What are the symptoms of thoracic outlet syndrome

People who are prone to thoracic outlet syndrome are generally older, have always been weak, have suffered physical damage after long-term illness, and have high-intensity exercise. After suffering from this disease, patients should avoid carrying heavy objects with their shoulders in life and work, and do more neck stretching exercises when they have time. Pay attention to your diet, eat breakfast on time, eat more protein-rich foods, eat more foods that protect the eyes, especially try to eat light meals at dinner. Now let’s talk about the symptoms of thoracic outlet syndrome.

Symptoms of thoracic outlet syndrome

1. Symptoms: Most patients will experience upper limb pain and paresthesia, but the clinical symptoms vary due to the different compressed tissues. The clinical symptoms are as follows:

(1) If the patient is injured or suffers from other reasons, the brachial plexus is compressed, and clinical symptoms such as ulnar nerve hypoesthesia, hypothenar muscle atrophy, and muscle weakness will appear;

(2) If the patient becomes ill due to excessive abduction of the upper limbs and compression of the subclavian artery, clinical symptoms such as weakness and coldness of the hands will appear. As the disease progresses, movement becomes limited as the radial artery pulse weakens, and symptoms worsen with cold;

(3) If the patient's upper arm is abducted, the costoclavicular space is narrowed, and subclavian artery thrombosis occurs, severe symptoms of distal limb blood circulation disorders such as numbness, coldness, and pain in the fingers will occur.

2. Physical signs: The physical signs of each patient are different. Patients with a long course of illness have more obvious physical signs, including pale skin, muscle weakness, and muscle atrophy. Patients with a short course of illness have less obvious physical signs, only pale skin.

Treatment of thoracic outlet syndrome

There are many treatments for thoracic outlet syndrome, such as physical therapy, traditional Chinese medicine, Western medicine, surgical treatment, etc. Commonly used Chinese medicines are those that promote blood circulation, remove blood stasis, warm the meridians and dredge the collaterals, such as Guizhi Jia Gegen Decoction and Buyang Huanwu Decoction. They can also be meridian-warming and collateral-dredge drugs such as peach kernel, safflower, and mulberry branch. Commonly used western medicines include B vitamins, analgesics, analgesics, and procaine. Commonly used surgeries include cervical rib resection, first rib resection, and anterior scalene muscle tendon attachment section.