What causes Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS) and how does it differ from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS)?
The “thoracic outlet” is an area located at the bottom of the neck, top of the shoulder, behind the collar bone. Nerves and blood vessels run behind the collar bone.
If the nerves and/or blood vessels are pressed on by bone or muscle, they’ll complain by causing symptoms similar to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
As it happens, I have a really helpful Pinterest board for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. I have to review each potential post or video that I share there because I want the BEST, most helpful information for you.
Sometimes I share info about TOS because CTS is often misdiagnosed. Sometimes the actual cause of the symptoms is waaay up in the neck area.
Treating the hand/wrist won’t help if the problem is actually behind the collar bone.
Symptoms of TOS start as pain in the shoulder and neck and an area of numbness in the arm and hand. It might also cause loss of sensation in the last two fingers. Can also cause swelling and lack of circulation to the hand.
I was reviewing an article by an MD/expert to possibly share on Pinterest. He said women get TOS more often than men. This could be because many men have more muscular backs and so they have better posture, I speculated.
He went on to say later that weight lifting, rowing and swimming could be causes in athletes.
Whoa! No where in the article does he say that it’s all of the holding of children, housework, desk work, and daily things that women do that can cause poor posture, shortening of chest muscles, forward head and rounded shoulders.
The problem with medical doctors is that they too often treat symptoms and don’t look for causes.
Anyway, it’s a pretty helpful article about Thoracic Outlet Syndrome and I will post it on my Pinterest board for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Here’s a sampling of the board:
If you go to your doctor hoping to be diagnosed with CTS, please be sure that he or she is also looking for alternate causes, like Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, before offering surgery.
The typical best treatment for TOS and often for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is physical therapy to help regain proper posture.
When you take the pressure off the nerves and other structures and you can often get rid of your carpal tunnel or thoracic outlet pain, naturally.
If you’d like more information about getting rid of your CTS simply and naturally, here’s the link to a program I created for you: Carpal Tunnel Tool Kit. I’d love to have you check it out.