Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

In Reply to: The cause of your CTS posted by Valerie on January 19, 2004 at 12:43:12:

Hi Valerie,
I believe my root cause is a condition I've suffered far longer than CTS... and that is Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. Nowadays I've become very keen to my body's messages and when my hands are most annoyingly numb and painful are those times my neck and shoulders are very tight - I can almost count on it when I don't orchestrate the stress in my life well. I can trace the pressure and pain up into my shoulders now.
I am a great advocate of deep tissue massage - as often as you can possible take time and/or afford. If I had to choose only one therapy, that would be it.
Because my CTS developed with a vengeance and became a problem in it's own right, my therapist also does a great deal of "stripping" (yes, ouch) keeping circulation in my arms and hands at peak. Deep breathing gets you through one of those sessions easy, and the results are pretty amazing.
I'm an artist. Don't know how I could live without my art. What I have learned there is to never perform one activity or sit in one position for long enough to get the "locked" feeling. Move around. Stretch. Take breaks. Most of all, STOP when you're feeling stress/fatigue/soreness in any area of your body. Like you said, there are so many theories... I like to think I take better care of my overall health now than I used to. And I think it helps!
Blessings to you,
ChinaCat