Hi!
Im a multi month browser and want to start sharing some of my TOS journey with you all.

Anyways, for now I will present with a question / tip for anyone suffering with aTOS symptoms (which I think I might have).

My symptoms started 4 months ago early Dec 2012. Along with my nTOS, I would also get dizzy when looking up or turning my head. Also, lifting my arm caused heaviness. Bad, right? Circulatory compression or something, I know.... A simple swallowing stretch completely eliminated all the dizziness and arm raising symptoms...INSTANTLY.

I tilted my head as far back as it would go...im talking about as far as possible. When i tried to swallow from this position, id have massive trouble doing so (with the aTOS symptoms).
After much effort in this head titled position i finally managed to push a swllow through....the key is that the head tries to jerk forward to complete the swallow but you can't let it.

BAM..the swallow went through...i felt some...stuff...(?)... shift down and suddenly I was able to swallow through from this max head tilt position with ease for the rest of the day or two. Over the course of a day or two, it would slowly get harder to swallow in this position and my symptoms would come back. Every day or two, Ive been doing this swallowing position to keep the...whatever it is...openned or shifted in the certain way. In doing this, the diziness has been lifted.

I forgot to do this stretch for the past about 3 weeks and i started getting some other poopy aTOS symptoms such as heaviness and numby pain in the hand (even when not raised!!) and coldness in the arm....but I didnt do the stretch bc oddly enough ive had no dizziness and that's always been my memory trigger.

Did the swallow stretch yesterday...boom - instant hand heaviness eliminated..fingers have their motion back...hand isn't always cold anymore...normalcy

1)This was a tip for anyone with these symptoms...hope it helps

2)Why is this working for me? Might it actually be another issue?


BTW....my nTOS has been in heavy heavy remission since around the end of Feb..pure PT...Ando got the ball rolling and then Li-Der Chan (Physical Therapist in Dr. Thompsons office) seems to be finishing the progress.....fingers crossed.


I'll be posting more frequently as time goes on...i want to help anyone with this and it's a good vent method as well for if/when this horrible condition resurfaces within me.....

Hi- thats great your ntos is in remission. I'm in L.A. I was thinking of trying Li-der Chan after 9 months with Ando.Hes too far for me to keep going and it was starting to flare me up. How do you like him and what does he do that is different from Ando? Who is Dr. Thompson?-must be a diff dr than Dr. Thompson in st. Louis. Dr. Jordan referred me to him.

Oh jeez that's embarrassing....i meant to say dr. jordan and not thompson in my first post...sheldon jordan. Im getting TOS doctors mixed up

Li-Der is very different from Ando. I went to Ando for about a month. It was pretty hands on first rib manip type stuff... Lots of home exercises. He was good and he helped me with a lot of my arm related symptoms but his hours due to him teaching are erratic so scheduling with him can be tricky.


Li-Der is available more often...is also closer to me (im in LA).

He is hands on too with rib manips but also uses a combination of ultrasound / some sort of electrode machine / very minor chiro work / minor tension machine tension stuff as well..all in a single session!
Plus the hands on stuff is always only him.

Honestly I'd recommend both but they are two entirely different approaches and Id definitely TRY BOTH OF THEM rather than only one because of their different styles.

Again, i made an error in my first post - it was Sheldon Jordan that is the Dr. in the building with Li-Der...and like Ando, Li-Der sees a ton of TOS patients besides me.

@Jaden how did you think of doing this move? It's fairly specific with the full head tilt and then holding it in place against the tendency to come back due to the swallow. Did you get it from the PT? Or based on anatomy? Or exploring? ...?

Anyway I'll have to try it the next time my arm gets funny. My bad positions are arm overhead and arm down at the side (overhead is worse--total circulation cut off). My best position is arm supported by an arm rest, or even better, a pillow on an arm rest to bring it higher.

I love warm weather because I can roll down the window and rest my arm on it with no effort. I get great circulation in that position.

Just wanted to say that I use a pillow under my arm while driving. It helps a lot.

Thanks,you've given me the impetus to try him- Once I found Dr. Ando I just kept driving down there(50 miles each way) I am in. W. L.A.so its close. I'm also going back to see Dr. Jordan again after 9 months of trying pt. and trp injections. I'm still not better enough to get back to work.

Did you guys have a surgery with Sheldon Jordan? How'd it go? No insurance right?

Ah! When the neur symtpoms first onsetted, I read the appropriate neck stretches to open s[ace and realized I had a hard time swallowing during certain ones :0

I had swallowing issues during severe spasms and after , when my top ribs were stuck in a raised position. Advanced PT dropped them the first time and then chiro dropped /adjusted as needed. After some time passed (couple of months more or less) they have stayed down for years now.

I can tell if they are trying to raise up , so can monitor that to avoid.

No way could I do that-prop my TOS arms up! My arms are down by my sides all the time, when I prop I hurt. Anytime mu arm is at any sort of angle from my body they start throbbing...no propping for me!!