Sternum pops when I sneeze

nickferrer83 · Newbie Joined: 11 Jul 2008 Posts: 1

I am 24 and have had this condition for probably about 2 years now. My friends think its a talent like being double jointed and I can "crack" my sternum on command now. The pain when doing so is not so fun. Its very irritating to try and describe this to a doctor since they always seem to refer you to a chiropractor. I finally did talk to a chiropractor and I could tell he had no idea what he was talking about but he tried to adjust it anyway. As most of you know, you can not "crack" your sternum or adjust it ALL the time. It is pretty tempermental. Does anyone notice sometimes you have to lean back so far to "crack" it that you physically cant and then later that evening just a simple lean will "crack" it? I am a runner, I go to the gym and lift quite often and I have noticed that back when this started I began stearing clear of all the chest press type workouts that strengthen your pectorals because of the pain I felt the next day due to my sternum. I would like to try and get a specialist to read all of our postings and research this a little more. Stumbling upon this website made me realize how common this is and everyone seems to be around the same age.

Guest · Guest

im a 19 year old female and this just started a couple months ago i was sitting at the table and my chest felt like someone was putting a extreme amount of pressure on it so i stretched and my chest made a huge crack noise and i felt such a relief and now when i sit in bed and watch tv before i go to sleep its like as soon as i go to lay down it pops and at times i feel that pressure again and ill try so hard to crack it but i cant and its very painful then ill stop and wait a second and take a deep breathe and it will crack and i will be fine im not sure what to do about this

Guest · Guest

Hello all, I hope that I can help somewhat. I'm a doctor of chiropractic in San Francisco and think that I can provide a little bit of assistance here. Might be a good idea to mention that this shouldn't be construed as medical advice or consultation. Smile

Responding to what some of you are reporting, the crack and temporary relief you feel is from a rapid pressure change within your costosternal joint, where your rib meets your sternum. This is caused by a quick separation of the joint surfaces. This releases a little bit of endorphins, making you feel good for a few minutes. If there is ongoing inflammation at the joint, like in "costochondritis" mentioned by one of you, it may be painful.

Now to advice on how to deal with it. Obviously this will sound like self-promotion, but a trip to a good chiropractor to professionally adjust the posterior, and if necessary, the anterior rib joint is part of the answer in restoring proper alignment of these joints. However, this is not the whole answer. Massage, physiotherapeutic modalities (therapeutic ultrasound, interferential current, etc...), and assisted stretches and exercises (including some to be prescribed as home activities) should be part of a specialized treatment plan to relax and reset the muscles controlling the joint complex. In my office, I would advise the taking of some natural anti-inflammatories. Until then, I can't encourage the rough adjustments we do to ourselves, even though it may temporarily feel good. You could be doing more harm than good.

jsmakr · Newbie Joined: 09 Sep 2008 Posts: 1

I tried to find info online about this a little while ago without much luck, but I think I was just using the wrong terms. I just sneezed which was followed by sternum pain and decided to google "pain in sternum when sneeze" and found this post. Yep, I have the same problem.

It has come and gone for me over the past year and I think I injured the area at the gym doing heavy bench press when I was really into putting on size. This has come and gone for me and for some reason recently the sternum pain has been worse. I do not have health insurance right now, otherwise, I would go get an xray. I am trying to figure out if this is somehow linked to something else in my back or if it's a separate thing because I also have some back problems.

I do sit in front of the computer a lot but lately I have been trying to fix my posture and keep my shoulders back. It's not comfortable at all when I do but hopefully that will help. I am going to look at my trigger point therapy workbook and see if there any good info that may be helpful for this.

Sternum pops when I sneeze

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