Tackling Costochondritis – the History of My Issues With It

Costochondritis is an inflammation of the sternum. It is often a temporary problem that some have, but for others like me, it becomes a chronic condition. I would say that most people develop costochondritis due to an injury such as from a car crash or open heart surgery.

I developed a chronic case after a horrible cold one winter. But the truth is, I have had rib pain since my teen years. I’m not sure why I’ve always experienced rib pain, but all it took was a lot of heavy coughing in the winter of 2011 to trigger costochondritis to stick around.

What’s costochondritis feel like, you may wonder? Lifting something as simple as a full laundry basket, mopping a floor, or scrubbing a dirty dish releases needle-like sensations of pain along my sternum. At best, it feels like bruised ribs. At worst, it feels like a crushed sternum. Below is my story, followed by the information I’ve found.

The beginning–finding the trigger

I’ve always had issues with my ribs hurting. As far as I can remember, my ribs would occasionally hurt, especially when I was in school and we had to run laps in P.E. Something about the running made it feel like my ribs were being shoved inward, and I would gently stick my hands underneath my ribs and pull them back outward. Sometimes I would run with my hand tucked underneath my rib. It would relieve the pain. I also have never been able to successfully wear an underwire bra; they cause tremendous discomfort. Growing up, I always thought what I was experiencing was probably normal, even though I never saw anyone else pulling on their ribs after running laps.

The chronic, every day, pain began in January 2011. I had a horrible respiratory virus, and the coughing was really heavy and frequent. Once I began feeling better a couple weeks later, what remained was a horribly nasty pain in my sternum area from all of the coughing. It hurt to touch, it hurt to twist my body, it hurt to lift things.

My online search for answers began, and at that time I discovered costochondritis–which is an inflammation of the sternum that can be caused from blunt trauma to the sternum and/or ribs, excessive coughing, a virus, and other things. Further research taught me that some people have it for a few days while others have it for years. Unfortunately, I was not part of the majority that only has it for a few days or weeks.

Also during this time, I developed panic attacks and suffered from anxiety, because it was such a painful time. Costochondritis mimics heart attack pain, and when the pain was at its worst (especially at night), I would wonder if I was about to have a heart attack. After several weeks of doing my own research on costochondritis and then taking the information that I’d found to my doctors, I finally received a confirmed diagnosis–first by my chiropractor–of costochondritis. My general practitioner, at a later appointment, agreed with that diagnosis and prescribed Mobic.

Since those early days, I have learned that my pain can increase prior to menses, in the cold, sometimes on rainy days, and completely went away when I was pregnant in 2013 (the hormone Relaxin takes the credit for that pain-free time).

Suggestions Made

Allopathic treatment for costochondritis
The only treatment that was suggested to me by my doctor was Mobic. It took several days of taking it for me to experience relief. Many searches on the internet showed that a few weeks of NSAIDS brought healing for many people, so I was hoping that would be the case for me.

After a few weeks of Mobic and, once that prescription ran out, several more weeks of OTC ibuprofen, the pain returned. The pain was manageable, but flared up if I did too much (just about any housework was too much) and also increased before my menstrual cycle. Knowing that medicine really wouldn’t cure my problem, I decided to no longer pursue medication but to instead try some other methods (detailed below) that may help keep the flare-ups at a minimum.

Dangers of prescription drugs for pain relief
There is no known cure for chronic costochondritis. There is no medication that will eliminate it. In fact, NSAIDs are well-known for causing more problems, specifically problems with the gut. NSAIDs also block the body’s synthesis of proteoglycans, the molecules that bring water to cartilage. So while you’re getting pain relief, you may also be depriving your cartilage of the moisture it needs. It’s suspected (but not yet confirmed–not that I’ve found anyway) that conditions such as osteoarthritis can actually increase because of the lack of hydration.

Holistic treatment
Chiropractic care
I have been getting chiropractic care since 2008—at that time, it was for chronic neck pain. Getting frequent adjustments seems to greatly help me with the pain level.

Massage therapy
I began seeing a massage therapist, who was progressively working on the incredible knots in my back. I went from having many many knots the first session, to only having a handful or two the third session. Unfortunately, my ribs still remained very sore throughout the six or so sessions that I attended, but it did help a little with the knotted muscles.

Check back for my next blog entry about costochondritis soon!