Finally got plexus/nerve root disorder approved(Tos) after seeing work doctor. He actually yanked my arm straight up after I said I couldn't raise it. I yelled in pain and it hurt for days. At least he agreed with my doctor but hurt me in the process. From three cts surgeries and also having ulnar, median and radial nerve problems in right arm, I have very little strenght. Its very hard not to use when your right handed.
I had a 51 m/s on plexus emg. Is that really bad?

sorry, i'm not a W/C case, but others here are... what state are you in? there is a W/C forum here on neurotalk which you might find helpful.

i CAN tell you that what that doctor did to you is just plain WRONG. i am not an attorney but it sure sounds actionable to me. he had absolutely no right to do that to your arm, and i am sorry that happened to you. i can only imagine the immediate, sheer agony that must have caused you, not to mention the aftermath. what a d-ickhead!

shameless! if i were you, i would seek out the advice of a top W/C attorney, one that is not only well-versed in medical malpractice (for that is what you are describing, if i ever did hear of any examples my friend... that is one! ) but also who knows something about and has handled and prevailed in work-related TOS cases.

i think you said you were near PA, is that right? if so, that is very good news, for reasons which will become clear to you soon enough. but the lawyer should be admitted to the bar in the state in which you filed your W/C case. was that NJ or PA?

also, didn't mean to ignore you on your question re the EMG measurements. i simply don't know the answer. i don't recall that coming up in connection with any EMG or NCV study i've ever had done. here's a good link for you though (and maybe a good doc, if you can get him OK'd - go see dr. fried he's very highly spoken of by other forum members and could go over those EMG results with you, explain them to you better than any of us could, that is for sure!): http://nervepain.com.

i'm glad the pain and other sx did calm down after the doctor pulled your arm straight up like that. did he think you were faking it or something? whatever happened to "first do no harm?"

i'm sorry but i find that behavior unconscionable. was there a nurse in the room? any witnesses? this man could have worsened your original injury, my friend. worse, he is in a position to know that.

get an attorney. there are ways to find out who the best guys are if you are interested. i think your rights and your person have been violated here, or i wouldn't say anything. now that i'm thinking about it, it might even be a separate claim; i don't know. also, FYI, under this type of legal arrangement the attorney usually works for a fee that is paid out of the final award or settlement of your case, so the upfront costs are zero or close to it...

i don't mean to upset you. we are here to help.

alison

Thanks Alison,
You are very nice and helpful.
I do have Dr. Fried!!! He is great! He diagnosed tos after first doctor did three cts surgeries. I kept telling first doctor something was wrong after surgeries and he kept doing partial emgs. Acting like he didn't believe me. He always found out I was telling the truth but he never investigated further. Just wanted to operate, finally I was able to switch to Dr. Fried.
I do have attorney and wrote letter stating about what that doctor did. My wife was with me. I don't know if it can be pursued further but I gave letter to Dr. Fried and lawyer about what he did.
Arm sore today because I wrote a little.

Bill

emg numbers...i am not sure if this is the same number, it is called: "stimulation of the cervical root at C7 across the thoracic outlet" adn listed under Ulnar nerve measurements
51M/sec on the left and
46M/sec on the right

I have no idea what "normal" is, but I do have TOS pretty bad, just had surgery on the left and waiting just till i am recovered enough to do it on the right.

Hello
I'm new here, having just been diagnosed with TOS. although I've been telling everyone for 3 years! I feel your pain tho. I found if I keep moving (slowly and methodically) everyday it's not as bad. If I overwork it AAHHH the muscle pain is a killer! (I no longer have all the feeling in my left arm from the nerve damage ) But it never locked up on me. That sounds like scar tissue or the lack of fibrins left in the muscle (the stuff which gives the muscle elasticity).
Where in NJ are you? I also live in NJ. South of Trenton in Burlington Co.
It's nice to know someone else in NJ who knows what I'm dealing with. The family just doesn't understand the daily struggle working and running a horse farm has on my arm.
Who is your doctor? I found mine thru a friend who works at Deborah heart and lung. He was actually recommended by the chief of cardiothoracic surgery.
I have one more test before we talk about surgery and frankly I'm alittle scare with some of the results I've been reading about. Although I wonder if all these doctors were general/vascular/thoracic or cardiothoracic dr's. (I work for gen.vas/thoracic drs AND WE DON'T DO THESE SURGERIES due to the high risk!! We leave them up to the cardio guys. I'm very confident in this guys work but the rehab has me gringing. I almost don't want to have it done.
Are you looking into surgery or are you going to do PT?
Either way good luck.
horsemommy

Is the worstest besides posture...
small motor skills are killed by neurovascular TOS

Who is your doctor? Dr. Fried-he is great

No plans for surgery at this time. Do take pain meds at time. Just Daviset.

I love writing but its killing me.

Ime put in plexus disorder/nerve root nes and wc added it to cts/palmer fascilia claim

At least he didnt disregard plexus-i guess that means tos. the ime did hurt me though.

IME I saw was from the OC, Cali.
U have nothing to worry about back there.
He'll be getting a wake up call here shortly to get him OFF the State referral board of IME's for Neurovascular conditions.

Happy to hear u have a gr8 doc on the east coast.

Writing, working on W/C and disability legal work, sitting and at the compooper is the worstest besides everyday functions of life.

AFter 7 years of TOS, I finally found the bestest doc of PT. Keeps my range f motion at bay , the swelling down and muscle spasms at bay. Thats until I start using my arms or hands. Pace, steady and calmly as she goes.......

I will chime in...probably the minority viewpoint...so take it for whatever it is worth....

I have bilateral TOS..more left than right. Left is the painful side. Nerves, arteries and veins are compressed. Verified by Dr. James Collins, at UCLA.

I have worked with PT and exercise and found help. It is a SLOW process but I am making gains. Less flare ups and less intensity when I do flare up.

In the beginning I had one pain that I sort of played with (this before my dx). I called it "gunk" because it felt like gunk in my left shoulder. It limited my ROM with my left arm and created one of many of my "pains." I did yoga and there was a stretch in yoga called "extended cat dog" which while in Cat you move all the way to child's pose but your arms are stretched out if front. I would often have limited ROM to do this stretch because I'd start and I'd have pain. I decided one day to play with it and "push through the pain." My instinct told me that perhaps the muscle or whatever "gunk" was knotted up and would release if I did several reps of the extended cat dog. Sure enough it did after about the 3rd to 4th repetition. It was miraculous. Everytime I had this particular pain...I'd do the extended cat dog and voila...it would go away (I still had other pains but at least I was able to do something that would take care of the one in say 5 that I had). Eventually this "gunk" disappeared never to return.

Lately I've felt like I have gunk somewhere else nearby...still left side..but I feel it more when I try to raise my left arm...same idea...limited ROM..pain. Yesterday and today I tried to push through it...I found a reverse sort of windmill and after about 2-3 of those it goes away..of course it seems determined to come back within 5-10 minutes but clearly it does go away such that I can fully extend my arm over head without any other compensating muscles kicking in. I do not seem to flare up afterwards...but it is early and I sense that I will not as a result of this. I can only conclude that YES, at times there is GOOD PAIN that you need to push through to get a release of a muscle contraction/knot/compression.

I certainly will contact my old PT to ask her about it but I'm confident that she will agree to keep doing it if it is not causing any flare ups.

Just my 2 cents.

I agree with Alison,
If a doc did that to you...makes me angry.
An IME did that to me recently and my husband almost took his head off as I agonized in pain. He later went on to say on his report I was exaggerating all my chronic pain sx and did NOT have TOS.

This doc has no clue, no education on TOS, the chronic pain it brings and treatment.

Get yourself to a KNOWLEDGABLE TOS expert like Dr. Togut or...so many others here on the east coast will get you there.