Who has Recovered from Costochondritis

[Gra23]

Still taking 2 pills of calcium orotate with dinner nightly and totally recovering. I cleaned all day over the weekend, did loads of laundry lifting full laundry baskets and no inflammation, no pain, no shortness of breath. It's the cure folks. Finally relief!!!! Please take it and share your relief and joy with me. I would love to hear that I helped other sufferers find this cure. Also, my husband has bad knees. Whenever he goes running his knees get busted and they swell up. I believe it's due to juicing. He agrees it's a side effect. He too has been taking calcium orotate and he noticed his knees are better. He went for a 5 mile run yesterday and today he has no swelling in his knees. It's amazing stuff. Rebuilds your joints. Try it folks and share your recovery story! A bottle of 90 caps off amazon cost 30 bucks!

Could you provide me information on this?

[axel125]

I know it's been about 3 years since you posted but Ive got some chest problem as well. I am a beginner at gym and maybe I lifted too much too early...a month into gym and then last week I hard a severe stabbing pain in the chest.. It was like having a heart attack...went to the doc.. No heart prob..( Heck im only 20).. Looked like a pulled chest muscle.. I have rested it a week taking some meds such as ******** and icing it... It's not quite healed yet... Pain comes with deep breaths and movements like picking grocery and stuff.. How long can I expect to be out of gym.. ? This really sucks :/,

[BluBlaDe]

Axel, take a month or two off.
DO NOT **** with costochondritis. Most of us in this thread thought we were super manly badass gods and overdid it at the gym...
I was one year completely out of the gym and having trouble breathing and doing simple exercises. Wait until you are pain free, it might take a long time.

Just try to lower inflammation as much as possible, Paleo diet, fasting, fish oil etc. I tried everything under the sun and basically anything that lowers inflammation will help but only time will heal you up.

[Jmmcginl]

Google backpod, it's a problem with the back part of your rib joint being locked up. I used a small metal mixng bowl that fit in between my shoulder blade and stretched my spine and ribs over it for 10mins, it knocked the cost out in two days

[tidusjetch229]

Hey guys just read the whole thread and I want to add my 2cents

I've been having overall weakness and general pain in the chest for about a year now but I just figured it was because I was working too much and it would heal on its own. Thought it was muscular, big mistake. The symptoms started off seeming like they were muscular symptoms (sore chest, sore bicep, sore tricep) but I now know it's costo. The thing is I never even knew that there was such a thing as cartilage damage (especially at my age 28). Most likely got costo because I used to do a lot of deadlifts, bench press and a lot of chest excercises including dips. Also worked at a physically demanding job.

Been to the doctors/hospital, done all the xrays and scans. Well turns out its costo. Here is my symptoms since early august:

- 1 rib sticking out of rib cage (feels like a lump, but it's my rib) on the right side and goes all the way around the rib cage
- Unable to put my right arm fully down because of the protruding rib (feel some discomfort)
- Severe weakness if I over-exert myself such as lifting a light weight even 20lb (had to quit my job and drop out of school because of this, just sitting around at home these days)
- Continuous clicking of sternum and rib-spine connection if I stretch
- General fatigue

Some things I do daily that are helping:

-Stretch the arm/rib joint (makes a clicking sound, helps move stuff around in the joints I guess)
-Absolutely zero lifting (if I lift even 20lbs I get a burning/hot feeling in the chest area)
-Cardio for 1 hr every other day to promote blood flow (elliptical only, can't handle impact of running/jogging which causes rib pain)
-hot showers daily to promote blood flow

I'll update this post if anything else comes up but it's been about 10 weeks now... the recovery is VERY slow and some days it feels like there is zero progress... but at this point I dont really have a choice but to wait for it to heal...

This thing is a ****ing curse, Im done with weightlifting if I ever fully recover. Sometimes you gotta make the decision between quality of life and gaining a little bit of muscle... if there is a hell, this is it. There's no treatments, no pain meds besides NSAIDS, no surgery.

Take care of your body boys and girls.

[smittyboy63]

I've had costochondritis for over 12 years now. Isn't it interesting how this condition came out of nowhere, and prior to the 2000's you never heard of it?
Makes you wonder, huh?

I came down with it when I hit 40 (in 2001). It all started with a dull pain in my sternum. That pain faded in and out for about 3 years. I had no idea what it was.
In the spring of 2004, I was having alot of pain. I was also under alot of stress - relationship breakup, stressful job, etc, etc. My costo bothered me the worse when I was sitting.

At some point, I decided to see a chiropractor in 2004. It should be noted at this point I still had no idea what was wrong with me. I assumed that something was wrong with my spine and was sending pain around my ribs into my sternum. My sternum felt so tight and painful. It was horrible and frightening. My biggest mistake was going to the chiropractor. I told him I had been reading about costo online, and he didn't seem to think I had it. He was wrong! Don't ever let a chiropractor "adjust" you when you have this condition. This guy laid me on my belly and went down my back, cracking my spine. At some point, he pressed hard, and it felt like a bolt of lightening went into my chest. The pain was unreal. I was so upset. And this guy was a total a**hole about it. After 3 months of going to other doctors, and nobody being able to figure out what was wrong, I finally went to a thoracic surgeon. He ran a stethoscope up and down all of my ribs while I breathed in and out. When he got to my T4 rib on my right side, he said, "Ahh hah, I know what's wrong." Turns out the chiropractor snapped my T4 rib completely off my sternum. It was dangling inside of me. Looking back, it was the worst pain I've ever gone through in my life. It took many years to heal. In fact, I couldn't wear a seatbelt for about 8 years after that...it was too painful. Unfortunately, when you snap a rib, at the point of cartilage going into your sternum, there is nothing they can do for you but put you on pain meds.

After my rib finally knitted fully back to my sternum, things got a bit better, but I still have days when my chest bothers me. I have done alot of reading on this condition for many years now, and it has alot to do with "relaxation" and "bracing". Bracing is something your body does in a "fight or flight" response. In otherwords, if you have tension or anxiety, it's going to make this condition alot worse. I have notcied over the years that I tend to "clench" my jaw alot...not grind my teeth, but "clench". I truly believe this unwanted habit of clenching my jaw contributes to my costo. Why? Because when you tense your jaw muscle up, it pulls on the muscles in the front of your neck, and they in turn are hooked into your chest/sternum area...tightening that area up.

When my costo was really bad, I had a problem taking a deep breath. I couldn't catch my whole breath. This can be very scary. But, if you learn to relax - "skilled relaxation", you can help alleviate this condition. Bracing is a big contributing factor to costo...it tightens everything up.

The big question though, is what is really causing costo in so many people, when it was never a problem until the last 20 years? Where did it come from?
And what's really causing it? I often wonder if it's something we were all exposed to that caused us to be susceptible to this condition. I often wonder if it was antibiotics. Why? Because I took Cipro on a number of occasions years ago before this came about, and if you read the warnings on Cipro it mentions that it weakens tendons in some people...and I have had issues with other tendons in my body as well...tearing, weakening, etc.

As the post above said, I also had lots of "clicking" in my chest as well. When i told the docs that they would look at me like I was crazy. It still does it every now and then too. Sometimes I can feel one of the ribs on my right side move at night when I'm in bed laying on my back. Often it feels like I have a rib slipping in and out, or it's rubbing against another rib.

Aside from all of this, after a 12 year break from working out, I have joined the gym again, and honestly, my costo feels better than ever.
We'll see... anyway, after 12 years of costo, I refuse to let it ruin my life anymore. I'm use to the discomfort now, so I'm working out again.
Costo be damned!

[caronson]

Try doing a static hang with your feet back a bit. I found the cause of my costo was having a tight pec minor. The shortened pec minor was pulling on the sternum causing the popping and inflamation. After just a few days of doing hanging between sets at the gym I felt imensly better. Now I'm about a month in feeling good as new.

[Blighty96]

Hey guys,

Ive had chosto for about 10 months and like everyone in this thread knows its an absolute bitch! Ive finally found some relief and im back in the gym, and i thought i would share this with you because it drove me nuts and the lack of knowledge about it in the medical industry is crazy.

For about 6 months i was on and off at the gym giving it rest and then going back after a while to see how it felt, this was no good. The inflamation went down and it wasnt as painful as usual but as soon as i did any physical activity it started to hurt again.

Went to the gp and was told i had chosto and given anti inflammatorys and told it would go away after 3 months. It did not.

I then went to a sports doc who prescribed me some naproxen anti inflammatories which only reduced the inflammation and didnt fix the underlying problem. He reffered me to a physio where he massaged it and ultrasounded it while working on my posture giving me postural exercises. This helped a little but was more or less temporary.

Having no relief i googled how to fix it and came across this video by a physio in new zealand who believes it is from stiffness in the rib joints at the back and a build up of collagen on the spine causing the joints to become stiff and the front rib joints to take the load and become overworked and therefore inflamed. The video is below if your interested i strongly recommend it.

"I am unable to post the link as this is my first post but search 'how to fix chostochondritis' in youtube and there should be a video by thebackpodbodystance"

I bought the backpod which he recommends in the video and no joke it hurt so ****ing much when i first layed on it but just after one session i kid you not i felt some relief.

In the video he also recommends a chiropractor in order to manipulate and release the joints. My chiro i am seeing has also massaged the chest quite aggressively which hurts alot at the time and for a few days after but once it settles down it feels better each time.

I have been recommended to ice my chest with a raw block of ice to allow it to melt on my chest which makes it colder than an ice pack as much as i can (i do it 3 times a day). Additionally i was advised to use voltaren gel on the chest as this directly targets the chosto and reduces the inflammation, much better the oral anti inflams.

Anyway since seeing this video it has been about 3 weeks and my chosto is seriously starting to heal and i am back in the gym even starting to introduce a flat bench dumbell press yesterday with no pain! I hope this can help some of you i know how horrible a condition it is. My advice would be to first go see a gp to confirm it is infact chostochondritis, if so seriously consider the backpod, best thing i ever bought.

Good luck!

[Clevor1]

I am just coming off a bout with costochondritis. Fortunately for me, there was a valid cause: have not exercised in 4 years and 30 lbs overweight. I bought one of those portable chin up setups where you can also do dips and spread arm pushups, and situps if you anchor the thing. First time I tried to do a dip I felt a Pop! in my chest and stabbing pain in the center of my sternum. I have had seriously bruised ribs before after a biking accident, where it took 6 months until I could cough or sneeze without any twinge of pain, so I knew it would be a long healing process. Two months after I bruised my ribs I started pushups and chin-ups again even though I felt some pain, as had to get back in shape.

I am making good progress on the costo. It is a month now and it is slowly getting better, maybe 5% a day. I avoid any exercise that aggravates it, because that sets it off again. Fortunately I can do overhead chin-ups, pushups with arms closed to my sides, a few wide arm pushups, situps, and jumping rope with no pain. This is enough to lose 10 lbs so far, together with riding an exercise bike and dieting. If I try to do a dip I feel faint pain, so I guess I have to lay off that for two more months until I can try it. I am 64 so I can't complain.

Ibuprofen works but soon as you stop it the pain comes back so I stopped it for good to measure my progress.

[IronKrazy]

I've got it and have been dealing with it for years. Srs.

The two things that KILL me are sneezing and pull ups. I can do close grip pull/chin ups and especially neutral grip but even then it flares up if I do too much. If my sternum or breastplate gets stiff or heals wrong and I go to sneeze, whoa nelly, that first sneeze or two feels like someone is cracking me in two.

I believe it was on a job site where I was reaching or extending myself very far outward to hold onto the wall to sand mud and possibly brought it on that way. A short time after that happened, one night I was walking around and all of a sudden the pain brought me to my knees. I literally had to go to the ER cause I though my chest was cracking open or was having a heart attack. I don't know.

I just try to stay away from things that can make it flare up or reinjure it. One time about a year ago I picked up a box, turned and caught the corner of a wall with it. That applied a lot of force onto the middle of my chest and god damn that one hurt. Took a couple weeks for the pain to go away.

[kpete22]

Axel, take a month or two off.
DO NOT **** with costochondritis. Most of us in this thread thought we were super manly badass gods and overdid it at the gym...
I was one year completely out of the gym and having trouble breathing and doing simple exercises. Wait until you are pain free, it might take a long time.

Just try to lower inflammation as much as possible, Paleo diet, fasting, fish oil etc. I tried everything under the sun and basically anything that lowers inflammation will help but only time will heal you up.

Hey dude are you back to working out? 100% pain free? I'm at the 7 month mark... got it from doing dips 3x a week. Sneeze 3 months ago turned this one into a bad case. Am now not in a lot of pain but im still super limited in what I can do as it hurts to move certain ways. I can't do any upper body work.. even runnings a bit too much movement for my upper body. I understand yours prevented you from even walking at one point. Thank f mine wasn't that bad. What did you do to recover? Was your pain right next to your sternum?

[kpete22]

I've had costochondritis for over 12 years now. Isn't it interesting how this condition came out of nowhere, and prior to the 2000's you never heard of it?
Makes you wonder, huh?

I came down with it when I hit 40 (in 2001). It all started with a dull pain in my sternum. That pain faded in and out for about 3 years. I had no idea what it was.
In the spring of 2004, I was having alot of pain. I was also under alot of stress - relationship breakup, stressful job, etc, etc. My costo bothered me the worse when I was sitting.

At some point, I decided to see a chiropractor in 2004. It should be noted at this point I still had no idea what was wrong with me. I assumed that something was wrong with my spine and was sending pain around my ribs into my sternum. My sternum felt so tight and painful. It was horrible and frightening. My biggest mistake was going to the chiropractor. I told him I had been reading about costo online, and he didn't seem to think I had it. He was wrong! Don't ever let a chiropractor "adjust" you when you have this condition. This guy laid me on my belly and went down my back, cracking my spine. At some point, he pressed hard, and it felt like a bolt of lightening went into my chest. The pain was unreal. I was so upset. And this guy was a total a**hole about it. After 3 months of going to other doctors, and nobody being able to figure out what was wrong, I finally went to a thoracic surgeon. He ran a stethoscope up and down all of my ribs while I breathed in and out. When he got to my T4 rib on my right side, he said, "Ahh hah, I know what's wrong." Turns out the chiropractor snapped my T4 rib completely off my sternum. It was dangling inside of me. Looking back, it was the worst pain I've ever gone through in my life. It took many years to heal. In fact, I couldn't wear a seatbelt for about 8 years after that...it was too painful. Unfortunately, when you snap a rib, at the point of cartilage going into your sternum, there is nothing they can do for you but put you on pain meds.

After my rib finally knitted fully back to my sternum, things got a bit better, but I still have days when my chest bothers me. I have done alot of reading on this condition for many years now, and it has alot to do with "relaxation" and "bracing". Bracing is something your body does in a "fight or flight" response. In otherwords, if you have tension or anxiety, it's going to make this condition alot worse. I have notcied over the years that I tend to "clench" my jaw alot...not grind my teeth, but "clench". I truly believe this unwanted habit of clenching my jaw contributes to my costo. Why? Because when you tense your jaw muscle up, it pulls on the muscles in the front of your neck, and they in turn are hooked into your chest/sternum area...tightening that area up.

When my costo was really bad, I had a problem taking a deep breath. I couldn't catch my whole breath. This can be very scary. But, if you learn to relax - "skilled relaxation", you can help alleviate this condition. Bracing is a big contributing factor to costo...it tightens everything up.

The big question though, is what is really causing costo in so many people, when it was never a problem until the last 20 years? Where did it come from?
And what's really causing it? I often wonder if it's something we were all exposed to that caused us to be susceptible to this condition. I often wonder if it was antibiotics. Why? Because I took Cipro on a number of occasions years ago before this came about, and if you read the warnings on Cipro it mentions that it weakens tendons in some people...and I have had issues with other tendons in my body as well...tearing, weakening, etc.

As the post above said, I also had lots of "clicking" in my chest as well. When i told the docs that they would look at me like I was crazy. It still does it every now and then too. Sometimes I can feel one of the ribs on my right side move at night when I'm in bed laying on my back. Often it feels like I have a rib slipping in and out, or it's rubbing against another rib.

Aside from all of this, after a 12 year break from working out, I have joined the gym again, and honestly, my costo feels better than ever.
We'll see... anyway, after 12 years of costo, I refuse to let it ruin my life anymore. I'm use to the discomfort now, so I'm working out again.
Costo be damned!

Hey how's your luck been with working out man?

[kpete22]

Hey guys just read the whole thread and I want to add my 2cents

I've been having overall weakness and general pain in the chest for about a year now but I just figured it was because I was working too much and it would heal on its own. Thought it was muscular, big mistake. The symptoms started off seeming like they were muscular symptoms (sore chest, sore bicep, sore tricep) but I now know it's costo. The thing is I never even knew that there was such a thing as cartilage damage (especially at my age 28). Most likely got costo because I used to do a lot of deadlifts, bench press and a lot of chest excercises including dips. Also worked at a physically demanding job.

Been to the doctors/hospital, done all the xrays and scans. Well turns out its costo. Here is my symptoms since early august:

- 1 rib sticking out of rib cage (feels like a lump, but it's my rib) on the right side and goes all the way around the rib cage
- Unable to put my right arm fully down because of the protruding rib (feel some discomfort)
- Severe weakness if I over-exert myself such as lifting a light weight even 20lb (had to quit my job and drop out of school because of this, just sitting around at home these days)
- Continuous clicking of sternum and rib-spine connection if I stretch
- General fatigue

Some things I do daily that are helping:

-Stretch the arm/rib joint (makes a clicking sound, helps move stuff around in the joints I guess)
-Absolutely zero lifting (if I lift even 20lbs I get a burning/hot feeling in the chest area)
-Cardio for 1 hr every other day to promote blood flow (elliptical only, can't handle impact of running/jogging which causes rib pain)
-hot showers daily to promote blood flow

I'll update this post if anything else comes up but it's been about 10 weeks now... the recovery is VERY slow and some days it feels like there is zero progress... but at this point I dont really have a choice but to wait for it to heal...

This thing is a ****ing curse, Im done with weightlifting if I ever fully recover. Sometimes you gotta make the decision between quality of life and gaining a little bit of muscle... if there is a hell, this is it. There's no treatments, no pain meds besides NSAIDS, no surgery.

Take care of your body boys and girls.

hey man how are u these days?

[aweb610]

I just read this whole thread because I too have Costochondritis and I also want to weight lift and have failed at my attempt to start due to pain. Any tips on how to start carefully?

I know nobody has replied in a while to this thread but has anyone found relief from costo pain?

I put the following timeline together at first for myself to connect the dots and find a pattern then decided I will bring it to my new doc for a yearly physical next week. After reading this thread I figured I should just share it here too to show the history.

Hoping someone has found more answers....

My history..... By the way female age 33 here...

2012 -

Chest pains. Pulmonary function tests blamed smoking. Was told my lungs were that of a 68yr old at 28yrs old. Smoked for 14 yrs. Attempted several quits, lasting nine months once.

Back pain became an issue and went through several kidney tests. No answers.

2013 -

Quit smoking for good, almost 5 years free now. Chest pains and breathing became better for some time.

Started a repetitive movement cleaning job.

Fell carrying a couch down the stairs, slammed the underside of right upper arm on railing. Couldn't lift arm well after a few days. Was given sling and a week off work.

Pain has never fully went away. All pain located in right shoulder blade through rotator cuff down to elbow and wrist and shooting pain down to ring and pinky fingers.

Sports medicine doctor did an ultrasound of arm and saw bursitis and gave steroid shot. Pain worse after shot.

Nerve test on arm showed nothing.


2014 - 2016

Early 2014 fell on my back, cement floor, with an air conditioner landing on chest trying to lift the a/c unit off of a high shelf. ER visit showed no damage.

Spectrum Health physical therapy for some time. Didn't help enough to continue. Only icing gave temporary relief.

Another nerve test showed nothing. Arm and shoulder and neck x-rays show nothing.

Jaw clenching in sleep has been an issue. Caused two crowned teeth to pop out in sleep at different times. Clenching also causes me jaw pain.

Two separate professional massages quite some time apart made pain worse after. Second time I was told I have a huge knot in right shoulder blade that they couldn't work out of it.

Physical therapy at Saint Mary's for a short time also did not help.

Saw a chiropractor and they saw arthritis in lower back and slight curvature of my spine (which I knew since I was 18 I have s****osis, the curve is under the percentage to be surgically fixable). I will not see a chiropractor again, I don't trust what they do or how often they keep you coming back, causing a cycle of pain and relief that never ends.

Saw a thoracic doctor who understood the pain and saw a pinching in my left thoracic side. Offered an invasive surgery that could possibly bring relief. I never went back though. Surgery was too close to the heart and a high risk and long recovery.

Was told tennis elbow at one point, bought a specific wrap with pressure point for it per doctor, pain worse when I wore it.

Was told tendonitis and arthritis, was prescribed a fitted wrist glove, pain worse when I wore it.

Hand x-rays show nothing and blood tests ruled out rheumatoid arthritis.

2016 -

Arm pain continued, no answers or relief. Stopped looking. Live on ice packs.

In the fall chest pain increased. Pinching for short times became longer and more pressure. Ended up in ER one night thinking it was a heart attack. EKG was normal.

Diagnosed with Costochondritis Sept. 2016. Muscle relaxers gave some relief. Temporarily. Pain became constant. Couldn't wear bras, then could only wear loose sports bras. Ice packs everyday. Can't sleep on right side at all anymore. Changing my pillow helped some pain in neck.

I changed my eating lifestyle late 2016 permanently to Keto. Amongst many other reasons...hoping to reduce pain and inflammation is one. I lost twice what my goal was, for a total of 50lbs and have maintained it all purely through food change and no workouts at all.

2017 -

I continued my eating lifestyle all year consistently. No sugar or grains at all, low carb and high fat, ketogenic. Pain did decrease and almost disappeared for many periods of time. Cannot find a pain pattern. Ice helps when pain happens, I have gave up hope for answers from doctors.

Chest pain increased in early winter. Several times felt like a heart attack. One time causing so much pain I had my first panic attack Nov. 31st.

Jaw clenching seems to have become worse. For the first time I felt jaw pain that radiated into my ears causing shooting pain.

I am wondering if the increased chest pain and inflammation caused increased anxiety which causes increased stress and increased jaw clenching which in turn caused more pain...

I tried anxiety meds for all of December with no relief and nausea started so I stopped them. I had another panic attack on Christmas but that was due to severe weather and driving conditions.

I quit caffeine for 15 days in December but saw no change so I resumed it.

2018 -

Started a workout plan. Wanted to lift weights. Tried two 10lb weights and squats, wanting to start slow and small. After one week I am certain I messed up a rib. The mess-up could have been from a one time use on the seventh day of a portable handlebar with resistance cords and foot straps that I used, possibly stretching my ribs out too far. Later that day I felt excruciating pain, can pinpoint it at the bottom of my right rib, never felt sharp pain there so pointedly, it radiates around back of ribs and up shoulder and down to fingers again. Pain worse and very sharp in rib. Stopped working out completely for now and I am very scared to resume it, the pain is so bad. I am rotating heat and ice and forced myself to sleep on my back with pillows under my arms (normally a side sleeper).

I am certain that the chronic pain I feel and have felt for years is causing the anxiety. The sharp pains so close to the heart are causing the increased fear and worry. The anxiety IS NOT causing the pain. The pain IS causing the anxiety.

Questions -

Has the chest pain always been Costochondritis going all the way back to 2012? Has this all been because of my ribs? Is it because of sleep position and posture? Have the injuries aggravated the costo over and over not allowing the cartilage to properly heal? Has all of the right arm pain been connected to the chest pain for all of these years?

What is causing my inflammation? Besides my rib cartilage inflammation, I wake up everyday with a very flat stomach besides some loose skin but go to bed with inflammation in the belly nightly... Do I need to also give up dairy? Will I ever be able to workout, especially weight lift for loose skin benefits? How can I find relief without a chiropractor?

[Bazan27]

I just read this whole thread because I too have Costochondritis and I also want to weight lift and have failed at my attempt to start due to pain. Any tips on how to start carefully?

I know nobody has replied in a while to this thread but has anyone found relief from costo pain?

I put the following timeline together at first for myself to connect the dots and find a pattern then decided I will bring it to my new doc for a yearly physical next week. After reading this thread I figured I should just share it here too to show the history.

Hoping someone has found more answers....

My history..... By the way female age 33 here...

2012 -

Chest pains. Pulmonary function tests blamed smoking. Was told my lungs were that of a 68yr old at 28yrs old. Smoked for 14 yrs. Attempted several quits, lasting nine months once.

Back pain became an issue and went through several kidney tests. No answers.

2013 -

Quit smoking for good, almost 5 years free now. Chest pains and breathing became better for some time.

Started a repetitive movement cleaning job.

Fell carrying a couch down the stairs, slammed the underside of right upper arm on railing. Couldn't lift arm well after a few days. Was given sling and a week off work.

Pain has never fully went away. All pain located in right shoulder blade through rotator cuff down to elbow and wrist and shooting pain down to ring and pinky fingers.

Sports medicine doctor did an ultrasound of arm and saw bursitis and gave steroid shot. Pain worse after shot.

Nerve test on arm showed nothing.


2014 - 2016

Early 2014 fell on my back, cement floor, with an air conditioner landing on chest trying to lift the a/c unit off of a high shelf. ER visit showed no damage.

Spectrum Health physical therapy for some time. Didn't help enough to continue. Only icing gave temporary relief.

Another nerve test showed nothing. Arm and shoulder and neck x-rays show nothing.

Jaw clenching in sleep has been an issue. Caused two crowned teeth to pop out in sleep at different times. Clenching also causes me jaw pain.

Two separate professional massages quite some time apart made pain worse after. Second time I was told I have a huge knot in right shoulder blade that they couldn't work out of it.

Physical therapy at Saint Mary's for a short time also did not help.

Saw a chiropractor and they saw arthritis in lower back and slight curvature of my spine (which I knew since I was 18 I have s****osis, the curve is under the percentage to be surgically fixable). I will not see a chiropractor again, I don't trust what they do or how often they keep you coming back, causing a cycle of pain and relief that never ends.

Saw a thoracic doctor who understood the pain and saw a pinching in my left thoracic side. Offered an invasive surgery that could possibly bring relief. I never went back though. Surgery was too close to the heart and a high risk and long recovery.

Was told tennis elbow at one point, bought a specific wrap with pressure point for it per doctor, pain worse when I wore it.

Was told tendonitis and arthritis, was prescribed a fitted wrist glove, pain worse when I wore it.

Hand x-rays show nothing and blood tests ruled out rheumatoid arthritis.

2016 -

Arm pain continued, no answers or relief. Stopped looking. Live on ice packs.

In the fall chest pain increased. Pinching for short times became longer and more pressure. Ended up in ER one night thinking it was a heart attack. EKG was normal.

Diagnosed with Costochondritis Sept. 2016. Muscle relaxers gave some relief. Temporarily. Pain became constant. Couldn't wear bras, then could only wear loose sports bras. Ice packs everyday. Can't sleep on right side at all anymore. Changing my pillow helped some pain in neck.

I changed my eating lifestyle late 2016 permanently to Keto. Amongst many other reasons...hoping to reduce pain and inflammation is one. I lost twice what my goal was, for a total of 50lbs and have maintained it all purely through food change and no workouts at all.

2017 -

I continued my eating lifestyle all year consistently. No sugar or grains at all, low carb and high fat, ketogenic. Pain did decrease and almost disappeared for many periods of time. Cannot find a pain pattern. Ice helps when pain happens, I have gave up hope for answers from doctors.

Chest pain increased in early winter. Several times felt like a heart attack. One time causing so much pain I had my first panic attack Nov. 31st.

Jaw clenching seems to have become worse. For the first time I felt jaw pain that radiated into my ears causing shooting pain.

I am wondering if the increased chest pain and inflammation caused increased anxiety which causes increased stress and increased jaw clenching which in turn caused more pain...

I tried anxiety meds for all of December with no relief and nausea started so I stopped them. I had another panic attack on Christmas but that was due to severe weather and driving conditions.

I quit caffeine for 15 days in December but saw no change so I resumed it.

2018 -

Started a workout plan. Wanted to lift weights. Tried two 10lb weights and squats, wanting to start slow and small. After one week I am certain I messed up a rib. The mess-up could have been from a one time use on the seventh day of a portable handlebar with resistance cords and foot straps that I used, possibly stretching my ribs out too far. Later that day I felt excruciating pain, can pinpoint it at the bottom of my right rib, never felt sharp pain there so pointedly, it radiates around back of ribs and up shoulder and down to fingers again. Pain worse and very sharp in rib. Stopped working out completely for now and I am very scared to resume it, the pain is so bad. I am rotating heat and ice and forced myself to sleep on my back with pillows under my arms (normally a side sleeper).

I am certain that the chronic pain I feel and have felt for years is causing the anxiety. The sharp pains so close to the heart are causing the increased fear and worry. The anxiety IS NOT causing the pain. The pain IS causing the anxiety.

Questions -

Has the chest pain always been Costochondritis going all the way back to 2012? Has this all been because of my ribs? Is it because of sleep position and posture? Have the injuries aggravated the costo over and over not allowing the cartilage to properly heal? Has all of the right arm pain been connected to the chest pain for all of these years?

What is causing my inflammation? Besides my rib cartilage inflammation, I wake up everyday with a very flat stomach besides some loose skin but go to bed with inflammation in the belly nightly... Do I need to also give up dairy? Will I ever be able to workout, especially weight lift for loose skin benefits? How can I find relief without a chiropractor?

Hi there, so I just read the whole thing, sounds like you just can't get a break...anyways I've gone through the pain and went to different doctors and specialist like you did but nothing help or they didn't really have any answer or solution to the problem as if no one has a clue to fix it, they just tell you to take pain killers and good luck. So I think it's been about two years or more since I had Costo in my left chest and I feel way better now as if I never had it but of course I can still feel the I guess scar tissue that form in my pec, definitely thicker and larger tissue compare to my right side. So for the most part the dieting and taking vitamins method may have helped speed up the process or ease the pain a bit but nothing help right away or anything, it was just time. I took about a year off lifting cause of it and at that point I just couldnt wait it out anymore and I did have a better mobility so I signed up to a new gym and was determine to fight through the pain and work out even if it breaks...that was my mindset and once I started I remember there being pain afterwards, I was taking it slow and had to build up a tolerance to lifting, would get more sore and pain on my left pec but then it would heal up and I'll hit chest again...kept repeating that and going slowly, being careful. Eventually as time went by and the more I lifted the more it got better, for me is the whole give the body a reason to recover, overcome and grow. Now for me it happen due to lifting so not sure if is the same case with you. As in the present moment ive been lifting like normal, always a light warm up before starting my workouts and it hasn't been any pain like before, guess I'm officially heal but like any serious injury, it's never 100 percent, my pec does pop here and there but nothing painful like it was before, just like cracking my neck. OVERALL I recovered by giving it time to heal to a point of having better mobility, started working out slow and made sure to put it to the test and strengthen over time and that's it! It wasn't easy and took time, push through the pain and had to be determine. To me the body is weak but can overcome and do extraordinary things. I haven't seen anyone ever come back and say they have recover in this forum, maybe they did or didn't but I'll be the first. So far that I know, there isn't anything to take or do that would heal you, just time and hopefully with luck it get's better. I wish you the best!

[aweb610]

Thanks. Glad to hear you have found some relief :-).

The pain now isn't something I can push past or I definitely would. I am used to being in pain daily but whatever I did last week had me in excruciating pain to the point of tears and almost immobility. Now I am even afraid to stretch, let alone lift. We shall see how it heals.

[kennystick]

I'm literally in tears right now because I've finally figured it out. The issue was due to my acid reflux and inflammation caused by it. I can't believe the doctors couldn't figure this out based on record from the past. I had to experiment and figure it out on my own.

I purchased Probiotic Pearls Acidophilus Once Daily Probiotic Supplement from Amazon and take it in the morning with my Ginger + tumeric capsules. I've been doing this for merely 3 days and most of the pain is gone.

I sincerely hope this information helps someone because I know how painful and depress it is when you have Costochondritis for a long period of time. Below is my old post about my problem.

================================================== ================================================

I am 22 years old. I have been lifting intensely for about 1 year and have been loving it. 6 months ago I got hit with Costochondritis and it's been downhill from there. I've read the giant costo thread on bodybuilding forums and tried different remedies suggested by different people all over the internet but It still didn't heal.

I went to doctors and got an x ray + mri and the results came out fine. They all said they found nothing and instructed me to take inflammatory medication which I did in the beginning and it did not solve the problem. I don't have "severe" Costo but I know I cannot train with this pain. I can run, walk, sleep just fine. Although running inflames it even more so I stopped. I've basically been resting for a long time. I felt like I've made no progress and I don't know what to do.

I've been depressed for the past 5 months and have no clue if I will ever get through this. Strangely this depression never killed my motivation and I'm still as motivated as ever hoping for that one day I can go back to the gym pain free and start over.

Some information about my pain
- Pain is on top of sternum
- When I wake up in the morning or after laying on my bed for a period of time, my back can't be cracked.
- My back cracks easily
- I can feel the sharp pain if I make a double biceps pose and bring the arms down (this also cracks the back)
- I can feel the pain when I am reaching down
- I can feel the pain if I lean backwards
- A lot of times I feel a knot in my right chest when stretching with the back pod.


Stretches and exercises I've tried
- Used back pod. Been using back pod ever since 5 months ago.
- Semi push up using my bed
- Resistance band exercises following this video: youtube watch?v=MnsYn2Hx-A4 // due to lack of post i can't link
- Door way chest stretch
- Tried stretch recommended by this video: youtube watch?v=i4o9x4rKobU // due to lack of post i can't link"
- Stretches from this video: .youtube.com watch?v=ZI4nSMEXPmU

Food and Supplementation Remedies I've tried
- Inflammation smoothie - frozen berries mix (raspberries, blue berries and black berries, flax & chia seeds, full cup of hot water to make sure it's warm, and banana every morning.
- Inflammation smoothie 2 - blue berries, pineapple, cilantro and flax + chia seeds.
- Multi vitamins
- Turmeric , Ginger
- Intracal calcium supplement
- Fish oil
- Devil's Claw
- L-Lysine
- Bromelain
- Glucosamine Chondroitin

Other things I've tried:
- Pepper mint oil on chest
- Penetrex Inflammation formulation on chest
- Heating pad on chest
- Take hot showers
- Tried using different type of heating oil on chest
- Went to Chiropractor for a week in the beginning and it didn't help much

Thank you for reading. One day I will get rid of this pain I know it.

[aweb610]

That's good Kenny. I am going to ask my doc about adding those supplements.

I saw the doctor yesterday and want to share some of what I found out....

Let me add I am 33. I have no idea why it says I am 48 and it won't let me edit it from my phone.


My full history is above. I also forgot to add I have carpal tunnel. I had a cleaning job for four years and now almost a year in a factory so I am not doing myself any favors there. It is worse in the right wrist and flared up badly when I tried adding pushups to my day recently. I am currently not working out at all but maintain weight with my eating plan, listed above as well.

The doctor did confirm I have a rib popped out of place, she tried to move it but I have to go back for an OMM appt.

Had another x-ray of my neck yesterday and she did find arthritis and swelling in the lower neck which she says can explain a lot of my shoulder and arm pain and is also sending me for an MRI of my neck. She thinks maybe when I fell in 2013 and still have arm pain that I might have herniated a disc....

She said the thoracic doctors surgery option might be a good one. She had another patient with a lot of my same chest pain (and a lot of ours it seems) and she had that surgery and he found a piece of floating cartilage that he removed and her pain went away. She said that would not show on any image so sometimes exploritory surgery is needed. Might be something for us all to consider. Or at least consulting with a thoracic doctor....


So I feel I am on a better track to answers and relief. Hopefully. I am too young and healthy to be in this much pain daily and I desperately want to workout. I have a strong desire to weight lift and run even though I never have. The smoking and bad food are all in the past now I just need the pain out of my way.

[TheScorpS]

December 2017 I started to feel discomfort in the sternum, lasted 4 days thought it was nothing , then it moved to right rib, sharp stapping needle sensation pain , that comes for 3-4 seconds, goes away then repeat again all day long everyday

Its like tooth pain but located in the right rip, a Dr told me that it was the Fifth rib on the right side

I am a smoker for many years cant even remember, am now 41 years old, but enough so quit a month ago, I was planning to quit a long time ago but this should put an end to it

Did visit many Drs, most confirm either muscle tear or rip inflammation, I felt the pain in my right rip, so I guess it was that specific rip.

I do weight lifting , but a year ago, I left all kinds of exercises and just focused on Pull up leg raises for a whole year, I felt that my hands were not in bar with my body weight so the pressure were extreme especially on my right side even though am 74 kg, with time inflammation , tears built up to a point where it bursts in December 2017

Though it was 1 day, 1 week and it would pass, heal , but it didn’t , xrays was normal , breathing test was normal again , so some relief, one of the Dr also told me that if pain isn’t associated with running out of breath then its not serious.

I was prescribed NSID Autoinflammatory Drugs , don’t know if that helps, I think no meds did anything for Costco

WARM BATHS worked the best for me, I noticed that when take a bath at night before going to lay on bed, it relieved the stapping pain, I didn’t believe it at first but is what I noticed and felt, with time I confirmed it, so what was going on was at night after I take a warm shower, and then lay on bed; the pain starts to disappear.
Then when woke at morning and starts the day the pain starts to creep in slowly by 10 am in the morning the stapping pain is at full throttle crushing my ribs, rains and repeat every single day for the last 3 months.

It was just those warms baths and sleeping that helped in my case, I have been a week almost symptoms free now and hope and wish everyone facing this ordeal to not lose hope and most of the cases are just Costco not a serious or life-threatening condition.

[BBrianV]

Hello all.

first of all let me just say that i am so happy i found this thread even though it was posted so long ago.

i have had costo for about 6 weeks now. it feels as though it is progressively getting better. im not having as many "attacks" as i was when it first started.

it all started when i got a random sharp pain in my chest on the left side that was really intense just sitting on my couch one night. i immediately thought it could have been cardiac related. i waited a few days and the pain continued when i would make certain movements and sometimes would just come and go by itself. the pain was so intense sometimes that it would put me in such a funk i just would not want to do anything. i finally went to the E.R. after the chest pain continued. i had blood work, an EKG along with a chest X-ray and it all came back normal. i was told i had costo. i had no idea what it was but i was very tender on the left side of the inner chest when the doc pushed on my sternum. they told me to take some aleve or ibuprofen. i did as they said and felt some relief.

My question is how long can this last and how do you know if its actually getting better? is it the NSAIDS ( anti inflammatory's ) im taking? or is it actually going away?

what has worked for you ?

i take fish oil and a multi daily. i just purchased a glucosamine chondroitin msm supplement to see if that would work for the inflammation as well.

I would appreciate all the feedback.

i just cant wait to get back in the gym doing what i love.

thank you all!

[vis781]

Hi all, having had this problem not a few months ago I signed up to this site just to post my experience in the hope that it will help someone. Like some I got costo from doing weighted dips, stupid, stupid.... body weight dips and repping out are just as effective but alas... ego got the better of me. During my last dip I felt the left side of my rib cage pop up and twist. I immediately let go and fell to the floor at which point I felt it pop back in to place. Having read about costo and what can happen I went home and waited for the inevitable pain that would follow.. and it sure did. The day after was bad, the day after that was nothing short of a disaster.. pain like I'd never felt pain! I'm guessing much of it was brusing and tears to the intercostal muscle. I figured my gym days were all but over at this point.

Numerous internet searches and information gathering left it pretty much in the hands of the gods as it seems every case is unique in the damage caused and likely hood of complete recovery. After about a week I decided to ignore the advice of the doctor and go with my own instincts ( I do not recommend what follows as a course of action, some background.....

1. My injury was to the front i.e at the sternum NOT at the back where the rib attaches to the spine
2. My injury was to 2 ribs right in the middle of my chest, both sides of the sternum
3. My injury did not detach the ribs from the sternum.. most likely a fracture
4. I did not have crushing type pain or any pain in my upper or lower sternum or my back.
5. It was excruciating to cough, laugh, breath in quickly ( it felt as though my whole chest was collapsing inward ) I actually prayed that I would not sneeze!

As I said I decided to ignore the advice of well.... everyone... I went with my gut, my gym knowledge and what little I could glean from the web and told me that more blood = more healing.

What I learned in a nutshell was: The blood vessels surrounding the costal cartilage are small and repair time for cartilage is very long and even then it is not known if it will heal to a point where it can bear the weight it did before.

I ignored that too.

My road to my hopeful full recovery simply entailed this....

I decided to go back to the gym at every fricking available opportunity, twice a day of I could manage it, and I did nothing but search out ways to get a chest pump. I tried every movement I could think of using the lightest dumbells I could find, cable crossovers with the lowest weight, standing push ups against a wall, you name it I tried it and eventually found a way ( very light cable crossovers with a shorter ROM i.e not fully squeezing out the rep. I found the point at which I felt pain and kept back from it ) 2 sets of about 50 or so reps, absolutely NO pressing of any kind.

I had to focus very carefully on my breathing and maintain perfect posture to do it pain free.

I kept doing this for a little over a month. By this time I was still sore but not in any pain.. it felt similar to doms but worse.. like my doms had doms! 6 weeks in and I am now lifting again... the first time was so scary I can't even begin to describe it, but I felt strong enough and after the first set of dumbells went up ( 24 kg's, light I know but who cares? They were dumbells and they went up! ) the relief was overwhelming. That was all I did that day. No clicking, no popping and no pain.

Did i do the right thing by going back to the gym or would it have simply fixed its self anyway.. I have no idea but if this can help one person then it was worth the post.

Costo is a terribly debilitating thing but it can heal.... Stick to what you know and hopefully the gym can fix you as it has me in so many ways.

Best regards.

[RedRMT]

I was curious if anyone had any updates to their situations.

I am on bout #3 with costo. The first time I did not rest enough. Last year I had 2 powerlifting comps in 3 months (bombed out of 1, achieved goals in second--state record holder for age/weight) followed by intense workouts (many reps, little rest, heavy). Took a small break, got echo cardiogram, NSAIDs, then back into it--nope. Came back to lift. Problems. Several months off, plus physical therapy. That helped. No pain for months. Slowly began lifting again. Began to get a couple of deep-tissue massages. This past month involved stress at work, lots of desk/computer work and 5x5x90% for bench, my weakest lift. Now the costo is back. I have not lifted in a week. Today I did a belted dip with a 45 hanging from my waist, plus leg presses and hip abductors.

I am looking into calcium orotate.

This is incredibly frustrating. If anyone has any success stories, that would help.

[adda9016]

Been struggling with pain since 2014, I've had all cardiac and autoimmune/ lung workup done the past year. Only thing left to attribute the pain to is costochondritis.

I have scoliosis and tight muscles in back which I believe aggravated the costo. Also have anxiety and under quite a bit of stress.

However, despite everyone saying to take a break and rest I am unwilling to give up my gains and the years I've been lifting up to this condition. I will continue to lift until I die. They will throw dirt on me before I give up.
It hurts, it's hard to breathe, but where there is a will, there is a way, and sitting there wishing for the pain to go away is a waste of a life.

You can call me stubborn or ignorant, but it's my life and I will live it as I please.

[ditzzz]

Been struggling with pain since 2014, I've had all cardiac and autoimmune/ lung workup done the past year. Only thing left to attribute the pain to is costochondritis.

I have scoliosis and tight muscles in back which I believe aggravated the costo. Also have anxiety and under quite a bit of stress.

However, despite everyone saying to take a break and rest I am unwilling to give up my gains and the years I've been lifting up to this condition. I will continue to lift until I die. They will throw dirt on me before I give up.
It hurts, it's hard to breathe, but where there is a will, there is a way, and sitting there wishing for the pain to go away is a waste of a life.

You can call me stubborn or ignorant, but it's my life and I will live it as I please.

Fair enough dude. I got my costochondritis introducing dips for the first time in January 2020 (only 1x a week for about a month when I realised the odd sternum pain I was getting on my rest days was related to it). Obviously stopped dips immediately. My costochondritis isn't as serious as a lot of people on here, and I believe its because my form has been on point since day 1. As long as I warm up adequately and maybe do some T spine mobility drills before my sessions, I can work out pain free even with movements like RDLs and deadlifts. However, I do find some movements seem to make the pain flare up a little bit in the next day or 2 and as such I'm working towards limiting my volume on those (mainly movements that excessively load my upper back musculature it seems/this may be different per individual). Posture is also key during the day as well as sleeping on my back.

I'm not sure that my experience is anywhere near some of the people on here as I have largely been able to train since the initial injury, but I do believe that those of you who got this from lifting weights can make a solid recovery eventually & can lose little muscle if you manage your volume and intensity appropriately (also go get checked by a doc just in case its anything else!)

[LegendKiIIer]

Costochondritis most likely caused by bad posture + unlucky genetics (weak cartilage)

Your back ribs don't have normal mobility. When you attempt a lift (a lot of you said dips) your sternum (chest) cartilage has to do even more movement than normal to make up for it. This causes inflammation and Costo.

Right now I have medium pain from Monday's chest day, I am going to skip the gym tomorrow and if it's better I'll return on Friday. Maybe I'll take joint supps, idk yet.



Source of my explanation: Search on youtube costochondritis bob & brad

Two old dudes with tons of knowledge on anything

They recommend that backpod thing to massage the back, not sure if it's effective. It's like $80 lmao

[paulinkansas]

I glanced at the subject and thought it said "Who has Recovered from coachcalande".

[Brozef]

Been struggling with pain since 2014, I've had all cardiac and autoimmune/ lung workup done the past year. Only thing left to attribute the pain to is.

I have scoliosis and tight muscles in back which I believe aggravated the costo. Also have anxiety and under quite a bit of stress.

However, despite everyone saying to take a break and rest I am unwilling to give up my gains and the years I've been lifting up to this condition. I will continue to lift until I die. They will throw dirt on me before I give up.
It hurts, it's hard to breathe, but where there is a will, there is a way, and sitting there wishing for the pain to go away is a waste of a life.

You can call me stubborn or ignorant, but it's my life and I will live it as I please.

I also have scoliosis and I'm certain the messed up spine/rib geometry plays a role in my frequent intercostal joint injuries over the years. Been having pains along my sternum since I was young.

One injury was bad enough that it developed into Costochondritis. I had costo for 3 years or so. Slooooowly went away. Had to stop doing certain lifts to avoid re-injury.

[LegendKiIIer]

I also have scoliosis and I'm certain the messed up spine/rib geometry plays a role in my frequent intercostal joint injuries over the years. Been having pains along my sternum since I was young.

One injury was bad enough that it developed into Costochondritis. I had costo for 3 years or so. Slooooowly went away. Had to stop doing certain lifts to avoid re-injury.

Which lifts did you stop?

It makes sense that your spine issues caused costo, the cause for most people is tightness in their back where the ribs connect with the spine.

[Brozef]

Which lifts did you stop?

It makes sense that your spine issues caused costo, the cause for most people is tightness in their back where the ribs connect with the spine.

Incline press and incline flys I cannot do. Pull ups I couldn't do for a long time, but now I can.

It could have been tietze syndrome, since there was swelling and it was high on my rib cage, but it's practically the same thing as costo anyway.

[LegendKiIIer]

Incline press and incline flys I cannot do. Pull ups I couldn't do for a long time, but now I can.

It could have been tietze syndrome, since there was swelling and it was high on my rib cage, but it's practically the same thing as costo anyway.

It sounds like a joke but Tiktok actually has more updated info on it than the general internet, tons of young medical professionals have posted good (gentle) stretches to alleviate it. For some reason older doctors don't even know what it is and just prescribe pain killers. People stay suffering and popping pills.

I have confirmed that the main cause is back rib mobility and yeah agreed Tietze is basically just Costo + swelling. I have it too. Hope you find some relief bud.

As for lifts, it seems that anything that hunches your shoulders over (like flys, deadlifts, etc) seems to irritate the situation more. I just had a flare up from heavy deads. Benching with my back tight had 0 negative effects, as my body never hunched forward. I'm going to avoid the hunched position like the plague.

---

I bought a joint supplement, hopefully it helps with the whole process.