Article by Addison

A big sounding word for something that is relatively minor compared to other conditions. Costochondritis is generally due to an injury to the cartilage connecting the ribs to the rib cage at the sternum or the sides. You may move a piece of furniture or reach for something just out of reach and injure the cartilage.

A very common source of upper and mid-back pain is misalignment of the ribs. Some misalignments of the rib-spine articulation can cause severe, sharp stabbing pain between the shoulder blades which can also radiate into the shoulders. Heavy breathing or taking a deep breath will usually cause an increase in pain. These injuries are usually non-traumatic and can last for weeks unless properly treated. The most common treatment includes pain medications and in some severe cases, pain injections. Complementary alternative medicine such as chiropractic, massage therapy, and physical therapy can provide fast relief from these types of injuries using spinal manipulation, stretching, trigger point therapy, and myotherapy.

The joints in the front of the rib cage change as we age, so they may be a little different. Those joints have more of a cartilage connection than the ones in back. As we age that cartilage calcifies so that the articulation becomes solid and the joint essentially disappears. But, until this happens, the connection in that area can become misaligned. And, it is only in much later life that this change becomes permanent.

Angina causes left chest pain and is a result of deficient blood supply to the heart due to narrowing of the lumen of an artery supplying blood to the heart and results in pain in the chest which may radiate to the left shoulder and arm, or the neck, or it may radiate to the back. Sometimes the pain may be felt only at the back when the ischemia (deficient blood supply) is at the inferior wall of the heart.

Your doctor will usually diagnose costochondritis by pressing on the area where the ribs meet the chest bone (sternum). If this area is tender and sore, costochondritis is the most likely cause of your sternum pain or chest pain. You want to make sure that costochondritis is the correct diagnosis and that it isn’t heart-related. If you press on the areas yourself, do so very gently so you don’t reinjure the area. If you don’t have any other pain that radiates out to the neck or arms nor any numbness, chills or a fever than you are not likely to have a heart problem.

Back pain under the left rib cage is a dilemma for all patients suffering from it. Any constant pain is viewed by doctors as a very serious disorder or disease and requires immediate attention and cure. The rib cage is a formation that is composed by the thoracic vertebrae and ribs, sternum-breastbone, and the coastal cartilages that links the ribs to the sternum. The term cage is defined as a structure to house animals. The rib cage is a similar structure which houses and also protects the animal heart and lungs, also known as a thoracic cage in medical terms.

There are ways to help you lessen the severity of costochondritis pain. Rest is important to help calm your body down and also ease your breathing. NSAID’s is known to relieve the pain caused by costochondritis and can be available over the counter without any prescription. Still, you must consider having a medical checkup before taking any medications for the pain. As previously stated, costochondritis symptoms can mimic those of a heart disease. Your doctor must perform a series of diagnostic tests that will confirm or deny the presence of any heart problems.