My Physical Therapist Says - Part 7

I went to a recent physical therapy appointment feeling a bit discouraged, dealing with an arm pain flareup.
Here's part of the pep-talk my physical therapist gave me-

"This is just the ebb and flow of life. As you work to get stronger, things are going to happen to challenge you; its ok. Hang in there."

*Insert here the sound of a needle scratching across a vinyl record, which is what I heard at that moment in my head.

I told PT that 'hang in there' is possibly the worst thing you can say to encourage someone with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome.
Think about it- arms, neck, pain, hanging..."hang in there"?!
We have commiserated about this on the TOS facebook support group; it's not a great admonition for someone living with TOS.

As I was leaving pt that day, I hear from across the room- "...and Robin, don't hang in there."

My fellow TOSers will understand when I say this; that may be one of the most thoughtful things anyones ever said to encourage me.

To all my fellow TOSers-Don't hang in there & Gentle Hugs~

My Physical Therapist Says Part 6

I asked my PT what others living with TOS should look for in a physical therapist. He said no one else is going to do things exactly the way he is treating my TOS issues because everyone has different training and approaches. However,  if you look for a physical therapist who focuses on head and neck injury/trauma, that should be a good place to find someone knowledgeable about TOS. A main source my PT utilizes is the book Explain Pain, Butler, Moseley and information by noigroup.

Standing behind me, poking around my neck (cervial rib), shoulder area, PT commented-
"Your tissues have changed."
With a quizzical look on my face, I asked what that means.
Response-"When you first started coming here here I would just barely touch you here and get a response, it didn't take much. But your tissues have changed; the tone is much better, because you've been doing alot of different things to affect that change."

I mentioned to my PT about my daughters resistance to trying physical therapy (even though she really needs to). Response, "Well, I'm glad you're on board. You are in a good place to say to people living with TOS, "Hey, there's hope...it CAN get better."

Interesting TOS reading

http://www.msdlatinamerica.com/ebooks/PracticalOrthopaedicSportsMedicineArthrocopy/sid169169.html