find a good physical therapist. youre going to have to go through a ton. or maybe a chiropractor. someone who does soft tissue, manual therapy. not a bone cracker.

I found this link http://home.comcast.net/~wnor/lesson...ostforearm.htm

the 3 yellow nerves at the top in the diagram are where my arm can be pricked quite deeply but I have noticed that this continues up the whole of my arm - how come I havent noticed it if it was numb (but saying that I have a numb ball of my foot too and dont notice it until I press it to see if it is still numb!!)

I may as well just go to gym to strengthen up

Sorry to hear of your situation. Sounds like you should look around for a new doctor. I also agree with mspenny, find yourself a good manual therapist (either a physical therapist or a massage therapist). I had literally an hour of massage and light stretching with my PT today, we skipped all exercises since I can do them at home. Also, do you have the book that a lot of folks on here recommend: The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook by Clair Davies (with Amber Davies)? I highly recommend it for self massage as well as just learning about anatomy and referred pain.

yup that book is great for spasms!

if you go to a physical therapist (i wouldnt expect a massage therapist to know about this) let them tell you exactly how they would like to treat you, without giving hints or suggestions etc. if they dont touch your neck and mention first rib mobilization srsly just save your money and go somewhere else. if they mention starting on strengthening right away, RED ALERT GO SO PLACE ELSE.

it sounds hasty but most pts just dont get it.

also with doctors youre going to have problems getting a set in stone diagnosis. and the truth is, sadly, what good does it do anyways. the doctors can only recommend drugs or surgery. drugs (imho) only mask what's really going on. altho having a nice rx of muscle relaxers never hurt anyone, and surgery... it totally depends on your anatomy but my guess is since you have ehlers danlos your body will not take kindly to surgery. plus, in my case at least, surgery would be a very stupid idea. my scalenes and pecs are tight only bc the rest of my body is unstable. if you cut out those, i have no stability anywhere.

I don't think one test (ie. MRA) can rule TOS in or out. It's a compilation of things and even then, do they really know what TOS is?

Many non-symptomatic people have compression of their arteries and veins in arms-up postures. What is normal compression in all of us? As far as I know, this has yet to be determined.

Unless there is something catastrophic going on, I'd never base surgery off of a fancy 3D MRA/MRN. I've known a few "deemed" slam-dunk surgical cases with this test and their result turned out on the negative side.

Loulou: You need to move on and find a new Doctor. "Maybe come back when your hand gets weak." Loser! Good luck to you and don't let them have you strengthen or your problems will only grow worse. Hand that theraband right back and walk out the door.

If the cause for the numbness isn't from the c spine ( that should have showed on the imaging) then most likely it could be caused by trigger points and/or sticky tissues.

Nerve glides might be something to try - gently of course
there a description & link in our useful sticky thread maybe around post #24??

self trigger point work w/ a tennis ball or any small ball - against a wall or on the floor to locate the hyper irritable spots & provide the pressure to release it.

Is the numbness of the arm and foot both sides, or only 1 side and if so on the same side?

If you have EDS - I don't know if strengthening is the best thing for you and if TOS also another reason to avoid any therapist that wants to strengthen right away.

Pain & symptoms really need to be resolved first before starting any strengthening program.

So many in the past have had PT automatically start them on the hand bikes & resistance bands or weights and made them so much worse...

What works for normal injured people does not work for us w/TOS and if you add in EDS or fibromyalgia or such, they need to slow down and resolve as much of the pain and symptoms as they can first.

PTs need to personalize our sessions and re adjust as needed and how we feel each time we come back for the next session.

Delayed pain - this is another big thing for us - we might do ok during the session but soon after or maybe even a day later we will flare up with increased pain/sx..

So it's really good to make notes for yourself or a little journal of pain/sx - and list what is good and what makes things worse.

I am in the UK and you cannot pick your specialists here! But then the treatment is free but if you get no answers the you do not get the right treatment.

Yup the doc was a loser!! By the way, what is a theraband?

Jo Mar the numbness is only on the left side of my foot and arm.
I can understand the tingling, but I do not understand how I can dig needles in myself without feeling a thing. It also seems to be in patches along and down my arm and this makes no sense to me as if it is the nerve, then surly it would be all the arm?? I also get a pulsating buzz on the top of my left ankle mainly at night time.

Sticky tissues...? What aer these Jo MAr?

Fully agree with delayed pain - I have been having physio for EDS but put it on hold to get results of this. But the doc did say that I need to strengthen my shoulders. Waste of space.

[Secondly, fascia becomes sticky when it is subjected to stress and strain. This can cause the fascial sheath surrounding nerves to stick to nearby structures such as muscle tissue, bone, joints and skin. This means that the nerves become adhered in place and every time the body is moved, the nerve gets tugged as it tries to move through its normal pathway. This in turn leads to irritation of the nerve and over time, injury combined with nerve-related sensations results.]
full article here -
http://www.selfcare4rsi.com/fascia-and-nerves.html

explore her whole website for lots of into & you might find her book in your local libraries...It has more details & explanations & her stretches for all RSI's.


therabands are stretchy rubber lengths that many PT places use for exercise/therapy instead of weights.

My left side is worse too! But I think its BC its my stronger side...too strong.

You might want to join an eds forum too. Ill post the one I visit when I get home.

http://www.inspire.com/groups/ehlers...al-foundation/