Sternum Pain - Should I Be Concerned? (Page 1)

I have the exact symptoms you describe. I am pretty sure I stretched/tore something weight-lifting. It doesn't hurt that much when I am lifting for some reason. The pain is the worst when I reach across my chest or just move my arms in certain ways/angles.

I at first thought I tore some ligaments between a couple ribs or something near the sternum. I haven't gone to the doc yet.

Lemme know what you find out!

Hope it gets better for both of us!

I too have had the same symptoms. I have a raised knot at the top of my sternum with dull pain. No one around me has this peculiar raised region. What did the doctor say?

Doctor told me it was the following. Symptoms have gone away. I hope others are told the same thing. Sounds like it may be common.

Costochondritis. In this condition — also known as tietze's syndrome — the cartilage of your rib cage, particularly the cartilage that joins your ribs to your breastbone, becomes inflamed. The pain from costochondritis (kos-toe-khon-dri-tis) may occur suddenly and be intense, leading you to assume you're having a heart attack. Yet the location of the pain is different. Costochondritis causes your chest to hurt when you push on your sternum or on the ribs near your sternum. Heart attack pain is usually more widespread, and the chest wall usually isn't tender.

I started out with what I thought to be an air bubble trapped under my left rib cage. I felt it for over a week and then 1 day after playing air hockey, I was in the shower and noticed my rib cage on my left side was swollen or sticking out. Now I notice some dull pull in my sternum area. I do not have any bowel problems or nausea. I dont have insurance and cant at all afford to go see a Dr. My pain has not been too bad as much as it is annoying. Does anyone think I should be seriously concerned?

Having the same symptoms, I attributed it to a fall I took from my horse and he stepped on my ribs, breaking two. That was about 6 weeks ago. Now, I have developed this pain in my sterum and I have a bone that seems to be raised. Hurts when I move my arms certain ways or if I try to get up after laying down. I have found that if I put pressure on the lower part of my ribs, while laying on my back, the pain goes away and I can get a little bit of sleep. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I am a male, 51, not in the best of shape but historically strong and healthy. I have what feels like an extended sternum maybe 1-1/2" below and 1'2" above the bottom end of my rib cage. It is hard, not soft, and does not move. It does not hurt unless I push on it, hard enough to hurt anywhere else. But I can feel it pressing into my upper gastro tract (at the very outside, directly under the end of the sternum). My chest is usually tight and constricted (not always). It begins to feel like I need a strong breath, but I am not short of wind or panting or dizzy. It feels worse when sitting or lying and better when standing or walking. It does not keep me from sleeping (except for the worry). I can't tell if it is worse after eating in the evening, because that's usually when I'm relaxing in th chair.

I do not have an history of injury severe enough to cause any lasting damage in this area. I do not remember how long it has been but probably close to a year. It does not seem to be constant but comes and goes with the conditions I described.

I have not found any clear descriptions of these symptoms anywhere. I do not think it is costochronditis because it is not soft or moveable at all. It feels like an unwelcome wen on the wrist or something. Please advise.

Hi,

I too had the pain in the sternum as described. I feel you need to go into your doctor immediately as I didn't. It turns out that my pain was from breast cancer.....the cancer infection had bled over to my sternum and has infected the bone.

So go talk to your doctor and find how why you have the pain. Make sure they do all of the necessary tests.

One who knows......

jlj

some of the diagnosis here sounds familiar to my problem, but i will describe it more detailed. i have had this pain for months now, the location is in the upper middle area of my pecs, it feels on the bone (the sternum). i feel sometimes a very very sharp and strong pain when i sneeze, sometimes when i workout, or lay in bed on the side, then move, also if i sit straight and try to stick out my chest as much as i can i can feel a bone click. any ideas of what this could be?

I too have had pain in my sternum for a year now. I have had x-rays, bone scans, chiropractic work and nothing seems to help. There is no "crack" or break, but if I sneeze or stretch over my head, my sternum pops with a loud noise and then it hurts to the point that I feel I can't breathe. I have tried ibuprofen, motrin etc... but nothing seems to help. Sometimes the pain lasts days and sometimes it lasts weeks. The only explanation I have received so far is that there appears I may be inclined to arthritis in this area. Amazing.........since I don't have arthritis anywhere else in my body and I was a professional dancer, dancing for over 28 years. So, any thoughts?

Hello,
I am a 27 year old female. Many of these symptoms are similar, or exactly the same as mine. It started with a dull pain in my chest, but sometimes it would feel worse than others. Moving certain ways made the pain worse, like when I rolled over in bed or when I stick my chest out. I could sometimes relieve this pain by moving my shoulders a certain way to crack my sternum (similar to cracking your nuckles or you back). My doctor told me I have costochondritis, and that my age/sex is who it affects the most. He told me to take ibuprofin for a few weeks. This helped relieve the pain immediately, but once I stopped taking ibuprofin regularly, my symptoms came back. I am not sure what the next steps are, but I intend to find out because this is really uncomfortable. I hope everyone here, as well as myself, finds the answers/relief we are all looking for. However, if you are feeling pain in your chest, I suggest that you seek medical care immediately in case it is something more serious than costochondritis.

I too have the same symptoms with the pain and popping of the bone. but I find the pain can switch from my sternum area to the upper right side of my back, depending on what position I am in. I've had this type of pain for a few years now and had ex-rays done but no one seems to have an answer for me other then seeing a physiotherapists. I hate to take any type of drugs to mask the pain... I want to know what this might be or how it could be fixed. I was wondering if arthritis could have settled in this area after an injury of someone stepping on my back...long story I won't get into those details. I am 34 years old other then this pain I'm healthy.

i as well get this pain in my sternum... mostly when i arch my back or when on sleep on my side. Also when i sneeze my sternum seems to pop and tends to be more tender than usual. i've had this pain for about 6 months now.

I too have had some pain in my sternum over the past 2 wks. I have never been injured in this area before. As a single mom I lift heavy groceries and laundry bags up a 4 flight walk up. I have been sitting at a location on my job by a window that had a very cold draft coming thru. I thought that maybe I could be experiencing the pain because I caught some cold in my chest, I am not sick. At times when I experience this pain it is accompanied with heart palpitations. I don't have any insurance and would like to know if anyone can give me insight as to what it might be.

I to been having dull pain in my sternum area, more toward the right side, i'm a 30 yr old male pretty much active, but with this i can't be me, been going on for about ywo weeks, any thoughts?

I recently lost 11 pounds (I now weigh 133). I am a small framed female (54 years old) and noticed dull pain when I touched the tip of my sternum. When I lay on my back, it seems like there is a bump there, only noticeable if I press on that area. I don't feel pain or discomfort any other time then when I am examining it.

my step dad has just been told he has cancer of the sternum after he found he had trouble breathing and he has a very husky voice sometimes he has a pace maker and has out of control diabetes he is also recovering after a stroke so he had to have a special x ray like the dental ones but full body. he got dianoised today and its serious there already talking about removing his sternum and replacing it with a metal cage but i dont think he wants that hes 60 this year and been through alot
his symtoms were as follows.
.great difficulty in breathing
.great difficulty in swallowing
.blood tests abnormal
.thyroid giving up(he had underactive thyroid)
.lump able to be seen easily with naked eye
.x ray showed mass in chest
.difficulty talking sometimes
.high temp
.very lathargic
.sleeping alot
.chest pain on breathing

All I can say is - go to your doctor. Be in control. Make sure a ct scan is done! If your doctor doesn't check it out, find one that will! I had br ca in '94, mets to lypmph node in neck in '04. In 2008, I had pain, swelling, discoloration between sternum and colar bone. I now take tamoxifen, Zometa, plus had another round of radiation. 1 year later, I'm cancer free. Pray, Believe, Be In Control, don't rely on your computer - GO TO An ONCOLOGIST.

I have had rib cage discomfort for years. It seems to be getting worse as I get older. I have had my heart checked out and had chest xrays with no evidence of anything wrong. This makes going to the Dr. VERY frustrating!
Now my chest seems to constrict from all this chronic inflammation and I am finding taking a deep breath hard at times. My Dr. sent me to a lung specialist now. :/ I can relate to all these posts and have empathy for those who want answers. Only God knows....

My husband has had this pain for almost 6yrs now! It started when his mom had passed away and I thought it was stress. It seems to come and go or at least be a dull pain and then gets very intense! He has had every test on earth I think and we know nothing more than the day we started! I just googled this and found this web sight and maybe finally this sounds just like all his symptoms! All any of his blood test showed was an elevated count for inflamtion...big deal we thought give us something to go with! It has been a very frusterating journey! So ibproflin is all you can do to help the pain?? He was on anti asids, heart burn meds, inflamtion meds and nothing cant say he took it consistantly enough.