Chest Wall Pain

Chest Wall Pain Guide

Do you know about chest wall pain or perhaps experienced this, so if you have pain in the bones, cartilage, and muscles that make up the chest wall is likely that you suffer from this pain. This happens in a specific area of ​​the chest and may feel worse pain when pressure is applied to the wall area., in medical terms is known as costochondritis, is an inflammatory condition that affects many people and is one of the most common causes of chest pain. Women and men over the age of 40 years are particularly vulnerable can be affected by costochondritis but it can be affect to anyone and anywhere.

Besides chest wall pain, costochondritis may also be referred to as costosternal syndrome or costosternal chondrodynia. A person with this pain has discomfort that originates from the structures of the chest wall. The chest wall includes the skin, ribs and muscles that surround the ribs. Relief for Non Cardiac Chest wall pain can be difficult to come by. Quite often a full evaluation is done to rule out cardiac sources of chest pain but if none are found consideration of non cardiac causes can be lacking.

Non Cardiac Chest wall pain refers to chest pain secondary to musculoskeletal or inflammatory causes. The pain may be secondary to a muscle strain in the chest wall itself, or in the back. It may be secondary to sprained ligaments in the neck, mid back, shoulder or chest wall itself. It may be due to nerve entrapment, irritation or to non cardiac vascular sources (such as thoracic outlet syndrome).

Chest Wall Pain Causes

Chest wall pain can be caused by many problems, including:

- Prolonged or violent coughing, which can strain the muscles or ligaments in the chest.

- An injury, such as a blow to the chest.

- Inflammation of the cartilage of the rib cage (costochondritis)

- Heart disease or heart attacks typically cause pain in chest wall, but other minor problems and urgent medical conditions can also contribute. Chest pain can also vary among individuals and is often described as an aching, dull, sharp or stabbing sensation in the chest, sternum and the ribcage. Chest wall pain can be related to the disorders of the heart, muscle and skeletal systems, lungs and digestive system. Unexplained chest pain is often difficult to diagnose and may require medical diagnosis and treatment.

Chest wall pain usually feels different than the chest pain of a heart attack. Lying on the affected area or moving, such as twisting to the side or raising the arms, also can make pain in chest wall feel worse.

Pain in Chest Wall Symptoms

- Common symptoms and findings of chest wall pain include pain that is increased with motion of the chest or upper (thoracic) spine.

- The pain is often worse when breathing deeply, sneezing, or coughing.

- There may be a region of tenderness in the chest wall or in a muscle group.

- Chest wall pain should not be associated with shortness of breath, sweating, nausea, or fever.

Chest Wall Pain Treatment

The underlying cause of the pain to be a reference to the treatment of chest wall pain more effectively. Pain in chest wall may improve after treatment with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications, cold compresses, and rest. A person with chest wall pain tends to avoid deep breaths because it will pain. However, deep breathing is important to reduce the risk for atelectasis and pneumonia. Thus, pain medication is important for those who are unable to breathe deeply because of pain.

Treatment for chest wall pain may include:

- Cold compresses

- Rest

- Warm compresses

- Deep breathing exercises:

# Use a spirometer.

# Helps to reduce atelectasis and decreases risk for pneumonia

- Narcotic pain medication:

# For short term use only

# For moderate to severe pain

- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications for pain:

# Ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil, Nuprin, Neoprofen)

# Ketoprofen (Actron, Orudis, Oruvail )

# Naproxen (Anaprox, Naprosyn, Aleve)

# Celecoxib (Celebrex)

You should be immediately evaluated in an emergency medical facility if your chest wall pain is a new sensation and you are not sure of what happened.  This is a complaint for which it is better to be conservative. See a doctor. Exceptions are chest wall pain, particularly if you had unusual exertion a day or so before, or pain that you are sure is coming from the esophagus. These you can treat with rest and acetaminophen, in the case of chest wall pain, and water and antacids, in the case of pain coming from the esophagus