Hello, I a newbie! This is my first post. I had been a personal trainer, advanced cycle instructor for the last 25 years, I am of two teens, lol they live with dad now. I am well lost... I recently was granted fed disability and have fallen in the medical gap, a different story, I have fallen twice this month. I can't do a pushup on a wall, SO WE ALL NORMALLY STUMBLE HERE OR THERE, so when I balance myself by reaching out using my arms like against a counter, just on instinct then really fall, I broke my toe on my last little fall, Any experience with this? Falling has become of great concern! I am 49, what can I do to prevent breaking a hip in the future? I try to do rehab by Pt and on my own, YEY my EMG at last show's my nerves have regenerated but after 3 years, the muscle atrophy is the issue , common everyday independent living causes flair ups that limit me for days. Is this what you have experienced? Any advice? I am trying to survive, go back to work... it seems hard to understand right now, Doctors notes limit my, " can't reach, can't lift 2 lbs. but get back to work?? (they must protect themselves!) ooookkkkk.... I can't live on my SSDI, I make too much in Calif, lol for supplementary insurance for help. I really need some guidance. Yes, I have applied, signed up for everything you can imagine! Has anyone used the spinamed brace? pain is 24-7. Fyi the docs say I have one of 5 things but based on nerve regeneration, now retract Thoracic outlet syndrome. Yes I have every test imaginable, even genetic. UCSF head of Nuro Said Pec transfer, no way to get snaps back, then a lidacane shot at Stanford, MY ARMS WENT UP OVER MY HEAD THE NEXT DAY!! the next lidacane shot had the reverse effect. I have Bi lateral winging snaps. I was doing a fitness modeling shoot in Mexico and was swept off the rocks by waves in 2012 this blew c4/5 and cause a right side long thoracic nerve injury, after the neck surgery I was told to go back to teaching Cycle clases in 4 weeks, thats when it was clear something new was wrong with my left scapular. and on and on the story goes, like so many other I read. I DO NOT WANT TO FEAR FALLING, I want to empower myself with ideas so I can do my best to prevent them! Thank you all. any other feedback to all the above would be great!

[the docs say I have one of 5 things ]
What are the other things/conditions?
Possibly they have something to do with the reason you are falling and unsteady on your feet?

Do you get dizzy, blurry vision? that can affect your balance/proprioception..
[proprioception is used to describe the sensory information that contributes to the sense of position of self and movement. Body position is perceived both at the conscious and unconscious levels.]
Proprioception | International Encyclopedia of Rehabilitation

With the atrophy, I'm guessing you have NTOS and not VTOS?

Past CA members have mentioned very skilled chiropractors & PTs that were very helpful.
But the winging is a tricky issue, I don't recall if those others had that in the mix also.

If you post the county or a nearby city , maybe the CA member swill have suggestions..
Or use the search tool to see if the county or city has been mentioned in the past here..
http://www.neurotalk.org/search.php

TOS braces-
thoracic outlet syndrome posture brace - Google Search

there was mention of some the posture shirts, I can't recall the specifics of them.. a few members tried and compared some of them.. years back..

I will look into all you just suggested, I will get my records out and give you all the basic 5 things they say that cause scap winging. I am not falling because I am dizzy etc, I just like any other person trip a bit but when i put my hands out for balance such as against a door jam when i clipped the lip in the doorway to the kitchen, then my arms, well shoulders, well scaps because they both are winging give out , so this causes the actual fall. I learned a year ago not to lean the foot of a beed with my arms like the old days to take off my shoes, ohhh big fat lip, I now sit in a chair to take off my shoes. but a little misstep, you naturally put out your arms to step over something or whatever. I never thought about it before... now It turns into little something underfoot, arms out, they can't support my weight (i am too thin) and then i fall. I see a flight of stairs and cringe. walking a small dog. geez it just feels best to cross my arms like they were bond so there is no bounce, but then again if I am walking, i tripped at all, how to I not land flat on my face? I spend so much time digging my own hands into my ribs n shoulders, muscles, in ribs below my underarms, and pecs,I don't feel I can't sit up straight i am so rounded, my breathing is shallow, my shoulders are rounded, pecs are shortened. people bat my hands away, I am noticing I avoid doing things around other people BUT all that seems to matter is I get a job, Living on nothing but stress, I have lost too much!

Yes, falling is a valid fear. I fell "up" the stairs 2 weeks ago and took me 2 days in bed to recover. It was a short drop and I managed the fall in slow-motion so as not to SLAM any body parts... Im sure it must have looked comical... but there is nothing funny about it!

I can highly recommend Feldenkreis ATM therapy (Awareness Thru Movement). It can retrain your brain to it's 'new' center of gravity and slow you down enough to be aware of every muscle and it's role in: standing, sitting, walking, etc. Something I learned may help you now:

WE ARE MOVING WAY TOO FAST! (in an attempt to 'look' normal?)

She (the therapist) commented that she observed my "movements were too percussive", and said if I would move more fluidly and less 'jerkey' I would have a much better quality of life. Were I to move as slowly and as calmly as she insists, I'd be like Tim Conway's little old man character he did on The Carol Burnette Show... shuffling along going nowhere fast.

But it's where we need to be. I was told "if any movement hurts or causes the slightest discomfort - STOP". Improvement needs to be made on a near microscopic level - not measured by days passed or inches your arms can move or pounds lifted. You can try to push the envelope of pain, but you must stop with the slightest resistance. Eventually (I'm told) the brain will create new neural pathways and allow the body to move in less painful ways. Over the long term, this should cut down on the frequency and severity of our flare-ups.

I hope this will be helpful, if not, at least give you some hope to keep your chin up (figuratively speaking of course). [READ MORE]

Anne

Oh , I thought you meant 5 other conditions aside from TOS etc...

But if your are prone to tripping/falling, that is not the norm in general, unless you have always been prone to that?
If it is a new thing, maybe the proprioception is the reason, and worth looking into.

I keep trying to post a long message but it won't work. Thank you so much for your info! Seems spot on!

Is the system timing you out?
If on your personal PC /mobile check the remember me box at log in , then the time out won't happen.
Or have e2 tabs open one for typing the message and one to re log in..
Some also type long posts in a word program or such, then copy paste to the message box.