Cracking Sternum

has anybodies doctor actually done anything about this problem???!!! I'm a 27 year old guy and have been progressively getting a more painful cracking in my chest over the last 5 years. My doctor says nothing to worry about. It frickin sucks! I'm going back tomorrow morning actually, I want to know what's going on once and for all! If anybody has any diagnosis from their doctors please let us know :-)

Dear All,

As any has any update. Please some one help us. Without any answer and cure we are dying with this pain.

Regards,
Praveen

Hello All,

Glad to see others are having similar problems as I have been searching for an answer to what pain i've been experiencing for the past 2 weeks with no luck. I am 24 years old, about 200 lbs, and recently stopped lifting weights in favor of body weight exercises and advanced core training.

A couple weeks ago, while attempting a pose that involves holding your body in a horizontal position to the floor (face down) using nothing to support your weight but you hands, I injured my sternum area. This position is a building block to what are called "planche pushups" (can find examples on youtube.com). I've also been doing ring training and trying to replicate the same position whilst holding the rings. Performing this exercise requires considerable strength from the pectoral muscles and shoulders, and places an immense amount of pressure/stress on the rib cage.

After talking to various personal trainers, a friend of mine who happens to be a doctor, and doing my own research online I have concluded that my injury (and many of your own) is actually quite common. I believe it is called Costochondritis; which is an inflammation of the cartilage that connects one or more of the ribs to your sternum. Non-steroidal Anti-Inflammatories can be used to treat this injury in many cases. Also, it is also important to avoid exercises that may re-aggravate the problem area. According to my research, if the above remedy is followed and the injury is not worsened, it should heal within a couple weeks.

Further notes on the condition of my injury: Pain is very much localized (therefore probably not muscle related). There is a dull pain in the sternum area when slouching and sometimes just breathing, but the pain is not intense unless pressure is applied. My sternum started cracking a year or two ago but it doesn't happen very often and I don't feel pain or relief when it happens. It usually occurs when I stretch with my chest out and arms over head. I don't think that is a big deal though.

Costochondritis is, in my own unprofessional opinion, most likely unrelated to the cracking of the sternum but very likely related to the pain in that area! Hope this helps you guys! Armed with new knowledge, I will begin the road to recovery and avoid re-aggravation whilst treating the inflammation with Motrin.. Take care!

i have a similar condition, it happened at work, it was kind'a in like a bench press position. if this is what caused you injury i suggest you stand up stright lower your head, so your chin is close to your chest, and  put your hands togeather in a praying position (your arms must be stright at each other) and apply a little pressure on your hands. this should be a bit painful, hold it until the pain is gone then relax, this should cause another shot of pain try and hold it if you can. repeat this through-out the day a few times. avoid the bench press position, or just use very light weights. you may make the injury worse. and remember "no pain no gain". 

Just want to say been cracking the chest for 3-4 years and recently the extent of the injury has begun to pop and crack the back at about the same level as the chest and on the same side as the ribs lead from the chest to the back. I belive my own case is a case of missplaced ribs and although it started as chest popping it can be really bad and quit painfull now. with both the back and front cracking and popping and feeling stiff and sore in the surrounding muscles. All I can say is the back is getting worse and more painfull and I will be seeing a doctor soon in hopes of finding a solution. hope your recoveries go well.

what's up. are you getting better?

I just read through nearly all of these posts. 

I read about people experiencing this through weight gain, but not weight loss. 

I first experienced this about two years ago & it was after a rapid weight loss of about 15 pounds. 

The weight loss was mainly from starving myself, not from weights. 

My sternum had popped, but would not pop again, even though I still felt pressure. 

Eventually it would go away. 

I always had poor eating habits, but around this time in my life they got EXTREME. 

I had extreme binge eating disorder along with starving myself. 

I would hardcore binge about 4-5 days out of the week, and just not eat a thing the other 2-3. 

The pressure & the popping in my sternum would come again the morning or day after a really bad binge or the morning or day after fasting. 

There would be periods where I would maintain weight & when there was no weight change, I would have no sternum popping. 

I recently have gotten help for my BED and have been constantly & slowly losing weight over the past three months. My sternum still cracks, but I feel like it is because I am still losing weight. The past few weeks it has actually been cracking everyday and sometimes two or three times a day.  

I love cracking my sternum, it feels very relieving to me. However, I do worry, because lately, it hasn't been feeling as healthy as it did when I first started doing it. 

I crack EVERYTHING else in my body as well. I crack my shoulders, back, wrists (only when I sleep, weird), fingers, knees (by kneeling on the ground), the joint where my femur connects to my pubic bone (weird, I know. I am constantly cracking by moving side to side, butterfly stretch, and many other ways), my ankles, & my toes (I literally can crack my big toes constantly, It's actually a horrible habit, I must do it like every second). I also have clicking in my ankles when i walk. I also have the constant urge, which almost feels like an addiction, to crack everything & stretch everything in my body. I often go to yoga, so maybe that's where the stretching comes in, not sure though. 

I am going to the Dr. in a few weeks & I am going to ask him why this happens. I am not going to settle for any answer like Costo-Chondritis, which I know is not the case. I really don't think there is an answer, but I want to find out WHY this happens to many and it is still UNKNOWN!?

I used to get this all the time, but it appears to have gone away. I haven't had issues with it in a long time. So annoying and uncomfortable though... I would have to twist and stretch a certain way to get relief as sometimes it would cause a very uncomfortable pressure in the sternum area that would absolutely drive me nuts. As soon as I contorted my body just right, it would snap and the pressure relieved. Sometimes I couldn't get it to pop and that really caused concern. 

I still don't know what caused it to this day, but it has pretty much stopped. I suspect something got out of alignment in that general area and was causing the discomfort. 

I just thought I'd chime in report that it does go away or at least it did for me. Hopefully anyone suffering with the same uncomfortable feeling can find some peace in knowing that it doesn't last forever. 

Calling out to anyone who has been able to recover from Costochondritis. I injured myself as I happened to push a very heavy pot while gardening. I have now had this condition for 5 months. Been to 3 doctors, have taken any inflammatory meds and done physiotherapy as well. Initially it used to be only on left side of my chest, that too only on sudden movements like coughing, sneezing, anything that involved those muscles and the pain would be a sharp stabbing pain that comes for a moment and goes away, but intense pain. But now, i have started to feel an overall dull ache/sensation that travels sometimes to my left arm, left side of back bone and at times right side chest too, the stabbing pain still comes & goes on sudden movements. Sneezing hurts crazy! I have stopped all exercise regimen and just go for walks. Can anyone share experience of what's worked for them and anyone who has had 100% healing? Thanks a lot

I crack my back a lot by just bending backwards, and I sometimes hear a "pop" in my chest. Is it possible that I broke my sternum?

While I was bench pressing today, I heard a crack noise in my chest, and then I've had this sharp pain since. Can anyone tell me if I should be worried, or how I can treat it?

I have read most of the posts on experiencing pain radiating from the sternum to the back but no one described it as a squeezing sensation rather than pain. Does anyone feel that?