Current Clinical Concepts: Rehabilitation of Thoracic Outlet Syndrome.

J Athl Train

Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles.

Published: July 2024

AI Article Synopsis

  • - Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) is a condition caused by compression of nerves or blood vessels in the upper body, leading to inconsistent symptoms, making it hard for doctors to diagnose and treat effectively.
  • - TOS is categorized into three types: neurogenic (nerve-related), arterial (blood vessel-related), and venous (vein-related), often linked to certain postures and repetitive activities like sports and heavy lifting.
  • - There isn’t a single reliable test for TOS, which complicates diagnosis, but rehabilitation is crucial for recovery, particularly for neurogenic cases and for those undergoing surgery for arterial or venous types.

Article Abstract

Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) involves inconsistent symptoms, presenting a challenge for medical providers to diagnose and treat. Thoracic outlet syndrome is defined as a compression injury to the brachial plexus, subclavian artery or vein, or axillary artery or vein occurring between the cervical spine and upper extremity. Three common subcategories are now used for clinical diagnosis: neurogenic, arterial, and venous. Postural position and repetitive motions such as throwing, weightlifting, and manual labor can lead to symptoms. Generally, TOS is considered a diagnosis of exclusion for athletes due to the poor accuracy of clinical testing, including sensitivity and specificity. Thus, determining a definitive diagnosis and reporting injury is difficult. Current literature suggests there is not a gold standard diagnostic test. Rehabilitation has been shown to be a vital component in the recovery process for neurogenic TOS and for arterial TOS and venous TOS in postoperative situations.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11277273PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.4085/1062-6050-0138.22DOI Listing

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