Yeah. I know most people wash the mag oil after 30 mnutes

I sit exactly like that too :(

Chroma, Let me know what you think. I wore it yesterday for like 5 hours and 4 hours today. It does give me some relief.

You have to stop. Today. And forever.

I know I've got kyphotic hump in my back. I can't believe this doc said it was only slight to me its ghastly.

Is the correct way to sit is by pushing your stomach out? I kind of feel like I'm pregnant when I do it...lol

I haven't been on these forums in a long time. Any breakthroughs in TOS diagnosis or treatment while I was gone? :D

Any updates on your treatment?

When I moved out of LA, I dropped both PT and chiro to see how long I could go. I also dropped the diazepam at one point. By 3 months I was in really bad shape with TOS symptoms, dizziness and even vertigo. One day it got bad enough that I could not walk and wasn't sure if I'd pass out. I went to the ER and got checked out, but all tests were negative and I was discharged with some anti-dizziness and anti-nausea meds (vertigo => hurl).

I re-entered PT with Art Ando which improved me substantially in pretty much the same way I had improved with Joyce Wilkinson: manual therapy to relieve muscle spasms, mobilize joints and align the body. Dizziness came way down. TOS symptoms improved over all, but as you know, they can vary day to day.

But I kept reverting. I mentioned this to Ando and he said that was called "recidivism" in PT--when a patient is treatable, but the problem returns. He said, "At least your not recalcitrant." That's when you're untreatable.

Btw I'm a combo case of TOS+TMJD.

I thought more about this and concluded the most fundamental problem was chronic muscle tension. I clench my neck, jaw and intercostals in response to even small stressors. I did some more research on Amazon looking at various books, paying special attention to the people's specific experiences as relayed through their reviews. Consequently, I came across this gem:

The Quieting Reflex by Charles Stroebel
http://www.amazon.com/QR-Quieting-Re...dp/0425058670/

I'm only 3 weeks into this, but it has substantially reduced muscle tension and TMJD symptoms. Even my TOS has improved. This has been a breakthrough/milestone for me.

I also like "The Intelligent Body: TMJ Program by Frank Wildman" which is a Feldenkrais audio.

Getting back to Ando, he is 120 miles round trip for me, so I'm not currently going. I may look for manual therapy down here in Temecula or Murrieta. So my current regime is all home care:

-- stretches, PT and yoga
-- exercises, PT and regular
-- somatics
-- quieting reflex (QR)
-- some diazepam, but less than half what I used before QR
-- some feldenkrais audio

Life is not perfect, but life is much better.

And I should have included:

-- self first rib adjustment

So yeah, getting back to that "life is not perfect" part...

I started working out again doing normal work out stuff in addition to PT exercises and therpeutic stretches. You know, push-ups and stuff. You know where this is going...

I then had a vascular compression flare up.

-- strong pulse sensation at the base of the front neck, stronger on the left side
-- undue fatigue
-- heart gulps
-- loss of blood pressure in arms

Scary stuff. I went through this in January 2012 as well for the same reasons. The solution was to simply stop those exercises and rest a lot.

So basically, I cannot build any musculature in the chest or shoulders without flaring up. I thought maybe with recent progress I could get away with it, but I was wrong.

I guess I'm going to have really strong legs then. :D

Yep, I get the same vascular compression symptoms when doing minor housework with my arms.

My legs seem to be very strong. My Feldenkreis PT told me that the glutes and thigh muscles are the largest on the human body and
l o v e to do the heavy work our other muscles complain about.

Yeay legs! :p

uuug

i just typed this long response and losti t

long story short i cant even do pushups against a sink. it fires off my pecs

Are you using Karate Belt, Yamuna Balls, and/or melt roller?

The karate belt thing aggravated by TMJD and dizziness. Though since I've been doing QRs, my neck and jaw tension are coming down, so I might try again in a couple weeks.

Prior to ever seeing Ando, I came up with my own technique where I reach across with my other arm and use the pad of my thumb to shove the rib down. Like the Ando technique, I tilt the head to that side to put slack in the scalenes. Then I keep pressure on the rib as I bring the head upright.

Often when I feel a strong pulse sensation in the base of my neck, I can do this and get a reduction.

Crazy first rib!

I used to also use the other hand to pull the head down quickly. However, I now have a muscle spasm on the other side of the neck which I think was created as a guarding reaction to this. So I have dropped that part of the procedure.

Re: Yamuna balls, it wasn't clear to me that they were helping though they didn't seem to hurt.

Re: melt roller, it has come in handy when my ribs pop out. On the other hand it's a little tall for me to lay over and the pressure can be hard to bear. Of course, I could consider cutting a lengthwise piece off or putting something on either side of it.

Ando's manual therapy was excellent and very helpful. But until I discovered QRs, the results didn't last long enough. No discredit to him. I had the same problem with other providers. I have been clenching my muscles unconsciously and frequently in response to the smallest stressors.

My muscle tension is coming down each week. Maybe in 4 - 6 weeks when it has come down even more, I'll get more manual therapy sessions based on the presumption that the results will stick.

Ug, I played Borderlands 2 on the PS3 for 4 hours last night and now my forearms feel empty, my veins are completely flat and my hands ache. :mad:

Earlier this week, I was driving a rental car and I couldn't use my trick of extending the seat belt cross strap off my body by hooking the belt on the emergency brake, because it wasn't in the middle of the car. So I wore my belt normally. And it caused aching in the left chest.

Sometimes I feel normal enough that I forget about TOS and then stuff like this reminds me that it's still there.

On a positive note, I recalled Broken Wing's tip to keep the "arms, shoulders, scalenes and scapulas fleece warm". I put on a long sleeve shirt even though I wasn't otherwise cold and it's helping.