Thoracic Outlet Syndrome
It's amazing to me how in the office patients present in "waves"... whether it's due to our increased sensitivities to certain conditions or... anyway, we see things come through in groups.
Lately, we're seeing lots of cases of Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. What in the hell is that, right? Well, it's a compression of either the artery or the nervous tissue to the arm. Typically, people tell me that their hands are tingly first thing in the morning, when they work overhead, when they turn their head, or carry a heavy backpack.
There are three or four big reasons why this pressure can occur, but I have only seen two thus far:
- a cervical rib, which is a genetic variant where people have a piece of bone that pushes on one of these delicate structures.
- and more common, a shortening of the anterior and middle scalene muscles, muscles in the front and the side of the neck, muscles which form a border around the neurovascular bundle to the arm.
If you get compression of this bundle, it will lead to numbness and tingling down the arm. If you look at our list of exercises on our website, www.dynamicclinic.com, you can find the best exercises for this treatment. If it persists, however, go see a chiropractor!
