Weeks 1–3
Pain
Ease the compression.
Hands-on techniques release the tight muscles crowding the space and calm the irritated nerve, often within the first visit.
What We Treat
Thoracic Outlet Syndrome treatment in Cherry Hill & Burlington.
The tingling that creeps down your arm when you reach overhead or carry a bag on one shoulder. It’s fixable, and it starts with a cause-first evaluation of what’s actually compressing the nerve, not a guess.
Sound Familiar?
Does this sound like you?
- Your arm going numb or tingly when you reach for something on a high shelf
- A heaviness or ache that creeps down your arm by the end of a desk-bound day
- Fingers that feel cold or swollen on one side more than the other
- Carrying a bag on one shoulder because the strap digs in and sets off the tingling
- Waking up with your arm asleep, more nights than not
- Rolling your shoulders back constantly, trying to find a position that doesn’t pinch
Two or more? That’s your thoracic outlet asking for room.
Why It Happens
Thoracic outlet syndrome is a symptom. Compression is the cause.
Between your collarbone and your first rib is a tight passageway where nerves and blood vessels travel down into your arm. When the muscles around that space get tight, or your posture pulls your shoulder forward and down, that passageway narrows and starts pressing on what runs through it. That’s what produces the tingling, heaviness, or numbness down your arm.
Because the trigger is usually postural or muscular, generic stretching often misses the actual culprit. A cause-first evaluation maps exactly which structures are narrowing that space for you, whether it’s tight muscles, a dropped shoulder, or a rib alignment issue, so treatment opens the space instead of just easing the symptom for a day.
The Honest Truth
Waiting on a pinched nerve doesn’t make it release.
If you keep waiting
- The tingling starts showing up with less and less provocation
- Your grip and hand strength start to quietly fade
- You keep adjusting how you sleep, sit, and carry things around the pain, instead of fixing it
If you start this week
- You know exactly which structure is compressing the nerve by visit one
- Hands-on release work starts opening up the space right away
- You get a plan with an endpoint: real postural correction, not just temporary relief
Nobody regrets starting too early. Every week, someone in our clinic says they regret waiting.
How We Fix It
The same four phases. Built for your thoracic outlet.
Every plan has an endpoint. Here’s what the four phases look like for freeing up that compressed nerve.
Weeks 3–8
Prime
Open the space back up.
Targeted mobility work restores the posture and rib position that give the nerve and vessels room again.
Weeks 8–12
Perform
Strengthen what’s supposed to hold it open.
Postural and shoulder-girdle strengthening builds the support that keeps the space open under daily load.
Weeks 12+
Prevent
Keep it from creeping back.
Your work setup, sleep position, and lifting mechanics get tested and adjusted before you’re cleared: that’s the endpoint, not just another appointment.
I have never been to a better physical therapy place. Everyone here is so caring and ready to make anything and everything work for you. Paul runs an amazing practice here. If you need PT, you’ve got to come here.
Shared by Eliyahu M. · Thoracic outlet syndrome
Week 1: arm going numb by mid-morning at the keyboard
Week 8: full shift at the desk, no tingling, no dead arm
Thoracic outlet syndrome
8 weeks
Questions, Answered
What people ask before booking for thoracic outlet syndrome.
Not usually as a first step. Thoracic outlet syndrome is often driven by muscle tightness and posture, which a hands-on evaluation can identify directly. Imaging and nerve studies matter when there’s a suspected vascular issue or when symptoms don’t respond to conservative treatment, and we’ll help you get those if needed. Most people don’t need to wait on a scan to start finding relief.
Yes, in most cases, with some adjustments to how you’re carrying, reaching, and sitting. Total avoidance can let the surrounding muscles get weaker and stiffer, which tends to make the compression worse over time. Your therapist shows you which positions to avoid for now and which movements actually help open the space back up.
Most people notice a real difference within the first few weeks of hands-on treatment. A full plan runs through all four phases, Pain, Prime, Perform, and Prevent, typically over 8 to 12 weeks, depending on how long the compression has been building. Either way, you get a plan with an endpoint, not an open-ended string of appointments.
Book Your Visit
Ready when you are.
Request a time and a real person calls you back, usually within two business hours. No phone tree. No ‘someone will reach out.’ Just a plan.
- Hours Mon–Thu 8am–7pm, Fri 8am–2pm
- Prefer to talk now? Call either office. Cherry Hill 856-424-0993 Burlington 609-880-0880
- Same-week appointments available
5.0 · 607 Google reviews
Typical response: under 2 business hours
Step 1 of 6
Request sent.
That’s the hard part done. We’ll call during business hours to lock in your time. Most people are on the schedule same week.
Visit Us
Care this good, this close.
Specialized Physical Therapy – Cherry Hill
Specialized Physical Therapy – Burlington
- 11 Cadillac Road, Burlington, NJ 08016 (opens in a new tab)
- 609-880-0880
- Fax: 609-227-4423
- frontdesk@specializedphysicaltherapy.com
- Mon–Thu 8am–7pm, Fri 8am–2pm