About this topic
Your chest wall is made up of bones and cartilage. These protect the lungs and the heart. Costochondritis is a pain or discomfort felt in your chest from your chest wall. You may feel a sharp stabbing or aching pain in your ribs. The area will likely be painful to touch. It often hurts worse when you take a deep breath or do certain movements. This illness can be caused by: ‚
- An injury to the ribs
- A strain from exercise or putting too much stress on your body
- Repeated coughing
Costochondritis can go away after a few days even without treatment. Your doctor may give you drugs to help with pain. ‚
What care is needed at home?
- Ask your doctor what you need to do when you go home. Make sure you ask questions if you do not understand what the doctor says. This way you will know what you need to do.
- Make sure to take all the drugs ordered by your doctor.
- Get lots of rest.
- If the chest pain is because of coughing, put a cool-mist humidifier in your room.
- For coughing, hold a pillow to your chest with your arms for support.
- If your doctor tells you to use heat to help with pain, put a heating pad on your sore area for no more than 20 minutes at a time. Never go to sleep with a heating pad on as this can cause burns.
- Avoid moving your arms and shoulders if it causes pain.
What follow-up care is needed?
Your doctor may ask you to make visits to the office to check on your progress. Be sure to keep these visits. ‚
What drugs may be needed?
The doctor may order drugs to: ‚
- Help with pain
- Reduce cough
Will physical activity be limited?
- Limit movements that can trigger your chest pain.
- You may have to limit your activities until your pain is gone. You can slowly increase your normal activities. Talk to your doctor about the right amount of activity for you.
What problems could happen?
Your pain may come back ‚
What can be done to prevent this health problem?
- Avoid lifting heavy objects. This can pull your chest muscles.
- Avoid activities that can injure your chest.
When do I need to call the doctor?
- Sudden breathing problems
- Coughing up blood
- Pain does not get better in a few days
Helpful tips
Try to relax when you feel pain in your chest. Slow, deep breathing will help. ‚
Teach Back: Helping You Understand
The Teach Back Method helps you understand the information we are giving you. The idea is simple. After talking with the staff, tell them in your own words what you were just told. This helps to make sure the staff has covered each thing clearly. It also helps to explain things that may have been a bit confusing. Before going home, make sure you are able to do these: ‚
- I can tell you about my condition.
- I can tell you what may help ease my pain.
- I can tell you what I will do if I have trouble breathing, I cough up blood, or my pain does not go away.
Where can I learn more?
American Family Physician ‚
http://www.aafp.org/afp/2009/0915/p617-s1.html ‚
KidsHealth ‚
http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/bones/costochondritis.html ‚
Consumer Information Use and Disclaimer
This information is not specific medical advice and does not replace information you receive from your health care provider. This is only a brief summary of general information. It does NOT include all information about conditions, illnesses, injuries, tests, procedures, treatments, therapies, discharge instructions or life-style choices that may apply to you. You must talk with your health care provider for complete information about your health and treatment options. This information should not be used to decide whether or not to accept your health care providers advice, instructions or recommendations. Only your health care provider has the knowledge and training to provide advice that is right for you. ‚
Copyright
Copyright ‚ © 2015 Clinical Drug Information, LLC and Lexi-Comp, Inc. ‚