Carpal Tunnel Syndrome or Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) and Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS) have lots of things in common. One thing is they are both syndromes. A syndrome is a bunch of symptoms.  Symptoms are things like numbness or pain or headaches.

Some of the symptoms of CTS & TOS are similar. In fact, TOS is often mistaken and misdiagnosed as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.  Some of the treatment is also similar because they can have closely related causes.

So, TOS is often misdiagnosed as CTS, and

vice versa. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is the big buzzword today but just because you have symptoms in your wrist area does not mean you have CTS. You might have muscle strain, trigger points in your muscles in your neck, chest or arm or a repetitive stress-type injury.

The good news is: correcting your posture and releasing areas of soft tissue & muscle that cause your symptoms will relieve your symptoms. And, don't forget Vitamin B6 for CTS.  Here is a complete program to help you get rid of your CTS.

And look under Categories here at http://CarpalTunnelPainReliefNow.com for Videos.  There you will find a video on the muscle in your neck that causes Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and guess what?  The same muscle also causes Thoracic Outlet Syndrome!

Comments

[charlie @ muscle comfort]

I like they way that you put things in "laymans terms". Many people write like a doctor or lawyer speaks ie: you don't understand more than 50%.
great blog and carpal tips.

[Kathryn Merrow - The Pain Relief Coach]

Hi Charlie,

Thank you. I want everyone to be able to understand how their body works and how to get rid of their pain, so I make the effort not to use medical terms since they can be confusing. Or, if I do want to share a term, I make sure to give the definition for it. There have been lots of times when I have had to ask a doctor what a term means (because they don't think to explain.) I want folks to walk away with the knowledge they need to take action rather than with questions.

Kathryn

[Carlos A Selmonosky,MD]

TOS produces symptoms like neck,shoulder,chest and arm pain that are not present in CTS.The physical examination is completely different,a TOS diagnostic triad(see www.tos-syndrome.com) that includes weakness of the fifth finger is not present in CTS.

[Kathryn Merrow - The Pain Relief Coach]

Hello Doctor,

Thank you for your comment. So much to know and so little time for most medical practitioners.

You have a very informative website about Thoracic Outlet Syndrome which I will use as a reference for future articles.

Kathryn