What Causes Pain In Ribs Under The Breast Area?

Posted on Mon, 21 Apr 2014

Question: I have pain in ribs under breast area. Sore to touch. Hurts when teaching for something, coughing, sneezing, laughing or even deep breaths. Monday night my boyfriend picked me up and I said ouch cause it hurt some, his hands kind of gripped up under my breasts. I think his hands slipped some. Tuesday morning it started hurting pretty bad and pain seemed to get worse. Through out the day now I occasionally feel a crackling/popping sensation. Ibuprofen does seem to help. So I'm thinking I sustained some sort of injury and this is why it hurts. But it makes me nervous. I have not been sick. No fever or anything. The only thing I do have is an occasional cough from PND from allergies. Thanks

Answered by Dr. Karl Logan (2 hours later)

Brief Answer: Sounds like pleuritic chest pain Detailed Answer: Hi, There are a number of possibilities as to the cause of your pain. It could be pleuritic chest pain being generated from inflammation of the lining of the inside of your chest (the pleura). This can get inflamed because of a viral or bacterial chest infection and for some other less common reasons. You have this type of pain in your chest during or after a viral infection where you get inflammation of the costal cartilages where the ribs join the sternum. This is a self limiting condition that get better with time but it can take a couple of weeks. You could have a muscle strain in your chest. You could have a fractured rib. In the absence of trauma / injury to that area a fractured rib would suggest an abnormality in the rib itself. If your feeling totally well otherwise I would suggest taking some anti-inflammatory medication, as you are already, regularly over the next couple of weeks and waiting to see if the pain improves. If at any point you feel unwell i.e. short of breath, feverish, develop a productive cough etc then I would seek medical attention. If your symptoms do not start to improve after this period I would make an appointment to see your family Dr. These links may be useful http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tietze_syndrome http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bornholm_disease

Note: For further queries, consult a joint and bone specialist, an Orthopaedic surgeon. Book a Call now.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T