Costochondritis

[NotCool]

Does anyone have any experience with chest/sternum pain?

It's the bone in the middle of the chest, connecting the ribs, runs straight down the middle. I used to crack/pop my chest multiple times per day for year (when I say pop I mean arch my shoulders back, and chest upwards until it pops), but lately it's been painful as hell, especially if I can't pop it - it becomes sore, restricting, kind of locked, and especially painful.

It really sucks, and while I did have some minor pain before, it's different now - 3 events in 3 weeks. Might have to do something with the fact that I switched my mattress to a hard one 2 months ago, but then again it might not.

I've been reading about it, and most websites say that it's chronic. But this pain is really debilitating and it sucks.

Experience/opinions, anyone?

[hypozak]

Yep I've always had problem with stiff sternum and cracking in the morning loud pop and sore. I was told to do some chest opening exercises!

[Ish127]

After months of tests, monitoring, and several EKGs over fears of an impending heart attack, one of the cardiologists asked what my "chest pain" felt like. I explained it as dull ache over my sternum. He then pointed his fingers and pushed on the soft muscles between my sternum and ribs and it was the EXACT same pain. He diagnosed me with costochondritis and since then I have never had any heart attack fears. Pushing or poking around your chest and bad posture definitely make it worse. When you're stressed or anxious all of the muscles in your chest tighten. It's a vicious cycle. Stretching, heating pads, relaxation and ibuprofen worked wonders. Takes a while to go away, but be patient and it will! Good luck!

[NotCool]

I sit a hell lot, and I don't exercise. Maybe if I strengthed my chest muscles, it'll get better. But damn, this hurts as hell - I had minor pain before if I couldn't pop my chest, but this is ridiculous now. It seems my cartillage/sternum is locked, restricted, or something. If I arch back, it hurts, if I slouch forward, it hurts, if I turn around it hurts, if I press on it it hurts - it woke me up from sleep and I couldn't find a pose to sleep in comfortably, and now I'm noticing some kind of redness around my clavicle on the upper right side of my chest as well.

This sucks.

[Cusper]

Yes! I have had it for years. I was convinced i had a tumor in there, i had every sort of test done and then one day the dr. searched around my rib and said it was my actual ribs bending. it would pop quite often. Now i go to a chiropractor every other month and it really really helps. at first you go for a few times and then they also teach you stretches. The chiropractor said that it all radiates from the spine and once they realign the spine it fixes the ribs. Apparently it's from moving the same way all of he time that causes the spine to shift.

[NotCool]

Thanks for the answers. I'll try to get a physiotherapy appointment going, it might help. I really don't want this as a chronic condition. It still hurts today as hell, especially in some positions.

[Cusper]

Yeah, I am still in denial about it being a chronic condition. But it does get better than the severity it was years ago. Good luck!!!

[wolfershd]

I've had costochondritis before, happened when I was 15 and couldn't breathe because every breathe was like a knife to the chest. It is really, truly, painful. Trust me, if you had it you'd be in the er thinking your having a heart attack or something.

[NotCool]

I still have flare-ups of this. Especially in the morning. Sometimes it's really sore, but nothing like it was the first time. I stopped cracking my chest, which helps. I still kind of suspect changing the mattress, which is firmer than the one I had months ago.

[Jordan85]

I've had this too for a couple of years - I haven't had it officially diagnosed by a doctor as I never really thought much of it before.

I work with computers at least 8 hours a day and my posture is ridiculously bad. I used to (and sometimes still do) twist my lower body one way, stretch my arms and twist my upper torso the other way to produce a crack from my sternum.

I think it started when I was doing chest exercises for the first time in my life so I just put the stiffness down to that and the twisting habit. Now it cracks most of the time I sneeze. Ibuprophen worked for me in clearing it up temporarily - I was taking it for something else and it reduced the swelling in those muscles around the sternum causing the crack/pop/click sound.