The reproducible tenderness but without swelling you feel when you press on the sternal and rib joints (costosternal and costochondral junctions respectively) is a constant feature of costochondritis. Conversely, it decreases as movement stops or with quiet breathing. This pain increases with activity, moving or twisting or when taking deep breaths. The most common sites of pain are the anterior cartilage segments of the 2th to 5th ribs at the front of the chest near where the ribs join the breastbone. It’s felt over the affected cartilage segments in multiple areas, usually on one, or occasionally both sides of the sternum. It is a relatively common condition seen in adult and patients who develop pain and tenderness at the front of the chest. Intercostal muscle strain or pulled chest muscleĬostochondritis refer to Inflammation of the cartilage junctions of the sternum and ribs typically felt at the costosternal and costochondral joints. Pain radiating from thoracic spine or costovertebral joints Slipped Rib Syndrome or lower rib pain syndromes The most common cause of chest wall pain is from through some form of direct trauma or injury to chest wall with underlying swelling and inflammation to the soft tissues.Īs a result of direct Injury or trauma to chest The causes of chest wall pain are numerous but are most commonly musculoskeletal conditions, though other conditions often need to be excluded first. It may be associated with numbness, tingling or a ‘radiating’ pain, from front to back for example. The pain may worse on certain movements such as deep breathing, coughing or twisting. The pain may be an ache, constant or occasional, sharp, stabbing or burning. The type of pain and its location depends on the underlying cause of the pain. The most common chest wall symptom is pain. The complex nature of thorax with multiple joints and cartilaginous connections coupled with a need to continually move (breath) makes it prone to inflammatory conditions and chronic pain problems.
This cartilage also contributes to elasticity within the walls of the thorax, allowing the chest to expand during respiration. The costal cartilage are segments of cartilage that connect the sternum to the ribs and help to extend the ribs into a forward motion. Created for the rib injury clinic by AnatomikModelingģD interactive chest wall model showing rib cage, thoracic spine and sternum with costal cartilage