The Kinds of Shoulder Pain and Neck Pain Nobody Talks About ( Thoracic outlet syndrome )

10/3/2017

The Most Important Things You Need To Know about
Thoracic outlet syndrome

At Soft Touch Chiropractic in Porter Ranch California, 30% of Dr. Masoud Shamaeizadeh's patients suffer from thoracic outlet syndrome and don't even know it. It generally shows up as neck pain, shoulder pain, arm or wrist pain.

Thoracic outlet syndrome or TOS is one of the underlining causes of frozen shoulder and carpal tunnel syndrome. It develops through a cycle of dysfunction in the neck area C5 to T2. The cycle goes as follows:

1. Muscular imbalance

2. Neurological irritation

3. Vascular obstruction

When all three of the above happen, it becomes a vicious cycle. The cycle can begin with any one of these dysfunctions. For example, if a patient has a misaligned neck vertebra (neurological irritation) it will press on the nerves leading to the shoulder and will cause spasms in the muscles right below the neck (muscular imbalance). The muscles, in turn, press on the blood vessels underneath it (vascular obstruction) and also pull on the neck vertebra some more, causing further muscular imbalance and neurological irritation. Look at Figure 1.

When we don't have enough blood supply to the shoulder, arm, elbow and wrist, the joints will not be able to repair themselves because the blood is what carries nutrients in and carries toxins out of the joints. The blood also carries vital oxygen to the cells. If the oxygen supply is cut off, the cells die.

The early symptoms of TOS are:

1. Cold hands
2. Pain in fingers that worsens at night, to the point that it wakes you up
3. Burning sensation in shoulder
4. Tingling in shoulder
5. Tingling in some fingers

If you are experiencing early symptoms of TOS, I recommend you see a chiropractor right away for an exam and consultation to prevent frozen shoulder and carpal tunnel. If the cycle goes uninterrupted, it will lead to further damage that can end up in unnecessary surgery.

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