

( sub = beneath, clavian refers to clavicle = collarbone)

The other type of thoracic outlet syndrome, the vascular form, affects the subclavian arteries and veins that run between your first rib and your collarbone. numbness and tingling mostly in the little finger and the ring finger.Symptoms of neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome may include: In particular, the lower trunk of the brachial plexus is most involved.

Symptoms of neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome affect the areas supplied by the brachial plexus. Vascular Thoracic Outlet Syndrome - compression of the vessels at your thoracic inlet (top of the ribcage)īut everyone refers to a problem at the thoracic inlet as "thoracic outlet syndrome" - so that's the terminology that I'll use throughout this post.Neurogenic Thoracic Outlet Syndrome - irritation of the nerves from your brachial plexus.There are 2 main types of thoracic outlet syndrome: The actual thoracic outlet ( red) is the opening at the bottom of your ribcage, but thoracic outlet syndrome has to do with a compression of the nerves and blood vessels at the top of your ribcage. The area involved in thoracic outlet syndrome is truly your thoracic inlet ( green circle below). Truly, thoracic outlet syndrome is misnamed. It's a bunch of different things that kind of sort of have the same set of symptoms and we try to lump them all together.īut to really effectively treat thoracic outlet syndrome you have to break it down into its component parts and understand each of the things that contributes to the problem. For example, there are a handful of exercises that help most types of knee pain.īut thoracic outlet syndrome is different because there's no standard set of exercises can be frustrating for patients and practitioners alike because thoracic outlet syndrome isn't just one thing.
#Thoracic outlet syndrome sleeping position how to#
People generally understand what they are, and how to treat them. Things like a rotator cuff injury or knee arthritis are fairly concrete. Finding The Right Exercises For Thoracic Outlet Syndrome Can Be Frustratingįinding the right exercises for thoracic outlet syndrome can be extremely frustrating because not many doctors or physical therapists know how to manage it appropriately.īack when I was working in a hospital-based physical therapy clinic with a lot of different physical therapists, when a diagnosis of thoracic outlet syndrome came in, nobody wanted to treat it.
