Thanks, Trix36lynn, for your kind words. I am glad my program has brought
you some relief.

TOS is the kind of injury where you have to peel layers of the injury away
as you go. I liken it to peeling a sticky label off a glass jar. You lift a
tiny bit from one corner, then go to the next corner where you get it to let
go very slightly there, and so on.

Because each movement of the arms and shoulders can bring about a lot of
pain, and probably a lot of fear that you are making things worse, it's
imperative to take things step by step. Any program that forces you to work
any area hard will be counter-productive, in my experience.

One of the most helpful things I have discovered is to "Kiss the pain". By
that I mean that one should introduce a stretch and go right up to the edge
of the pain to identify where the pain (or numbness, or circulation
restriction) begins, and then immediately back off a very tiny bit. So you
stay in the region where the pain begins, but you do not create pain. There
might be slight discomfort, but no pain. Then, you hang out in that position
for no more than ten seconds before moving on to the next spot.

This is a critically important exercise to let your body know that you are
no longer afraid of the pain, that you want to find out more about it, and
that you want to meet it within its own limits. It's a radical concept, but
boy, does it ever work.

I have found that exploring your body's restrictions in this manner yields a
very gradual lessening of the symptoms through a very gentle series of
releases. The body is not hurt further and the symptoms gradually release.

I hope this helps someone today.

All the best,
Sharon Butler
http://www.selfcare4rsi.com
Author, "Conquering Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Other Repetitive Strain
Injuries: A Self Care Program"

On Wed, Jun 18, 2008 at 11:20 AM, trix36lynn <trix36lynn@...> wrote:

> I have been using Sharon Butlers previous book as part of my treatment
> plan for TOS. I find that the protocol wokrs very well. She breaks
> the program down into weeks. On week one you do only so many things,
> and then you build on those things as you go along.
> I got TOS from a car accident in 2006. I have had bi-lateral rib
> resection surgery, and unfortunatley have only gotten worse. Sharon
> Butler's program is one of the few things that allows me to function on
> a day to day basis.
>
>
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]