Hello, im new to this site, just came across it whilst i was researching about MRA's.....im gonna tell you a little about my problem and would love some feedback from anyone who has experience same or similar to me...

just over 3 years ago i was healthy and never had any probs with my arms....then i fell down the stairs and landed directly on my mid back and jolting my neck too.

about 6 months after this i developed pain in my right thumb - couple of months after this started, this nagging dull pain developed in my right shoulder blade....more symptoms slowly came after this (all on the right hand side) :

little finger is wobbly and feels like it doesnt belong to me - kinda numb feeling
fatigued arm - feeling heavy
coldness in shoulder blade and right hand - sometimes this can change to hot feeling, but more often cold!
some muscle wasteage in right hand
right hand changes in colour - nail beds can go really purple if i get a bit cold
neck is weak - feel like i cant support my head
cant look downwards for anylength of time as it hurts!
cant sit up unsupported for very long
right collar bone has protuded and feels very bony these days - it aches and pain shoots up towards my the front of my neck and jaw.

the list sometimes seems endless!

i left an office job because of the pain, im on my 3rd doctor now and have had x-rays, MRI's (with and without contrast), my pulse dimished on the adsons test, tender on lower C/upper T vertebrae, also doc pushed on something next to my windpipe which almost made me cry with pain!.

from what i've read i think i may have vascular form of TOS?....help please - im finding diagnosis very difficult!

Hi.

Depending on what state your in someone may be able to recommend a dr. who specialises in TOS. Did you ever have a EMG or Scep? they may be able to identify nerve troubles.

Hi, thanks for the reply!. I have had a EMG and nerve study - both normal. Now a new doctor im with is arranging a MRA for me. I live in the UK and there just dont seem to be many doctors here who specialise, or even believe in TOS!

While waiting for the MRA , start searching for some names of really good physical therapy people, body workers, therapeutic massage, myofascial release, osteopathic drs or chiropractors.

any or a mix of those will probable be what you need unless something specific {surgical} shows in the MRA. {all must be very good and knowledgeable about soft tissue problems and work with you - no cookie cutter rehab plan}

The collar bone thing sounds almost like a severe dislocation/subluxation of some sort.
could you be hypermobile?

Useful info-
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread84.html
post #1 has hypermobile info link in it.

dr & PTs listings-
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread135.html

thanks jo, i have seen 2 PT's and it was the 2nd one i saw who first mentioned TOS....the exercises seemed to help, but they became painful a few months into the programme.

My current dr agrees that my collar bone is a little bony and is protruding slightly, but says that this can happen as we get older - but im only 26!!. I read that it can be related to TOS as it can spread over to the chest wall and cause the collarbone to slip when the muscles that hold it up become fatigued?. Ive not heard about the hypermobilised thing you mentioned?

i've just become very fed up with it all over the last few years and dont think that im ever going to receive a TOS diagnosis and be treated correctly - the dr's here in the UK just dont seem to specialise...or even believe in TOS!

Hello Tracey & welcome!
Sounds like TOS for sure- and given your Adson test, I feel like despite your other test results, they really have to look at TOS as a resonable suspect!!!

Glad you found yourself here This board is full of info you can use! Perhaps there's some UK members here you can talk with for info too.

Tracey . . . did you fall down the stairs before any TOS symptoms ever showed up? Was this fall at work or while working? Was this before your work in insurance claims? Please clarify the timeline of activities and symptoms. . . . so I can see if they might have any bearing on your claim for worker's compensation.

Hi Lefthanded!.

Thanks for your post....

I fell down the stairs in April/May 2004 (i think!) I had been working in my insurance job since the start of 2002. At the end of 2004 i started to get pain in my right thumb - it was very tender and kept locking in place....then by march i had extreme dull nagging pain in my right shoulder blade and things escalated from there with more tos symptoms developing - heaviness in arm, weakness in arm/hand, feeling like i couldnt hold up my head. Slowly this spread to my collar bone, which has now become bony and protrudes a little compared to the left side.

I left this job in 2006 after an occupational therapist said its unlikely i could carry on in an office job for much longer.

I am based in the UK and i spoke to a solicitor who deals with upper limb diseases and was told that i didnt have a claim as no negligence could be proved against my ex-employers!. Im going to try another firm but im a little disheartend....

Hi, just wanted to clarify that i was symptom free before the fall as far as i can remember....

Tracey . . .

If you were symptom free and the fall happened at work, then the w/c statutes in the UK might cover your injury/condition. However, if you did not file a claim for your injuries within the statute of limitations, that could make things more difficult, if not impossible.

If the stairs were in good repair, there would be no liability issues whether you were an employee there when you fell or not; but if the lights were out, the stairs broken, or some such thing, then you might have an issue to resolve with them.

If the fall did not happen at work, but your symptoms were aggravated by work, that is a tougher claim. Your work duties have to cause the condition in most jurisdictions, not just hurt while you are working, to be compensable. Excessive and repeated stretching and reaching can contribute to TOS.

It sounds like you had some tendonitis or carpal tunnel syndrome developing in your right arm/hand before your fall. Then you had a fall which may or may not have made this worse. However, unless you had already filed and established the right hand (thumb) symptoms as work related, they will now be seen as a pre-existing condition, even if they have continued to get worse. Most repetitive use injuries have a longer statute of limitations for filing, but you still have to establish a work injury in a timely manner to be compensated.

It sounds like you have left that employment based on what a therapist told you. Filing against a previous employer is even trickier, because now you likely have yet another employer who could be seen as responsible. The more time and activity that passes between a work event and the filing or assertion of a work-related claim, the tougher it is to prove.