This article is one of a series covering shoulder pain — causes, symptoms, and the treatments we use at Back and Body Medical in Midtown Manhattan. For the complete overview, see the full guide:
→ Shoulder Pain Treatment in New York City — The Complete Guide
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Shoulder Pain
Today we are going to be talking about Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, the three components of it, and how to treat it.
The first type is tyrael TOS. This is a non radicular symptom, meaning that it’s going down the entire arm. When this happens, we get the five p’s: pain, pallor, paresthesia, paralysis, and pulse assist. This is very important because this is not a specific muscle or ligament; it is going down the whole arm.
We also deal with blood not being able to get out of the arm. This results in discoloration on the skin because blood is not getting out. This is a constant symptom; a deep ache and swelling, and is not associated with a specific movement, it’s just there.
The third is neurological TOS. This is worse with picking your arm up over your head. For example, doing your hair or picking your arm up. Those kind of activities aggravate these symptoms. This type is associated with the movement, and it’s important that the difference is made. When you have a neurological tos, the symptoms follow ulnar nerve distribution.
When we have these conditions, what can we do? We can do nerve flossing, stretching depending on where the compression is coming from, we can take a look at the right tests to make sure that we match the test with the actual treatment.
Don’t forget that if symptoms have been there for a long time due to poor posture or due to their activity through their job or sports that this can also cause motor weakness.
If you are experiencing these symptoms, make sure you come in and see us soon, so that we can give you exercises and proper treatment.
If you have any questions on our treatment options in New York, please contact us, we would be happy to help you and see what we can do for you.
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Dr Shan Sivendra MD is the founder and medical director of Back and Body Medical in Midtown Manhattan. A board-certified medical doctor, certified acupuncturist, and Director of House Physicians at St. Barnabas Medical Center, Dr Sivendra has been practicing in New York since 1995.
He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at Saint Barnabas Medical Center (affiliated with Mount Sinai School of Medicine) and received the Resident Research Award for three consecutive years.
Dr Sivendra has a background spanning internal medicine, pain management, and conservative spine rehabilitation, and was licensed in both the US and the UK.
At Back and Body Medical, he leads a multidisciplinary team of chiropractors, physical therapists, and acupuncturists dedicated to helping patients recover from pain without surgery or unnecessary medication.