Do you have cervical ribs on both sides, or does this just involve the first ribs?
Member
Upper Limb DVT, Venous Thoracic Outlet Syndrome and SS
Hi Rip,
I've been doing SS on and off for about 6 years. The last few years I'd been definitely on but progress kept getting disrupted by tingling sensations and shooting tingling pains, sometimes accompanied by strength loss, in my arms. Once it occurred when benching, another time when performing a tackle in rugby.
In October 2017, my left arm massively swelled up quite suddenly. I went to the gym and did my usual working sets (125kg squat and 155kg deads) with the swollen arm. I then went to the ER where a bloodclot of the subclavian vein was diagnosed which had gone into the auxiliary vein in my left arm. I was prescribed rivaroxaban for 3 months.
Since then I've seen vascular surgeons and had MRI and more ultrasounds. The good news is the clot has gone from the bloodthinners. The bad news is I apparently have Thoracic Outlet Syndrome in both arms and it has caused the bloodclot and tingling sensations. The doctors are recommending surgery to remove my first rib on both sides to relieve the compression. The other option is not putting my arms above my head.
My questions - have you come across this before? Have I been doing something wrong with the programme to cause this? I saw a SS trainer recently so was confident on my form but had switched to low bar from high bar squat without dropping working set weight dramatically. With first rib resection, they may have to remove attached muscles - will this affect my ability to get back on the programme after recovery from surgery? And finally, will I be making things worse by squatting and deadlifting heavy now the clot has cleared but the compression remains?
Appreciate any help or push to other threads. Was recommended to post on here by the SS coach I saw in London, England. I look forward to your thoughts, SS has had such a positive impact on my life and I don't want to give it up.
Cheers.
TMPHBITEU
Do you have cervical ribs on both sides, or does this just involve the first ribs?
Starting Strength Coach
Speaking only with an N=3, I have seen nothing but catastrophic results from 1st rib resectionsOriginally Posted by Mark Rippetoe
Member
There doesn't seem to be any evidence of cervical ribs. However, during the doppler ultrasound the practitioner asked me to raise my arms above my head and said she saw evidence of TOS on the veins on both side, although the DVT has only occurred on the left subclavian.
Member
I'll add another N=1 disaster. She has had chronic pain and upper limb weakness (i.e. muscle atrophy) ever since her surgery. I would at least get the opinion from a tertiary referral center before letting anyone cut on you. Sometimes they will talk about a fibrous band if there's no cervical rib...
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If it helps, here's my penultimate session on the rack YouTube
Member
Thanks for the responses. Noob question but N=? I'm not sure we have tertiary hospitals in the UK but I am being seen at one of our leading hospitals: Vascular | St George's Healthcare services
Member
Kinda looks like your upper back is rounding. Elbows seem a little too high, which makes for an initial looseness and then your back starts looking crooked on the concentric. Depth might be off a smidge and your knees are extending prematurely I'd say. Definitely a case of overthinking "hips up" instead of "stay in the hips". I don't know if this caused your medical condition, though, but since you shared...
Starting Strength Coach
The level of chronic pain in those I have seen (subjectively by me) rivals those I've seen with trigeminal neuralgia.
Member
I'll take trigeminal neuralgia any day over TOS. Most of the time I can help them.
N refers to the number of cases in a study sample. We're just saying we only have anecdotes to offer. I don't know about UK system, but just find the specialist that handles the most TOS cases in the country. You don't want a vascular surgeon or ortho who saw a few cases in training.
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