[J_Ann_515]

Hi I am new here.
In 2002 I was in a car accident. I have damage done to my brachial plexus and now showing signs of thoracic outlet syndrome. The numb fingers, pain in the shoulder, arm and underarm. I understand all of that is normal with it. But I also get chest pain at times. Recently the pain was so bad I went to the ER and they said it looked like I was having an embolism - I was in that much pain. They even gave me 4 baby asprin just to make sure.
They gave me a chest xray, took my blood and did an ekg but nothing showed as a heart issue - thank god. But I am still afraid that there could very well be something wrong with my heart. It skips beats at times and does beat quite rapidly on occasion.
I have no healthcare whatsoever, so I can't get help for this.
I am currently trying to make lifestyle changes to improve this and my life in general - quitting smoking, avoiding too much stress.

What I want to know is....how bad does your TOS get for you? And can TOS actually cause this much pain?
Since I have no health care at all I need all the advice I can get!

[Jomar]

During those times does your ribcage and chest feel very tight and restricted?

Do you feel like it could be from severe spasms in the neck, chest and upperback?

Many years ago there were quite a few posts about some that went to ER thinking a heart attack, and nothing heart related was found.

I had a bad bout for awhile years ago, where those muscles were in severe spasms. I felt like I had to cough, and could feel my heart beating/vibrating.
Luckily a few days into it I happened to meet a chiropractor that could tell I was in major spasms, I had no clue that was the problem at the time).

I made an appt with him and he used many PT type modalities to resolve the spasms as well as some adjusting. Ultrasound, E stim, low level laser, Nimmo/trigger point work, etc.

Also found out later on, that my top ribs had gotten pulled up and were stuck in the raised position and that was causing ongoing limits to my arm use due to the added compression between top rib & clavicle.
Got the ribs dropped down and it was so amazing the difference. This was discovered by an advance PT person in a 1 time evaluation visit.

They did slightly pop up at times later on but then I could tell what it was and mentioned it to chiro and he would check for it regularly after that.

If your muscles feel rock solid when compared to another person's same muscles, those are spasms.

[painisforthebirds]

I am new to this site as well, but not new to T.O.S.

For me, T.O.S. has been debilitating. It took about seven years and two related surgeries before I was correctly diagnosed w/ T.O.S. I then had my first rib removed because it been broken and healed incorrectly, laying on vein and nerve leading to my arm. Six months later, I had a 2nd-5th rib resection. Although these surgeries helped they did not heal me. I still deal with daily pain and have been unable to work for over ten years. If you have T.O.S., your pain is real. The problem is it is hard to get an accurate diagnosis. I would recommend getting in front of a thoracic surgeon. Your chest pain may be coming from coastal cartiledge fracture/s. I don't know if it is related or not, but I do experience a feeling of my heart hitting my resectioned ribs. Is this possible? Best of luck to you.

[J_Ann_515]

Originally Posted by Jo*mar

During those times does your ribcage and chest feel very tight and restricted?

Do you feel like it could be from severe spasms in the neck, chest and upperback?

Many years ago there were quite a few posts about some that went to ER thinking a heart attack, and nothing heart related was found.

I had a bad bout for awhile years ago, where those muscles were in severe spasms. I felt like I had to cough, and could feel my heart beating/vibrating.
Luckily a few days into it I happened to meet a chiropractor that could tell I was in major spasms, I had no clue that was the problem at the time).

I made an appt with him and he used many PT type modalities to resolve the spasms as well as some adjusting. Ultrasound, E stim, low level laser, Nimmo/trigger point work, etc.

Also found out later on, that my top ribs had gotten pulled up and were stuck in the raised position and that was causing ongoing limits to my arm use due to the added compression between top rib & clavicle.
Got the ribs dropped down and it was so amazing the difference. This was discovered by an advance PT person in a 1 time evaluation visit.

They did slightly pop up at times later on but then I could tell what it was and mentioned it to chiro and he would check for it regularly after that.

If your muscles feel rock solid when compared to another person's same muscles, those are spasms.

Yes at times I do feel very restricted in my chest area. I am just now getting over a bad cold and had massive coughing fits that caused some extra pain. It hurts to breath. My chest hurts and also my back near my shoulder blades. I feel it's more my back/brachial plexus damage. I have this stabbing pain under my arm (armpit area lol) and pain that's going down to my fingers. Not the worst pain I have been in but still hurts!
I was actually diagnosed with some type of spasms back when the car accident happened.....the only words I can remember are myospasms, radiculpathy, myalgia....and that's all I can remember for now. And not sure which parts of my spine they all relate to. I have my paperwork somewhere.
It's all awfulpain to deal with and it is quite scary!

[J_Ann_515]

Originally Posted by painisforthebirds

I am new to this site as well, but not new to T.O.S.

For me, T.O.S. has been debilitating. It took about seven years and two related surgeries before I was correctly diagnosed w/ T.O.S. I then had my first rib removed because it been broken and healed incorrectly, laying on vein and nerve leading to my arm. Six months later, I had a 2nd-5th rib resection. Although these surgeries helped they did not heal me. I still deal with daily pain and have been unable to work for over ten years. If you have T.O.S., your pain is real. The problem is it is hard to get an accurate diagnosis. I would recommend getting in front of a thoracic surgeon. Your chest pain may be coming from coastal cartiledge fracture/s. I don't know if it is related or not, but I do experience a feeling of my heart hitting my resectioned ribs. Is this possible? Best of luck to you.

It is nice to know I am not alone with the heart thing. Scary stuff huh?
Actually I did break my clavicle at age 3.

[stos2]

Hi Ann,

I had the pain underarm too and along arm and fingers and a lot of pain on the side of my ribcage about 3 months back.
Deep tissue massage on the affected side of the rib cage ( I think has to do something with the serratus anterior) and also some self massage with a soft foam roller as well as pinky ball self massage for the under arm and all along the entire arm taught to me by my physical therapist Dr Art Ando of Ando and Aston, Anaheim Hills CA has helped me tremendously and taken away the above mentioned pain.

[J_Ann_515]

Originally Posted by stos2

Hi Ann,

I had the pain underarm too and along arm and fingers and a lot of pain on the side of my ribcage about 3 months back.
Deep tissue massage on the affected side of the rib cage ( I think has to do something with the serratus anterior) and also some self massage with a soft foam roller as well as pinky ball self massage for the under arm and all along the entire arm taught to me by my physical therapist Dr Art Ando of Ando and Aston, Anaheim Hills CA has helped me tremendously and taken away the above mentioned pain.

Hello. I am glad you have found something to relieve your pain. It is quite an awful pain to have and very scary!