pain in my chest ribs

by heer
(pakistan)

Severe Pain in Rib Cage

Hope u will help me to get rid of my rib pain. I am in such a pathetic condition. I have terrible pain in my chest bones in front, on side, and back as well. I cant even sneeze because whenever I sneeze it really pains me and because of that my sneeze stops and I am suffering this problem for many days, especially in night its really painful. what to do? Even when I breath it hurts. Please help me doctor.
Thank you.

Answer: Pain in Rib Cage

Pain in the rib cage is a common symptom and there many reasons for this. Conditions affecting both the muscles and ribs can cause symptoms and I will discuss these further here. Muscle conditions such as a strain or pulled muscle can give rise to pain as well as inflammatory conditions of muscles such as myositis. Bone pain can occur due to specific bone conditions such as osteoporosis, fracture or arthritic conditions. I can also be due to a combination of bone and muscle problems as seen with the slipping rib syndrome when ribs slip on each other. Nerve conditions can give so called neuropathic pain in rib cage. Previous shingles would be an example of this. Finally bone pains can be caused by cancer metastases.

Generally treatment is with anti-inflammatory pain killers. Neuropathic pain can sometimes be helped with drugs such as Amitriptyline or Pregabalin. Sometimes massage can help or even to consider steroid injections. Treatment of pain in rib cage area really depends on the underlying cause.




My name is Dr Peter Thatcher MBBS, MRCPI and I am a consultant physician and gastroenterologist in the UK. I have an interest in internet based medicine and administer this site in my spare time. I hope you find this site useful and informative. If you have any suggestions, please Contact Me or if you would like to comment on my site, please do so by Clicking Here. If you like the site and would like to make a donation to support what I am doing please do so by Clicking Here. Thank you for visiting and please drop by again!