Costochondritis
Costochondritis
It is inflammation of the joint which is occur between the ribs and sternum. The pain of Costochondritis might be similar like angina or heart attack
Symptoms
Signs and symptoms include:
- Pain worsen during deep breath
- Pain during cough
- Sharp aching pain
- Affect more than one rib.
Causes
Some causes of costochondritis include:
- Tumors from breast, lung or thyroid may spread to the rib cage
- Injury to the chest
- Physical strain due to heavy exercise
- Arthritis
- Infection of joints by virus or bacteria
Diagnosis
After taking history of your signs and symptoms your doctor performs a chest examination to check the swelling, tenderness and any physical sign of chest pain. To rule the other causes, he/she might recommend the chest x-ray and CT scan to see any underlying cause.
Treatment
The main aim of treatment is to reduce the pain. Treatment options include:
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to reduce the inflammation and pain.
- Anti-seizure drugs also use to treat the pain
- Anti-depressant also helpful in chronic pain
- Nerve stimulation to mask the pain nerve fiber
Lifestyle and Home Remedies
- Use pain killers
- Avoid activities which worsen the pain
- Avoid heavy exercise
- Apply hear or ice