Hello,friends Thought I would start a thread with everyones help.I guess I will start with reporting what my symptoms are,we could see how similiar they are:
First might I say sit @ stand up straight,Posture, Posture!!
Watch for forward neck posture!!
1. Pain and very tight muscles in my neck, feels like a rubberband, very, tight, limited range of motion up@down-side to side.
2. Burning pain from the left side of my neck down into my elbow and hand, cramping in both forearms.
3. Hands that are constantly cold and sweating,hands have white apearence
4. Numbness in both hands especially the ring and baby finger
5.Tingeling feeling in my neck,and shoulder's and arms and hands
6.pain in scapular area,starts with pinching,burning
7.a toothache like feeling in especially my left shoulder
8.I have to fight hard to continue using my left arm because of the pain
9.Arms that feel tired,useless because of pain,weakness
10.headaches from hell
11. clumsy hands
12. Activity with hands or arms reaching at any level, carrying, pushing/pulling, sitting for pro-longed periods,repetitive neck movement, bending down at the waist, looking down
Things that help:
zanaflex in the evening when pain is at it's worst
tens machine
stretching to open my chest area up
posture related stretches
changing position
laying down flat on my back with my water pillow supporting my neck
showers,very hot
icepaks
celebrex
pacing my activities, while avoiding some all together
lyrica
Things that hurt:
driving
laundry,folding etc
carrying(especially with elbows bent)
lifting(some days even a coffee pot or a glass or cup)
vaccuming @ dusting
doing dishes
washing my hair
blowdrying my hair
make-up forget it
sweeping
sitting
anything that requires your arms raised or extended
(shopping isn't fun anymore)
I can't hang laundry on the line,or hang drapes etc.
All repetitive strain injuries
de-quervains tendonitis
compression of the scalene on the plexus(tos),double crush syndrome
mild cervical disc compression c5/6
bilateral carpal tunnel release/06
trapezius and rhomboid regional pain
Presently trying to control my pain,with hopes of being able to work again,and become more active.








Please add to the list,maybe it will help others:

What image test confirms TOS and what were the results?

Good idea- we used to have a thread on this at the other place.

my symptoms now {they were much worse during 03-05}
If I'm at the computer/desk position - or lift or pull heavy objects -
or use arms above my shoulder/head height
{for all of the above if too long or too often}

My symptoms seem to be more vascular & fascia related than nerve pain related-- more of a positional & uses cause now.

soreness and/or triggerpoints in upperback
tight neck muscles
soreness across shoulders
tightness/pinching in armpits
fingers lose coordination
cramps in back of hands
triggerpoint/pain spots on top of head at times
still get the watery right eye
voice still is weaker and cracks at times

************************************************** *

compare with my old post from the BT cache:
December 16, 2004

Roos/EAST/Stick'em up test= 10 sec L hand white, 40 sec L gets out of sync with R, 1 min- have to drop arms.

PAIN & SYMPTOMS

Hands
Sharp cramping pains in back of hands- with use - like writing, holding small objects, picking up small things- pins, tweezers, toothbrush
Clumsiness of fingers
Fingers stiff sometimes
Loss of strength
Tightness in back of hands
Sharp stabbing pain sometimes when reaching around or twisting wrists = pockets, zippers, buttons
Occasional swelling and color changes esp. if arms elevated very long
Cold weather increases discomfort

Wrists
Sharp burning pain in wrist joints after use- handled large engineering documents–9/30/03 - OK now
Bracelet feeling - topside 2”- 3” from wrist, Left > Right Tightness/pulling in that area now when forearm gets tight
Fine sharp pains lengthwise 2” from wrist, underside only- minimal now
R wrist bone sticks up higher than L? Different shape ?

Forearms
Tightness and a deep ache on top side of forearm -elbow to wrist-
Deep ache is gone – tightness comes and goes with use
Mid forearm underside aches- minimal now
Tingling/ tight/pulling/stinging sensations just under skin- with use
Hypersensitivity sometimes on top side
Left worse than Right -usually

Elbows
Spots of tenderness above and below joint after moderate lifting or use
L > R - elbow puffy and slightly numb at the inner crease area – minimal now
L > R - sensitivity to fabrics and light pressures – minimal now
Ulnar nerve symptoms 11/03 – 2/04 –upper body therapy {neck/shoulders} resolved most sx
Point of both elbows get sensitive and have a small sore spot sometimes --NEW -11/04 - mostly gone now 1/05
When arms are extended palm up- wrist planes and elbow planes don’t match ??
When R shoulder is very sore can’t rotate R arm fully to extend it forward –1/12/05

Shoulder- R & sometimes L
Sharp pain and a pulling pain when reaching to the side up/out and to the back -less now but still sometimes after any moderate use
Crunching noises sometimes- minimal now
Stiff, sore and tight some mornings after sleeping on that side

Neck
Tight, strained, sore spots – usually have to stretch daily to keep loose
Crunching noises - minimal now
Sometimes feels like I’m wearing a tight necked shirt
Sometimes feels like my collar bones are getting pulled upward into my throat
At times it felt like I could hardly hold my head up
Whooshing pulse sound was on right side of neck –summer/fall 03, now more on left side - positional / tightness combination? Bruitt?

Upper Back & Upper Chest
Tight, burning and achy spots in upper back when head has been in a forward or downward position for any moderate length of time- better now since off work but starts if I read a book for too long or do gardening
Tight, strained, heavy feeling if arms are forward/elevated very long
Sharp pains or dull aches at times under shoulder blades and in various muscles in upper back—after moderate use
Armpits/Pecs get tight and strained feeling at times

Misc.
Vision changes {comes and goes}= Double/blurry, light sensitive, more floaters, very watery
Dizziness / lightheaded problems mostly occurring in 8/03 – 2/04 Headaches at back of head same time frame- none now
Memory fades same time frame
Concentration problems- fluctuates with symptoms
Stuffy ears and sinus- fluctuates with symptoms
Weak voice – cracks and scratchy throat- fluctuates with symptoms
Trouble swallowing - fluctuates with symptoms
Over doing of activities causes trigger points or spasms in upper body
Weakness, fatigue and heaviness of arms, shoulders and upper back when holding arms out or up- while driving I need to change arm/hand positions frequently
Delayed pain after use
Hypermobility is an issue also

My self treatments

Rest, Heat, Ice, Stretching, Hydration, Self massage
Trigger point therapy, Acupressure, Relaxation/ Breathing
Walking/Yoga, Postural awareness & ergonomics
Vitamins & mineral supplements
Chiropractic care

annhere- do you mind if I make the testing for TOS a new thread?

Hi there..

Just recently got DX with Artierial TOS

My hands swell, and pain the ring and baby fingers
Back of neck is sore to the touch
Right shoulder, collarbone area feels like someone sitting on it
Left forearm just started hurting
Left hand swells
Left armpit/shoulder area is now hurting
Left arm is useless ! (kidding)

What do I do ?
PT ( not helping)
Take meds
Heat

But an MRA MRI with Contrast dye is how they saw the conmpression of the subclavian artery. It took me 2.5 years to get a Doc. to get the test done.

I'll get to this soon !!!

Jo55.....wow...sounds like me almost to a tea....Hairdresser....I hate shopping too. My P/T tried sometime new the other day, tried to move the first rib by pushing down on my shoulder....never again..within an hour the pain was wicked. Still waiting for word on my surgery, could be a years wait is what they said to me. I'm going to just keep calling....want to be able to shop again soon...lol. (sometimes all we can do is make a joke now again..)

Rachael-
did they push on the neck/shoulder, closer to your neck than the actual shoulder?? Or on the outer edge of your shoulder?

I've had mine mobilized a couple of times and it did wonders for me, the chiro would do a gentle tilt thing for it too sometimes.

The PTs did mine with slow steady even pressure - closer to my neck than the shoulder.

I found my old post in the cache -
top rib mobilization -by excellent PT guy-

He just took the time to do a full hands on evaluation - and I had mentioned the "choking feeling" like my collar bones were being pulled up into my throat - so he said "let me try something"

He stood behind me while I was sitting on the table and pressed with steady firm pressure down on top of my shoulder close to my neck {1 side at a time} just a short time then stepped back and yo see how far that area had lowered {1/2"}- so he did the same to the other side too. it didn't hurt a bit & I immediately felt looser in my neck & it relieved that costoclavical sp? compression. the "choking" and very strained neck feelings.

He also told me how to tell if it popped up again and it did during my PT exercises at a different place.
I had told this other PT about it and he mobilized it with a different technique- diff position but same pressure & area.
He had done eval on me 3 days earlier and didn't check for that even tho I told him of the choking feelings and collarbone pulling into neck feelings.

You might have to just tell them {PT?MD?DC?DO} to check for elevated top rib - they may not check it on their own.

And the chiro did a top rib adjustment a couple times after that but it would feel weird/tilted for a couple days - but then fine & still now.

He was closer to my arm at the top part of shoulder. At times he has done stuff around my neck which felt great, but this didn't. This guy is great. He know almost nothing about TOS but has read what he can to try to treat me. He is also the only one who said from day one it was TOS. I am going to try to gather some info to take into him so he can try some new things. He does nerve glides (twice a week now for two years) and it helps manage the pain, but does nothing to fix.

do you ever lay out on the floor and just let your shoulders relax down and the chest & pecs will gently stretch and loosen?
with arms out at a comfortable place - maybe a very mild stretch.
I use a yoga mat for a bit of cushioning {laminate floors}
That helps my neck loosen up too.

a new thing chiro is doing -
places my arm behind and across my back, then massages deep in the soft front of the shoulder area and around and under the scapula.
the first time he said - "you might think I am killing you" LOL
but it wasn't too bad just pretty tender, and since then just feels good

I should look it up to see where/what he is working on there- haven't got around to it.