Sternum HURTS!!!

I have the same issue.  It seems like sometimes if I stretch a certain way my ribs get caught up on something.  Usually when my sternum pops, I do the shoulders back and move my neck back as well.  Of course this is kind of just annoying to me.  I also have a titanium plate and 3 screws in my lower back.  My neck is also, always very stiff and crackles and pops all the time.  Feels like I am falling apart sometimes.  Life goes on though!  Everything could be worse!

I do know that the cartilage attaching our sternum to our ribs calcifies as we age.

i have acid reflux and heartburn all the time and what they are talking about and i know cause i have the exact same problem with my sternum cracking it is no where near heartburn im sure we all know what the difference between heatburn and a cracking of one of our bones are duh big red truck

I suspect that it may have something to do with where you sleep, or how you sleep. I am a side sleeper, and I usually sleep in a recliner. I also think that posture is part of the problem as well, as jacobhastheanswer has suggested below. Work on those two things folks, and hopefully you will find relief.

I started to have the problem after seeing a chiropracter for my sciatica.  It hurt more than it helped.  I also get a dull pain for a short period of time in the middle of my chest if it is very cold or very hot outside and I'm active. I take a couple of deep breaths and it seems to help.  I think it is inflamation in the sternum due to my cracking it to put it back in place. Now sometimes my heart beats real hard when I bend over.  This goes on until I sit back in a comfortable chair. I think it's my sternum out of place. Thank you Jacobhastheanswer! I think I will try your solution of working with my posture.  I am sometimes hunched over the computer for long periods of time.

This sound suspiciously similar to m y sister who suffers from Ligament Laxity.From Wiki pedia:

Ligament laxity is a cause of chronic body pain characterized by loose ligaments. When this condition affects joints in the entire body, it is called generalized joint hypermobility, which occurs in about 5 percent of the population, and may be genetic. Loose ligaments can appear in a variety of ways, and levels of severity. It also does not always affect the entire body. One could have loose ligaments of the feet, but not of the arms.

Someone with ligamentous laxity, by definition, has loose ligaments. Unlike other, more pervasive diseases, the diagnosis does not require the presence of loose tendons, muscles or blood vessels, hyperlax skin or other connective tissue problems. Inheritable connective tissue disorders associated with joint hypermobility (such as Marfan syndrome and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome types I-III, VII, and XI), the joint laxity usually is apparent before adulthood. However, age of onset and extent of joint laxity are variable in Marfan syndrome, and joint laxity may be confined to the hands alone, as in Ehlers-Danlos syndrome type IV.

In a 'normal' body, ligaments (which are the tissues that connect bones to each other) are naturally tight in such a way that the joints are restricted to 'normal' ranges of motion. This creates normal joint stability. If muscular control does not compensate for ligamentous laxity, joint instability may result. The trait is almost certainly hereditary, and is usually something the affected person would just be aware of, rather than a serious medical condition. However, if there is widespread laxity of other connective tissue, then this may be a sign of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.

Ligament laxity may also result from injury, such as a sports injury or a car accident. It can result from whiplash and be overlooked for years by doctors who are not looking for it, despite the chronic pain that accompanies the resultant spinal instability. Ligament laxity will show up on an upright MRI, the only kind of MRI that will show soft tissue damage. It can only be inferred from a digital motion x-ray. Regular x-rays and MRIs do not show it.

There are some advantages to having lax ligaments, and joints that often have a wider range of movement- double jointed people, almost by definition, have overly lax ligaments.

An interesting genetic association has been made between joint laxity and anxiety disorders. Both anomalies are thought to have a common origin in an abnormality in chromosome 15.Our family suffers from this... I have broken both ankles and torn the ligaments several times in both of my ankles.When walking, my sister and I can have our hips pop out of socket.  Rather painful and sometimes difficult to get back in.My sister suffers from this and once a day her chest pops out of socket.  She has had the ability to pop her arms out of socket to "play jump rope" with her own arms.  She can walk through her arms flip them over and never let go.   There is one concern with those that experience this condition, the heart valves are made up of cartilage as well and can become very loose as well.

 

 

If this sternum issue occurs on a regular basis, you may want to see an orthopedic or rheumatologist about this.

Hello there. I experience the same sternum pains as posted on this board. I believe it must have something to do with posture. I have H cup breasts that cause my extreme pain in many parts of my body but sternum pain has just started in the past few months. It mostly happens when I sleep causing my to toss and turn all night long and wake up with discomfort that can last all day and sometimes several days. As you can imagine with H cups i have horrid posture, but sadly i am no eligible for a reduction. I am not able to pop my sternum when I would like, It just seems to happen randomly. When it does i feel little relief and sometimes more pain then before the pop. The doctors are not able to help me either.

So I'm 19 and have same problem. One day I sneezed so hard I heard a crack in my sternum. It doesn't pop or anything but if I position my arms in a certain way it hurts and if I sneeze it hurts. Also I've been experiencing sharp short pains on my chest. Did u figure out what you had? Is it serious?

Yes! I have had problems with my right shoulder blade area, where a posterior rib keeps popping out. That had been going on since 2003. I have learned to deal with that pain. It wasn't until August 2012 when I had this massive sudden headache. It was sudden and PAINFUL! It felt like it was one of the worse migraines I ever had.) It was then I decided to get adjusted at the chiropractor. (first time since 2004.) I thought it could of been a tension headache. It was the worse adjustment ever!!! I then have had a stiff neck on a daily basis. A pinch that stops me in my tracks. Inflammed scapule were my posterior rib is. My equilibrium is off! I have fell down the steps twice in a month setting, once was on my 30th birthday. I get dizzy spells and my eyes have a blurry effect that comes and goes. I feel like my husband thinks I am crazy. But this is real! I am glad it doesn't seem like I am alone now.

I thought I was the only one with this chest pain.  It started around April 2012, waking up on a sharp chest pain from sleeping over a friends house.  The pain is located on the tip of my sternum, right below the clavicles (collar bone).  When I position my shoulders inward the pain worsens, and if I stretch and position my should outward the sternal area pops/cracks/ sometimes I even hear a liquidy type of crack.  My doctor couldn't find out what's causing the pain, she suggested an MRI but found nothing.  I haven't tried any muscle relaxers or any heat pads for my chest but I do hope they'll work.  Hopefully we all can find a fix for this chest pain because this pain is annoying.

So glad I found this thread. I thought I was the only person having this bizarre problem. Lately, it's gotten worse. I saw a comment saying it is probably the bed doing it. Well I thought about this for a minute, and realized it is very possible. We just got a new bed about 6 or so months ago. Now that I think about it, that's right around when my chest started getting worse. Mine is almost to the point where it doesn't want to pop anymore.

 

I also notice that if I lay on the floor, it gets worse. When my chest isn't acting up at all, and I lay on the floor, the pain comes back. 

There's gotta be a way to fix this pain. Any of you guys tried any medication to make the pain feel better? Or is there anyone out there who knows exactly what's causing the pain?

More than likely your lower back being out of line put the ribs out of line. If you when to the Chiropractor to put the hips back in place the rest of the back and ribs need to be aligned also.

Haven't gone to a chiropractor yet, but I'll definitely stop by. But I got an XRAY just what my doctor requested and when the results came they didn't find anything. I mean if there is something unaligned, wouldn't they have seen it?

i have the same problem. my sternum hurts in the mornings when i wake up and the i have to do the sternum "crack" than it feels a bit better.. its just odd because i dont have back problems or neck problems or anything really, my knee hurts at times but i do not think that has anything to do with it..... i do think that it is caused by my bed though. ever since i got this new bed of mine it has a weird lump right where my chest would be and this makes it a slight bit uneven.. maybe thats what caused my sternum to start feeling really sore..

 

So yeah, if anyone finds a solution for this pain, please let me know..