Conservative Treatment of Thoracic Outlet Syndrome: A Narrative Review (original) (raw)

INTRODUCTION Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS) is a group of disorders that results in compression of the brachial plexus and subclavian axillary vessels in the area of the thoracic outlet [1]. The structures involved in TOS include the clavicle, first rib, and scalene muscles. TOS occurs in three spaces: the intercostal-scalene triangle, costoclavicular space, and coracopectoral space [2]. Peer et al. first proposed the term TOS in 1956 to summarize symptoms caused by compression of the neurovascular bundle [3], and the disease was termed "TOS" by Rob and Standeven in 1958 [4]. TOS occurs more frequently in women than in men and develops in patients in their third or fifth decades of life [5]. TOS is usually classified into neurogenic, arterial, and venous TOS [6]. Common causes of TOS are congenital, acquired, or traumatic. It can be further divided into arterial vascular, venous vascular, true neurologic, traumatic neurovascular, and disputed types [7].