
For About A Year Now, I Get This Muscle Cramp

I’ve had the flu this last week, and my rib is extremely sore all day long. It’s starting to concern me. Any thoughts on what is causing this?
Thoughts on this
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome,
From your description, possibilities include costochondritis which is an inflammation of the connective tissue of the ribcage which typically happens from overuse of certain muscles. It can also be a fractured rib if you have been coughing a lot from influenza (by flu do you mean influenza - a respiratory infection with high fever and cough, or did you mean "stomach flu" with diarrhea and vomiting?)
For both problems the treatment is primarily rest of those muscles and NSAIDs such as ibuprofen or naproxen to decrease inflammation and pain (taken after eating as they can irritate the stomach).
I am not sure how punching your rib makes the pain better. If you have had "stomach flu" (viral gastroenteritis), it's possible that the cramp is actually a large intestinal cramp/spasm.

Answered by

Get personalised answers from verified doctor in minutes across 80+ specialties
