Sternum pops when I sneeze

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Hello All,

I am in the same boat as all of you. I'll start from the beginning because reading posts like this really has eased my concerns.

I began getting pains in my sternum senior year of HS when I took a large hit to my ribs in a lacrosse game. The pain after wards was very sharp and felt very confined. There was a pressure always on my sternum and at the beginning of when it happened it was difficult to pop and would hurt tremendously. It needed to be popped to remove the pain.

As time progressed and the symptoms worried me more and more. My sternum began to pop on a regular basis without as much pain and difficulty in popping. I found that in college playing lacrosse stopped it from popping as much. I believe physical activity maybe helped strengthen the joints. Towards my later years of college it came back full fledge. This time more chronic but without as much pain.

I find that now it pops maybe 2 times a day but feels like cracking my nuckles. I can sneeze and it pops, I can move a certain way and it pops. All I know is the pain isn't there anymore and my anxiety for it has subsided.

I have met with trainers, doctors, anyone who is anyone that will listen on this. They informed me after x-rays, tests, etc. that nothing was wrong and everything is fine. My trainer once told me that joints are made to pop, if they get out of line or change in position they pop back to their original posture. I believe this statement is correct. I mean I stand up sometimes and my knee pops or ankle, and that is normal. Your sternum carries are large load of pressure and is one of the strongest bones in your body. If you have ever been hit or taken a large blow to that area, then i am sure you have experience what I have and will continue to have pops and cracks. As disgusting as the pops and cracks may sound and worry you I am sure it is your bones going back to their original posture and position.

If your pain gets worse and it does not subside, I do recommend seeing a doctor. Please do not take my advice to heart for everything is different for everyone.

I wish you the best in discovering a cure.

Lee

Guest · Guest

I've gone to see a doctor about it. He said that people of my height, about 6ft; and age group, 19-25; get this sort of thing. He attributed it to growing pains.

I didn't stop there, though. After doing more searching, as well as thinking and what not, I think another big cause of it is weak back muscles, with rather stronger chest and abs. So do some exorcise to strengthen your back, even if that just means sitting up really straight in your chair for a while. Your back will burn after a bit, but it did help me out a bit.

micaht · Newbie Joined: 04 Oct 2007 Posts: 1

Hey guys, I'm 25 and I've had this condition for over a year now and it has gotten worse and worse. Today was by far my least favorite. I can barely, make full arm movements across my chest, look and extend toward my toes with my chin down, while popping in the morning only increases the pain for later in the day. My doctor said that it was much the same as popping your knuckles and that I should avoid doing it as much as possible. This seems to be an oversimplification. This popping is unavoidable as most of you know, while I do believe it is brought on by stress and bad sleeping habits. I have also had some bruised ribs and possibly a cracked one or three in the past which I think accelerated the condition. Adjusting to dull these symptoms is only a lukewarm start to cure or relief. We need help! Has anyone overcome this or at least gotten relief? Oh I also find massaging helps. Good luck guys!

swizzreese · Newbie Joined: 03 Dec 2007 Posts: 1

Wow, well its nice to know Im not the only one who has these symptoms. For years I have popped my sternum for relief but it only happened mabye once or twice a year. Now it happens six seven times a day when I take a big breath or push my chest out. Its quite uncomfortable and I feel a constant soreness in my sternum. There has got to some cure for this.

Guest · Guest

I get this too. I LOVE sneezing because 8 out of 10 times when I sneeze the chest POPS/SNAPS and I feel relief for like 5 minutes then this discomfort returns. My doctor says it's "normal". I know chest popping occasionally is NORMAL but not this discomfort. It's hard for me to sleep because it tightens up and feels like one side of my rib cage is trying to overlap the other side. Went to a chiropractor and it only seemed to aggravate the condition. I think I must have broken a rib connecting to the sternum when my husband tried to crack my upper back in "bear hug" position. I think he hugged a little too hard. I don't think this will heal unless I pop it into place and then lay there for 2 weeks. At least now I know to quit messing with it since it won't heal with my constant twisting and pressing.... Shocked

Goalies Rule · Newbie Joined: 30 Jan 2008 Posts: 1

Hey everyone. Ive had this for about 6-7 months now. I really havent found too much online about this at all until I stumbled upon this.

MY story starts last July when I was getting ready to go workout. I begin to stretch as I was filling up a water bottle. I put my hands together above my head, leaned backwards and I moved my arms behind my back to stretch my chest. I felt the center of my chest pop, and I had a sharp pain throughout the center of my chest and my center upper back. I didnt lift at all or golf for 2 weeks, but I did continue to play hockey.

As time went on, it would be sore here and there, but like only 25% as bad as at first. Over time, a little flare up here and there, but it really only hurt when I sneezed. As I switched workouts, I began to try to incline bench press. They made me a little sore at first, but it would go away as soon as I racked to bar. Even though I really havent had any pain, 1 1/2 months into incline benching, Im hurting like hell again. I did dips in the same workout, and they also hurt my chest if I leaned forward at all.

Today, I went and pick up a foam roller and I will begin to use this as Ive heard it helps. I will keep everyone updated

Guest · Guest

I am VERY relieved to know that I'm not the only one who suffers from this. This has been going on for me for about a year and I noticed it after I went through a VERY stressful time. I noticed that after waking up mornings and getting in the shower, it would hurt like crazy to move my arms inward as well as looking down. Over the past 3 months, I noticed that my sternum is starting to pop. When I first popped it, it was painful! Now it's almost as easy as breathing. My mother in law suggested sleeping with a fluffy pillow at night when I lay on my side and it may relieve that pain in the morning. I've tried it a few times and it has worked. A tip is this: if you have your bed towards the wall, place a few pillows against the wall and grab one of them and snuggle with it. Sleep against the wall for comfort as well it supports you holding that pillow. It's worked for me and I hope it works for some of you!

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It's amazing how common this is, I've been suffering from these exact systems for over a year now and finally decided to do a search online about it and came to this. Mine was caused by weightlifting my senior year in highschool. I was bench-pressing and I worked out a little too hard and my arms gave out so I had to rest the weight on my chest, and when I did so my chest made a loud cracking noise that everyone around me heard. Now, over a year later, if I sneeze I get a very bad pain in my sternum and it remains sensitive for half an hour or so.When my chest is sensitive like this lots of things hurt very badly, most notably when I lay down on my side and support myself with my elbow. Does anyone know if there is some sort of method to healing this?

Guest · Guest

Well I got the SAME thing, at least i dont feel so alone now. i'm 26 had it at 25. i guess it comes from too much slouching at the pc. (who knew sitting could be so bad for your health) well my body's going kaplutz. Thanks for the tip on holding your chest when you sneeze, that's one i'm going to be using a lot. Wish I kept better care of my body growing up. but i didnt =(.

Old got here fast!!! WHY?

later folks

Sternum pops when I sneeze

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