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    Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, A Simple Guide To The Condition, Diagnosis, Treatment And Related Conditions
    Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, A Simple Guide To The Condition, Diagnosis, Treatment And Related Conditions
    Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, A Simple Guide To The Condition, Diagnosis, Treatment And Related Conditions
    Ebook73 pages26 minutes

    Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, A Simple Guide To The Condition, Diagnosis, Treatment And Related Conditions

    By Kenneth Kee

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    Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

    What is the Thoracic Outlet Syndrome?

    Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) is a group of medical conditions which are caused by compression of nerves or blood vessels in the thoracic outlet, the area between the base of the neck and the armpit, including the front of the shoulders and chest.

    There are three types of TOS:

    1. Vascular

    A compression of the artery and vein may be the pressure at the TOS.

    2. Neurogenic

    The nerves at the TOS may be compressed from an extra cervical rib, present at birth.

    3. Disputed or painful form

    No neurological damage is observed but patients show neurological symptoms and pain.

    Typically Electromyography (EMG) studies of these patients are found to be normal but they still complain of pain.

    What are the causes of thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS)?

    The reasons of thoracic outlet syndrome are:

    1. An enlargement of the tissues in or near the thoracic outlet may be due to:

    a. Trauma or injury
    b. Weight lifting
    c. Cervical rib (an extra rib extending from the neck present at birth)
    d. Weight gain
    e. Growth of a tumor

    2. A change of the tissues in or near the thoracic outlet.

    Thoracic outlet syndrome can happen from injury, disease or a congenital problem such as an abnormal cervical rib.

    It is more frequent in women than in men with an excess of between 3- and 9-fold.

    Obesity and poor posture may make the condition worse.

    Psychological changes are present in patients with thoracic outlet syndrome.

    These psychological changes may be the cause or the effect of the syndrome.

    There is no obvious cause present in patients who suffer from TOS.

    Over 90% of all TOS cases are due to neurogenic causes whereas 3-5% are venous.

    Less than 1% is arterial.

    The true neurological form does not affect more than 1 person in 1 million

    The incidence is reported as between 3 and 80 per 1,000.

    The beginning of the TOS is from the 2nd to the 8th decade with the highest in the 4th decade.

    What are the symptoms of thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS)?

    Symptoms

    Symptoms are dependent on which compression of nerves or blood vessels are done.

    Nerve compression symptoms are much more frequent than symptoms from blood vessel compression.

    A. Pressure on the nerves (brachial plexus)

    1. Neck, shoulder, and arm pain

    Nerve pressure may cause a vague, aching pain in the neck, shoulder, arm, or hand.

    2. Numbness in the arm, hand or fingers

    Pain, numbness or tingling may be present on the inside of the forearm and the fourth and fifth fingers of the hand.

    3. Weakness in the shoulders, arm and hands

    Weakness may make the hand clumsy.

    B. Pressure on the blood vessels

    1. Impaired circulation to the extremities (causing discoloration)

    Blood vessel pressure can decrease the flow of blood out of the arm which results in redness and swelling of the arm.

    2. Less frequently, pressure can reduce the blood flow into the arm and hand, causing the arm and hand feeling cool and easily tired.

    Head activities are especially difficult because they make worse both types of compression.

    A depression in the shoulder or swelling or discoloration in the arm is present.

    The range of motion may be limited.

    How is TOS diagnosed?

    The proper diagnosis of thoracic outlet syndrome will need the expert examination of experienced neurologists and nerve specialists.

    Elevated arm stress test

    The elevated arm stress test is often done by doctors to help them diagnose thoracic outlet syndrome.

    The doctor will have you raise the arms over the head, then open and close the fists for approximately 3 minutes.

    If this reproduces the symptoms, it is likely that you have thoracic outlet syndrome.

    This elevation of arm stress test is clear in the diagn

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherKenneth Kee
    Release dateSep 21, 2015
    ISBN9781311701220
    Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, A Simple Guide To The Condition, Diagnosis, Treatment And Related Conditions
    Author

    Kenneth Kee

    Medical doctor since 1972.Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 74However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours inthe afternoon.He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.comThis autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.The later books go into more details of medical disorders.He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) startingwith the Apple computer and going to PC.The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.Dr Kee is the author of:"A Family Doctor's Tale""Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine""Case Notes From A Family Doctor"

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      Book preview

      Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, A Simple Guide To The Condition, Diagnosis, Treatment And Related Conditions - Kenneth Kee

      Thoracic Outlet

      Syndrome,

      A

      Simple

      Guide

      To

      The Condition,

      Diagnosis,

      Treatment

      And

      Related Conditions

      By

      Dr Kenneth Kee

      M.B.,B.S. (Singapore)

      Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)

      Copyright Kenneth Kee 2015 Smashwords Edition

      Published By Kenneth Kee at Smashwords.com

      Dedication

      This book is dedicated

      To my wife Dorothy

      And my children

      Carolyn, Grace

      And Kelvin

      This book describes the Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, Diagnosis, Treatment and Related Conditions or in vernacular terms

      (What You Need to treat Thoracic Outlet Syndrome)

      This eBook is licensed for the personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.

      If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

      Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      Introduction

      I have been writing medical articles for my blog http://kennethkee.blogspot.com (A Simple Guide to Medical Condition) for the benefit of my patients since 2007.

      My purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of my patients.

      Health Education was also my dissertation for my Ph.D (Healthcare Administration).

      I then wrote an autobiolographical account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com.

      This autobiolographical account A Family Doctor’s Tale was combined with my early A Simple Guide to Medical Conditions into a new Wordpress Blog A Family Doctor’s Tale on http://ken-med.com.

      From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 590 amazon kindle books and some into Smashwords.com eBooks.

      Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.

      For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.

      The later books go into more details of medical conditions.

      The first chapter is always from my earlier blogs which unfortunately tends to have typos and spelling mistakes.

      Since 2013, I have tried to improve my spelling and writing.

      As I tried to bring you the latest information about a condition or illness by reading the latest journals both online and offline, I find that I am learning more and improving on my own medical knowledge in diagnosis and treatment for my patients.

      Just by writing all these simple guides I find that I have learned a lot from your reviews (good or bad), criticism and advice.

      I am sorry for the repetitions in these simple guides as the second chapters onwards have new information as compared to my first chapter taken from my blog.

      I also find repetition definitely help me and maybe some readers to remember the facts in the books more easily.

      I apologize if these repetitions are irritating to some readers.

      Chapter 1

      Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

      What is the Thoracic Outlet Syndrome?

      Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) is

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