rib cage pain...

Hi, can anyone help please? For the past 3-4 days I have had a tenderness to the soft bit underneath the sternum, its not a bad pain but can be a bit discomforting. I also have tenderness in along the rib cage (where the bottom of your bra sits). I have ongoing health anxieties and currently take medication but I always thing the worst and its either my heart or cancer. My last anxiety attack turned into a full blown panic disorder and to try and avoid this again i went to see GP. She checked my pulse - regular and my blood pressure was very good (better then hers!). She thinks that it may be acid reflux but its tender as opposed to a burning sensation. It honestly feels as though I have been in a boxing ring. I am starting to ache all over now as I know I am tense. I feel really tearful about the whole thing as I seem to have one health crisis after another (mentally not physically).
Any advise would be greatly apprecated.
Kristy

I've had this before. Do you exercise regularly? Do you sleep on your stomach or on one side for too long?

I think you need to try to relax alllll your body muscles somehow and just chilll out. This isn't anything serious. If your doctor had thought it was she would have shown more concern.

You're just overly anxious right now, something we call can relate to, unfortunetly.

You might be experiencing costochondritis - a sub condition of a wider condition called fibromyalgia - which is quite common in people who have anxiety issues.

I have this pain periodically when I've been especially tense or when I have been doing some kind of repetitive activity involving the arms and upper chest. Cost causes pain sensations in the soft tissue surrounding the ribs and can be felt all over the rib cage generally. Sometimes it can feel sore or tender or as if you have done 10 rounds with Mike Tyson. It is a nuisance and the pains can be quite unnerving, but it won't do you any harm in the long run. Try loosening any tight clothing around your upper chest and don't wear underwired bras which rest on the lower ribcage.

You will probably find that over time you come to distinguuish between the burning pain of acid reflux and the burning sensation caused by costo. I find the two conditions seem to run alongside each other.

Check it out with your doctor if you're unsure - that'show I was diagnosed before I had even heard of fibromalgia and costocondritis.

I'm so glad to find someone with the exact same symptoms as me! I was starting to get really worried over this pain!

I sleep on my front and wore ill fitting bra's for ages, so I suppose it figures that I get this pain/tenderness.

Thankyou for putting my mind at ease, another symptom to tick off on the anxiety list!

Take care guys.

Cat.

I have had the same tenderness under my sternum and pain on my left side and sore ribs, plus back ache and head ache and i was told i most probably have Fibromalgia its so frustrating though because there is no blood test to prove it, the doctor checked for tender points and i had about 18 which apparently is quite a sure sign it is Fibromalgia, is there anyone else on here that suffers with this it would be good to speak to someone with similar symptoms, I suffered very badly with anxiety this time last year and because of these pains I can feel my anxiety coming back slightly its a horrible feeling anxiety and I truly feel for everyone on here that is going through it at the moment.

I know these were old posts, but I've been suffering similar symptoms but mostly on my right side, can Costochondritis affect the right side too?