At 44, Mr. Chen had endured months of soreness and numbness in his left hand. Despite normal strength, the discomfort flared the moment he turned his head left—and nearly vanished when he turned it to the right.
Examination revealed a markedly tight and raised left sternocleidomastoid muscle and an elevated left clavicle. Compression of nerves and vessels in the thoracic outlet—caused by muscle tension and bone misalignment—is known as thoracic outlet syndrome. After manual release of the tight muscles and a clavicle adjustment, Chen’s symptoms improved by about 90 percent.
