Hi Everyone,

Can I ask two questions? I don't know how to do a poll, but I was wondering this:
1) Where did your TOS pain start first? Hands and go up? or Neck and go down?
2) Does wet rainy weather contribute to a flare up for you?


My doc had said that I was a bit backwards, that TOS almost always starts at the neck and goes down, but for me it was my hands up. Just curious to where is was for most of you guys.
Thanks a million!!
Rachael

Tos pain is from an injury to the nerves, most often the injury is in the brachial nerve bundle, the cervical nerves as they leave the spine at C5.6.7.8.& T1. They travel across the traps, behind the collar bone, in front of the first rib. When injured the nerve cell which continues to travel down the arm into the hands can have symptoms at one or multiple levels. "Double Crush".

So generally the injury is at the the top like whiplash, RSI, anywhere that three feet long cell can have an impingment like the elbow, the hands etc.

BUT, also one can have a crush injury or impact or injury along the brachial path and it does travel upward. Just majority of injuries are from the top down.

Some have more pain in the hands from the use, as in bending at the wrist.
My daughter ahd CT surgery on her hands from the EMG resluts but the carpal tunnel was fine when they got in there, she did have a ganglion up higher and a second surgery to remove that.

Many people with TOS develope ganglions in various areas.
Just a few thoughts,
Di

I guess I started feeling the worst pain in my hands, and then forearms, elbows then shoulders. I had complained about neck pain and headaches for ages, but everyone said it wasn't related. My TOS is from RSI. TOS sucks!! The pain is like nothing I've ever felt before, but it also the only thing that accounts for ALL of the symptoms. When I saw the TOS specialist he dx'ed bilateral TOS is is going to do surgery. I was just wondering why the pain has been so intense in my hands and arms. The newest pain is the top part of my "boob" under my arm pit. IS that from TOS?
What about the wet rainy weather? Does that bother you?
Rach

Yes Rachael,
The inter costal clavicular nerve. That is the one that bothers me that I feel like I have a pager on vibrate on my boob.

It comes from under the armpit area across the chest. TOS mimics so many symdroms, also why so many see many doctors and treated for many things before getting a brachial plexus syndrome diagx; TOS.

Having a doctor that understands TOS, can diagx it is such a great help for answering questions. Many doctors though are too busy or lack a lot of information on TOS.

With a forum like this we have combined hundreds of years experiance, symptoms, and support.
Di

http://www.welshclinic.com/information.html
Upper Back
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Upper back pain can be caused by a variety of conditions. Some of these conditions can be directly related to neurological (nerve) irritation of the inter-coastal nerve running through the muscles traveling through the ribs. Other pain causing conditions are referred pain from internal organs such as the lungs, gall bladder, and stomach.

http://www.tsaofoundation.org/aboutus/hmac02.html
Neurological and musculo-skeletal disorders

Headaches (except intracranial tumour)

Migraine

Trigeminal neuralgia (facial sensory nerve pain)

Facial palsy (facial paralysis)

Paresis (paralysis) following a stroke (especially during the first 6 months)

Peripheral neuropathies (lower limb nerve problem)

Sequelae of poliomyelitis

Meniere's disease

Neurogenic bladder (bladder problems related to nerve damage)

Nocturnal enuresis (loss of control of bladder at night)

Intercoastal neuralgia (rib nerve pain)

Cervico-brachial syndrome (neck pain)

Frozen shoulder

"Tennis elbow" (especially first 6 months)

Sciatica

Lower back pain

Osteoarthritis

Hi Rachael,
Will try to keep this short, as it's a bad typing day for me today. Ditto for me - the hands and forearms have always been the worst (my Tos is also from RSI, like yours). When i was working, also had a "worn out elbow" feeling, but never the terrible stabbing neck and shoulder pain some get. Do get the constantly tight neck and upper back muscles and the (fortunately only occasional) headache that goes with it but for me it is minor nagging, not disabling as the hand and arm pain is. As for weather, humid, sticky days flare me up more so than rainy days. Hope that helps.

Hugs,
Nolina

Mine is from RSI too.

It started in the hands , moved up into the wrist and forearms
{ I healed from that first episode for the most part}
A year later I had two bouts of neck/shoulder "strains" - then shortly after those {when I was back on full work duties} my hands and arms went bad again and eventually involved my neck, shoulders and upperback- RSI/TOS.

Thanks so much for all this info guys. I find now that I actually know what is wrong with me I an so much more alert to the aches and pains I always dismissed to other things. I do have stabbing pain in my neck at times, I feel at times a though my shoulder blades are asleep because I get the numbness and tingling across them. But by far, the owrst of this is the burning, stabbing, throbbing pain that comes in both hands, wrists, forearms, elbows and up. I can live with most, but that burning as I have said many many times, it the absolute worst pain ever. I would rather deliver 10 more times!!!! It has been raining her for a week straight. The rain for the past year has set off flare ups.....I guess I wasn't sure if it went along with this or not. Thanks Di for the heads up on the Boob area. Again, that was new so I wasn't sure if it was related. It just kind of throbbed like muscle pain and hurt a bit when I took a deep breath.
Rach

Rachel... on the old forum this was discussed about how the pain, tingling and numbness goes down into the breast area, weather you be male or female. This really was the first part of me seing a doctor, I felt that it was more than just a sprain and actually thought I was having a myocardial infarct! DiMarie and I discussed it in a bit of depth and found we shared some of the same feelings, even though I am a guy. My numbness radiates from the shoulders down on the left side to about the nipple area and than across to the pit of my arm. At times it actually burns as if scallded with hot water and quelling this pain is another matter ! Di Marie suggests the use of bio-freeze, however for me anything even remotely close can cause the burn to get worse and was told by my DOC that the (RSD) *CRPS* can be worse using cold... so I do hot soaks in the tub... guess you need to find what works for you! Di Marie has a many useful web sites that may be of use to ease your pain,
<MY BEST TO YOU> Mark-n-Goober

will post when feeling better...
G~

My pain definitely started in the wrists...after a yoga injury. It still hurts there the most if I am doing computer work or lifting things (like my small kids). Later it travelled to my neck and shoulders. My arms were weak all along...and I have very little wrist strength. The first ortho I saw thought it was tendonitis, but after 6 wks of PT he sent me for a NCS (which I passed) and then I saw a new ortho who said it was combination wrist sprain and TOS.