progress doing my neck mobility exercises, but this has really helped speed things along. It hurts when you put the cups on your neck, but they've really helped soften up the muscles. I've been using them on my face and jaw line as well. When I put a cup on my face, and move my neck around, it's surprising how much i can feel it pulling. I guess all those outer layers of fascia are connected.

I really didn't know what to expect from cupping, but the longer I do it, the more it impresses me. Another impressive thing about it, is, so far, cupping has never caused a flare up. I've flared myself up many times doing massage that was too aggressive.

Interesting Note
 

An interesting thing is, yesterday I did some cupping on both sides of my face. This morning, the left side(nonsurgical) looks pretty normal. However, the right side(scalenectomy 22 years ago) is really purple. I guess there's a lot of old stagnant blood in there. It's purple up to just below my eye. I guess the lesson here is, after many years, TOS affects more of the body, than many people realize.

What is that?
 

People ask me about the cupping marks all the time. They're curious what it is. Most people haven't seen this before.

I think my wife was a little embarrassed about the marks on my face, but oh well. She says it looks like somebody beat me up. I'm not really worried about what people think. This is helping me move better so that's all that matters to me. If I look foolish for few days, so be it.

Kneeling Too
 

I started working on kneeling as well. That's another thing I haven't been able to do, in 23 years, without flaring up my lower back and legs. So far, so good, but I'm being extremely careful.

My knees are very tight in the morning and take some time to loosen up. I haven't been able to squat, or kneel, for 23 years, so it's going to take some time for my knees to loosen up. I've been cupping and massaging my legs daily. Working on the shins is extremely painful, but they're starting to loosen up. I'm not feeling any lower back pain, so hopefully that will last.

Squat walks
 

I've been squatting for about a month now and it's going well, so far. It's weird, after 23 years of not being able to do it.

What I've been doing the last week or two, is, when I go on my walks, every so often I squat. It's easier with my heels elevated, so when I come to a driveway, or a slope in the sidewalk, that's where I do it. My balance is starting to get better too. At first, if I wasn't holding on to something, I was really wobbly. I'm having to relearn this stuff, like a baby does.

My next goal, is to be able to squat flatfooted. That's something that I've never been able to do, that I can remember. Maybe when I was a toddler, or something. Even when I was young, and did squats with a barbell, I had to put a 2x4 under my heels for balance.

It's taken me 41 months to get to this point, but I'm starting to feel like all my work is starting to pay off. Another goal of mine is, to be able to touch my toes. I'm not there yet, but I'm slowly and patiently working at it.

Do you do the cupping yourself? I would think it would be hard to get to certain areas.

I would say, I probably do about 95% of the cupping myself. The vacuum pump for the cups comes with an extension hose so I can reach most areas, even on my back, myself. However, there are some areas on my upper back, that I can't reach, and I have my wife do those, when she's willing.

The only bad thing about using the extension hose is, you don't get as much suction, so sometimes the cups fall off. If I can reach an area, it works better without the hose.

Thanks for the info. I was wondering about how I would reach my back. How do you know where to put them? Do you put them where you have pain or where you think your muscle feel tight? Do you have days where you have no pain at all? Sorry lots of questions but any info is appreciated. I'm going to read some of your previous posts.

I put them pretty much anywhere that feels tight or painful. Neck, shoulders, thoracic outlet, chest, ribcage, arms, legs. They seem to work well anywhere I can make them stick. I really don't have any pain-free days, but it's better than it used to be, and my range of motion has improved a lot in the areas I've been using them on.

My own Youtube Channel
 

Hi everyone, I just started my own youtube channel. I've been keeping this thread going for several years now, and I figured it might be easier to start making some videos, than to try and explain some of the things I do. A picture is worth 1000 words. The link is below.

The squatting is going good
 

I've been working on my squatting daily and it's getting a little bit better all the time. I've been doing a lot of myofascial release for the legs to help things along. A full flat-footed squad is my next goal and I'm getting a little bit closer all the time. Plenty of new videos on my youtube channel, if anyone is interested. Better lower body mobility, seems to be helping out my thoracic outlet symptoms, as well. Everything is connected.

42 Months
 

I'm at the 42 month mark now, so 3 1/2 years. It doesn't seem like that long, though. It seems like I was just making a new years post a few weeks ago, but the year is almost gone.

Mobility exercises, self-myofascial release, and vacuum cupping, are the three things that have helped me the most. I consider movement the most important, and the myofascial release, and cupping, just help things along.

When I started this 3 1/2 years ago, I was close to bedridden a lot of the time. That's how much pain I was in. It's crazy that I've made this much progress after so many years. I still have a lot of work to do though. Keep fighting and learning everyone.

No Strengthening, just Better Movement
 

I've been working on improving my movement, and mobility, for 3 1/2 years now, and I'm still not doing any strengthening exercises. I don't do anything that is repetitive or compressive. I think that trying to strengthen things when you're in pain, is a big mistake that people make. I know I've made that mistake myself, in the past.

In my experience over the last 3 1/2 years, better movement, and less pain, seem to go hand in hand. As my mobility increases, my pain levels have decreased. I'm not pain-free yet, and may never be, but I'm feeling a little bit better all the time. It's a very slow, gradual process. I'm 51 years old, and have been in pain since I was 18, so reversing this takes years, not days or months. Also, when I first started this, my pain levels got a lot worse, before they started getting better. The first year, or so, was pretty rough.

Is this thread still about "Scott Sonnon's Intu-flow" program? The use of it seems to imply that you're on that program, but your most recent posts don't mention it. Is this how you're treating TOS?

Yep. I mention mobility exercises in my last two posts, that's what I'm talking about. Working towards a full flat-footed squat is also part of the Intu-Flow program. Total body mobility is the goal. Vacuum cupping and self-myofascial release just help things along.

Full Flat-foot Squat is my Next Goal
 

Now that I can finally squat without pain, after many years, a full flat-footed squat is my next goal. I've been working on it daily, and it's not an easy thing to achieve at my age.(51) I mentioned on my last post, that it's one of the exercises on the Intu-flow program. I've noticed that the more I squat, the better my entire body seems to feel. Deep squatting really stretches things out. Not just the lower body, but the entire spine, and thoracic outlet area, as well. It may turn out, that deep sqatting will be one of the top things I do for TOS. We'll see what happens.

43 month mark
 

I've been working on my mobility for 43 months now and still making progress. Slow and steady wins the race. I've been very consistent and work on it every single day. Joint mobility exercises, self-myofascial release, and vacuum cupping, have been what's helped me the most.

2 1/2 years
 

I just realized I started this thread 2 1/2 years ago. I guess I'm turning into a blabbermouth. LOL I'm still making slow progress though. Lasting improvements take forever.