Pressure on my sternum

Im 30 years old.  Ive been having my chest pop for about...i wanna say 17 years but its been so long I cant really remember.  I have had this going on for so long now and I can tell you that its nothing to really worry about.  Some people just have joints or places in there bodies that pop.  For some its a knee or an elbow.  Others its a finger or a toe.  Mine is my chest.  No damage has been done to me what-so-ever from this.  Maybe when I get older I might have arthritis caused by popping joints but as far as I'm concerned I don't think its gonna happen.

I recently quit smoking and that's when the problem started

i too have the same problem...but i didnt see a doctor yet..years ago my sternam seems to be little bit bulged and i had severe pain when touch,at that time only i met doctor...bt now a days it hurts me when am trying to lie in the bed..it feels like a pressure on it... is it a problems ?? am i surely consult a doctor soon ??? pls help me...

My husband has the same problem and ever since he has been sleeping with a very firm pillow. when he lays on his side he hugs it so it prevents him from scrunching forward too much and it has helped a lot...

 

I as well have the same problem... mine has just started though. In the morning I stretch my arms up to stretch the muscles which results in the popping and immediate pain that I can barely stand. It hurts so bad to move in any way. I stay in the same position and try to remember to breathe (it's hard when your in pain) I usually try to massage that area but it's definitely not a permanent fix. However, it's becoming more abundant whenever my chest is stretched. I really wish it would stop. With so many people with this difficulty, you would think there would be a solution! 

Once you Pop, you Can't Stop

I must say, I feel better knowing a lot of people have this. I just finally cracked real bad almost several at once. Definitely from the middle of my chest. So I decided I will look this up. Didn't even type it all in and several options completed my question. Although no cures just guess work. My body been pretty beat up in my 37 yrs. motocross, superbiker crashes etc. so I thought something may have come loose. I do have a high tolerance to pain so I have not felt pain yet. Just cracks when I stretch not trying to crack my chest just keeps happening. As I pull shoulders back or stretch that way. I feel it get tight then snap its all gone. No more tension. If I learn the real source of the problem or a cure I will post it. Gotta love answers to any question on google. It's our new information buddy.

wow not alone!!!! awesome, my sternum gets tight and in pain after bench presses or slams where i fall on someone (i'm a professional wrestler0, and it gets quiet tight and painful until I press the sternum bone in and up which clicks and it eases it, not a lot but enough....

I have this problem as well.  I've noticed without fail that weakness in my pecs causes it to be worse.  The pressure buildup, pain, and even the popping pretty much disappear after a week or two of bench pressing.  but you might want to start with light pushups to strengthen up first.  It's practically an instant cure for me.  Now, I am NOT a doctor, and they, as well as I, would advise advise you not to put yourself in a dangerous position by exercising when in pain.  That is sound advice.  I only offer mine as a suggestion not a recommendation, and it is purely anecdotal.

Hi I have this problem too with my chest cracking. It only start when I started weight lifting and using the pec dec to build my chest up, I think I was lifting to much weights and it done something to my chest bone and it has never been the same from it, I have not been to the gym in 2 years and thought the problem was solved but it just started up again all outta the blue! I now have to stretch my chest out at least 2-3 times a day to crack it to relieve the pressure build up, anyone knows how to stop this please let me know because it's really annoying and my partner thinks its gross lol

I know exactly what you are talking about! I was wondering today just what this could be...and here I find that it seems to be pretty common! Mine "locks up" so tight sometimes it actually hurts to breath so I stretch it out, pop it and it's better...BUT sometimes popping it will actually make it hurt worse like someone hit me in the chest with a bat! So...anyone have any idea what this it..?

For me, a possible alleviation to cracking/crunching:

I have both a cracking sensation in the sternum/chest and the knees. The knees are very bad, with a minimum of an uncomfortable feeling to a sprain sensation at the top end. The sternum ranging between just an addictive release of pressure to a slight tight chest feeling before and after the cracking.

I have found with both the sternum and knees, sport actually stops the cracking. I know this is contrary to what most this thread seems to be saying but for me at least, sport helps.

I spent a month doing a cycling trip, cycling every day during most of the day, and not long into the trip, I found I couldn't crack and crunch my knees. The pain and uncomfortable feeling of kneeling or sitting crossed legged still remained but at the least, the crunching feel and cracking sounds stopped. Perhaps this is something to do with the fact that the cracking is coming from the ligaments, not the cartilage in my case. Physio, wrapping the knees in stronger muscles, has been prescribed and maybe sport keeps the cartilage "malleable"? Or maybe physio type exercise reduces the work load/strain on the joint?

Similarly, as I have joined a gym and started chest exercises, I found I could not actively crack my chest/sternum. Another way of describing it would be to say the "build up" of tension that is felt over a few hours was not happening. Note: Perhaps, my sternum would not crack because the chest was too tight, during the muscle repairing stage, for the usual stretching which led to the cracking?

Either way, I have found low impact but highly focused exercise on the body part that cracks, leads to a period of none or very low levels of cracking and crunching. But this only lasts if I am consistent with exercising the body part - the stronger the body part, the more frequent the exercise, due to the lesser challenge to the body part otherwise.

once you pop, you cant stop lol.... i have this same problem for about 10 years or more.. i cant remember when my sternum started doing this. my chest sometimes gets really tight, and it feel amazing to crack/pop.. sometimes after cracking it i get a little bit light headed, maybe cause it feels so good?

same here, im 30 now. its been so long i cant remember when it started to do that... its something you have to deal with, chest gets tight, just crack it/pop it... feels so much better after you do that...

same here.. im 30 now, rode sport bike, had crashes, rode bmx bikes my hole life... my chest does the same thing.. its crazy how many other people have the same problem...i though i was the only one.. none of my friends have this problem...