[Hiker]

Looked in the sticky thread, but could not find much.
I know there are many folks from CA here.
Could you please recommend a good PT or chiropractor with experience in treating TOS?

I am in south bay (San Jose).

[Jomar]

This guy has a lot of good reviews - but I don't know of him personally
http://www.yelp.com/biz/new-hope-chi...tic-san-jose-3

best chiropractors san jose search results-
https://www.google.com/search?q=San+...vid=2002484263


If some sound good you can call and ask some questions to narrow down the possibles..
When I was looking many DCs had a free evaluation for 1st appt, then you can use the time to get a feel for what they may know. I don't know if many do that now..

If you can find a DC that does PT type therapies also you'll probably save time & money..
My DC did ultrasound, low/soft/cold laser- (it was great)- not LED light), a type of trigger point/deep tissue release, upper cervical adjusting, top rib adjust, wrist , elbow, shoulder etc..

[Hiker]

Bump.

I bet there are folks in the Silicon Valley area who have recommendations.
I am trying to find someone with experience by trial and error, but noone has a clue how to treat me (though at first they say they do)
Yelp reviews aren't worth much.

So far I wasted 9 months doing thera-bands, posture and strengthening routines while getting progressively worse and to the point where I can't even do thera-bands anymore.

[Sea Pines 50]

If you use the forum search function or google "Peter Edgelow" a lot of stuff should come up. If you can't get in to see Peter (he may be [semi?] retired at this point), there are other PTs in the Bay Area - and maybe even San Jose - who use what is known as the "Edgelow Protocol" specifically to treat TOS. His office may be able to refer you in the right direction.

As far as your chiro goes, if you want to keep seeing this guy, tell him to go easy! There should be NO active stretching of the culprit muscles unless/until your TrPs are resolved and your pain levels waaaay down. Thera Bands are a definite no-no with TOS! Basically, no upper-body strengthening until your muscles are rebalanced and your pain is under control. From what you've posted, it sounds to me like your chiro is having you do stuff that is completely contraindicated in cases of TOS. Like many practitioners, he may think he knows the right modalities for you… but in actuality he does not. "Cookie-cutter," "no pain, no gain" forms of PT not only do not work with TOS, they can cost you more damage and set your recovery back considerably.

There is a company in the Bay area (I think) which sells the Edgelow Mini TOS Kit. Once you're set up with a TOS-savvy PT, these materials will help them to help you (and if your PT is willing to order them for you, I think you can get a decent discount under their license).

There is a phone number for Peter in the Drs and PTs sticky thread at the top of the forum, but I'm not sure if it's current. He has helped countless TOSers avoid surgery, as well as addressing recurrent symptoms post-surgery.

Wishing you the best of luck! Let us know how it's going for you. You're lucky to live where you do; I think you'll find there are several PTs near you who can help. If you like your chiro, maybe find out if he'd be willing to learn the Edgelow Protocol right along with you. Hopefully, he is open-minded enough to embrace your "special needs" (haha) without getting his ego out of whack…

Take Care,
Alison

Originally Posted by Hiker

Looked in the sticky thread, but could not find much.
I know there are many folks from CA here.
Could you please recommend a good PT or chiropractor with experience in treating TOS?

I am in south bay (San Jose).

[Hiker]

Peter Edgelow is retired now, however they still see TOS patient at the same location in Hayward (Hayward Physiotherapy Associates).
Did anyone have experience with them?
They are 1 hour drive from me and I wonder if it is worth going this far.

[Hiker]

Called the Hayward office. They said Steve is the therapist who deals with the TOS patients. Anyone seen him? Any experience (good or bad)?

[jkl626]

Originally Posted by Hiker

Called the Hayward office. They said Steve is the therapist who deals with the TOS patients. Anyone seen him? Any experience (good or bad)?

Hi, there were a couple of people here who saw him.you can try to search with his name or edgelow and see if you can find any of them. I think he is the only person besides from Edgelow himself who can teach you the techniques. prob worth a try if you live in the area.

[DufusMaximus]

Originally Posted by Hiker

Called the Hayward office. They said Steve is the therapist who deals with the TOS patients. Anyone seen him? Any experience (good or bad)?

I have been seeing him during the last year. He is a pretty decent guy. The main reason to see him would be that he is very familiar with the Edgelow protocol (which is what my doctor at Stanford recommended highly for TOS physical therapy). I don't know of anyone else as good as him for the Edgelow protocol.

For the Edgelow protocol, there isn't that many regular visits as your regular physical therapy (twice a week?) and not many manual massages or similar. The most I've seen him is once a week mainly to ensure I am doing the exercises right. I use his suggestions and the Edgelow protocol DVD to do my exercises.

I used to see a regular physical therapist for TOS and in my experience a lot of them treat it along the lines of neck disc issues. The Edgelow protocol has a slightly different approach. So your decision should be more about whether you want to follow this approach and if you do, Steve is your best bet.

[Hiker]

Thank you DufusMaximus.
I made an appointment with him. Yes, my main objective it to make sure I am doing the exercises correctly. I started doing them on my own a few weeks ago and seem to be making some small progress.
I did not get anywhere with the regular PT I tried on multiple occasions before (with rubber bands etc).

BTW how is Edgelow protocol working for you?

[DufusMaximus]

Originally Posted by Hiker

Thank you DufusMaximus.
....
BTW how is Edgelow protocol working for you?

It didn't help much most of earlier this year when I first started doing the breathing exercises earlier this year. But restarted this a few weeks back with a lot more focus (= very little focus on work) and I am seeing positive results. The breathing exercises need a lot of concentration to get right and many repetitions to change something so fundamental but I can see a significant lessening of pain from them. But so far it hasn't improved my hand strength or ability to type, drive etc.

Btw, I too live in the south bay and drive all the way up to Hayward