TOS?

I am interested in your opinion of possible causes of my symptoms. It began three months ago when I was pulling yanking on an object at shoulder level in front of me. It heard a soft tearing noise but did not feel immediate pain. The pain began later that evening and for several weeks limited my rom.


That has subsided and I have good rom but was replaced by a deep ache along the medial border of my scapula. It can be provoked by pressing on or around my 5 to 6 cervical vertebrae or by leaning up against a hard surface that contacts/presses on the medial border of my scapula, chair back. When the area is disturbed I often suffer excruciating pain many hours later accompanied by a severe headache.

I have bilateral cervical ribs and have also been battling a deep intermittent ache in both hands for over a year now that is not associated with overuse or any other identifiable pattern or habit. I understand that may be unrelated, but it is my suspicion that it's root cause may be traced to a susceptibility to tos. I look forward to hearing from you.

Hello,
Apologies if I answered this, now you get a second answer. Your question seemed to have slipped through.

These could be two different problems, or one and the same. The muscles in the upper back are supplied by c5 and the dorsal scapular nerve.

It may well have strained one of the rib spine joints, known as a costo vertebral joint. See our rib pain treatment page using search.

In tos the ache in your hands and arms increases when you raise your arms above your head.

Those cervical ribs may be very significant if they are really large. Have a look at our cervical ribs page using search. Removing them surgically is a big and quite risky op, but successful may constitute a cure. Otherwise it's management and mobilisation with chiropractic that will help but not cure.

What's needed is a thorough chiropractic examination. Take all your xrays with you. Good luck, let me know how you get on, and apologies for not answering sooner.

Find a good chiropractor may be your next step.

Dr b

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