[brisco71]

I was diagnosed with TOS by a vascular surgeon at Johns Hopkins. His first step was to have me start Physical therapy and continue until I see him again. I've had two visits now, and the PT seems very good, very knowledgeable about TOS. The problem is that I feel pretty good right after the session, but within hours I feel like crap. I mean, I feel worse than my normal, which is pretty bad. I expected to feel sore afterwards, but, I feel just awful after each time. Can anyone tell me about their experience with PT to help keep me motivated to keep going back?! Thanks all.

P.s. My PT is very hands on and todays session involved him doing a first rib mobilization, and stretching of the scalene muscles. I felt fine while he was doing it, but later...yowza

[kellysf]

I had the same experience with PT and deep tissue massage. I couldn't handle even very, very mild massage. It was practically a laying on of the hands and still I would be in horrible pain with a migraine for days afterward.

You might want to see if you tolerate it better if the therapist dials it back a lot. People who've had luck with this usually come by it gradually, two steps forward one step back.

Good luck,
Kelly

[chroma]

Share this with your PT and see what they say. I've had to work with any provider I see until we figure out what I can tolerate and what I can't.

Lots of TOS people have this problem you're describing.

Also, I cannot stretch my scalenes. Feels okay at the time, but I flare up later. I'm hoping to learn to do my own soft tissue work on them. Actually I've already tried. Twice. Once went really well and another time went really bad.

Good luck.

[brisco71]

Originally Posted by kellysf

I had the same experience with PT and deep tissue massage. I couldn't handle even very, very mild massage. It was practically a laying on of the hands and still I would be in horrible pain with a migraine for days afterward.

You might want to see if you tolerate it better if the therapist dials it back a lot. People who've had luck with this usually come by it gradually, two steps forward one step back.

Good luck,
Kelly

Thanks Kelly. The PT mentioned that because I'm thin I may feel it more, but I think you are right, I may need to ask him to go easy on me for now.

[Nellyzen]

I had the same issue when they were working on my right hand ( the one I had surgery on). If the PT for TOS goes the same way I probably won't tolerate it. I would rather get dry needling and keep seeing my Chi healer.

[Jomar]

did they tell you to drink plenty of clear fluids afterwards? that helps to flush out all the toxins that might be getting released..

Plus there is the old delayed pain thing for us,, you might be able to do some things at the time, but it catches up to afterwards an hour to a day later..

[brisco71]

Originally Posted by Jo*mar

did they tell you to drink plenty of clear fluids afterwards? that helps to flush out all the toxins that might be getting released..

Plus there is the old delayed pain thing for us,, you might be able to do some things at the time, but it catches up to afterwards an hour to a day later..

Thanks all for the replies, nice to know I'm not alone in this

I was told nothing about toxins or even what to expect after. I feel like I have been ran over today, and I am not looking forward to going back. Thankfully the holidays are upon us and I'm not due to go back until after Christmas, so, maybe I will have a chance to "heal" up after that last therapy.

I've only been dealing with TOS for 6 months now, so, I'm new to all of this. Thanks again!!

[Jomar]

Most of the PTs I went to always did a quick evaluation at the next appt asking how I was feeling since the last session..

I really think this is very wise,I wish they all did this , but I guess they don't..

If you have a set back they should adjust and go easier so you can tolerate sessions , and only more forward when pain & symptoms reduce.


If they don't ask, you might need to bring it up and explain, see what they say, if they adjust the session then that is good, but if they ignore and do the same old thing,, find another PT place...

communication is key..
don't suffer thru poor PT!! that will not get you anywhere but worse off..

Baby steps...

[brisco71]

Originally Posted by Jo*mar

Most of the PTs I went to always did a quick evaluation at the next appt asking how I was feeling since the last session..

I really think this is very wise,I wish they all did this , but I guess they don't..

If you have a set back they should adjust and go easier so you can tolerate sessions , and only more forward when pain & symptoms reduce.


If they don't ask, you might need to bring it up and explain, see what they say, if they adjust the session then that is good, but if they ignore and do the same old thing,, find another PT place...

communication is key..
don't suffer thru poor PT!! that will not get you anywhere but worse off..

Baby steps...

I will do just that, thank you for your help.
I'm trying to figure out just what exactly a first rib mobilization does. Does it actually move the rib? Is it like a chiro adjustment? The therapist said he wanted to do a thoracic adjustment next time, now I'm a little leery about that.

[Jomar]

Don't be afraid to ask exactly what they will do , when they mention something new, so you know, that's how we all learn too.


this guy has quite a few videos that look pretty good & info filled, rib mob, trigger points , scalene etc..
http://www.youtube.com/user/tomock11/videos

my post explaining my experiences with top rib mob & chiro rib adjusting.
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...98#post1038298