Sternum pops when I sneeze

i can't believe how many people feel the same thing that i feel when i sneeze or move in a weird way! same exact thing, but i think that my issue is associated with cracked ribs that i suffered 2 years ago without treatment.. could actually feel the breaks in my right side ribs. terrible.

I've had the problem for almost 5 years or more now. In the morning when I wake up to stretch my chest pops. When I'm tired during the day and I lean far back it will pop. Now there is no longer any pain for me even when I sneeze it's almost like popping my knuckles. This happened because a friend of my went in for the handshake and hug thing putting his shoulder in my chest and he went in to hard and I heard a crack and it was pretty painful. Around 3 months later I guess it just started popping. Still haven't talked to a doctor about this yet will do so one day hopefully. I also used to weigh lift but had no negative affects from doing that. Not even bench press. Hope this helps.

I have it too and after doing research on the net is seems the symptoms fit something called costochondritis

This has been my same problem since April of 2011.  All I can think of was it was an after-trauma reaction about one year year later from at car accident in which I was rear-ended while at a complete stop by a driver traveling 45 mph.  I did have X-rays just after the time of the accident which was just after May of 2010 and nothing showed up. I have heard that some basic X-ray will not pick up a hairline fracture at all but that you would need to have what is called a "CT bone scan" from your GP.  I had my exam and treatment from a Chiropractor and was treated for approximately 1 year. Needless to say, as of today, it has not gotten better although it does come and go with the degrees of pain, depending on how much exercise I do or if I lift too much or even if I sit too long at a computer.

What happened from your condition since?  Have you had treatment and more X-rays to see what is wrong?  Personally, I am very worried that I may have this condition for a long time, maybe even permanently, which really depresses me a lot.  Please share anything new that has evolved from your situation as I am looking for hope out thre and answers to what I should personally do about my condition in the next few weeks.

 

Thank you so much,

 

Paul from Bluff Park, Long Beach, CA

Paul,

I haven't had any xrays, but did visit my primary physician who confirmed by my description of the symptoms that is is costocostochondritis. The Mayo Clinic online describes it: Costochondritis is an inflammation of the cartilage that connects a rib to the breastbone (sternum). It causes sharp pain in the costosternal joint — where your ribs and breastbone are joined by rubbery cartilage.

Your doctor might refer to costochondritis by other names, including chest wall pain, costosternal syndrome and costosternal chondrodynia. When the pain of costochondritis is accompanied by swelling, it's referred to as Tietze syndrome.

Most cases of costochondritis have no apparent cause. In these cases, treatment focuses on easing your pain while you wait for costochondritis to improve on its own.

Back to my personal experience, There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that my symptoms worsen when spending too much time on my laptop. I operate an online auto parts business and spend as much as 10-12 per day on the computer. I notice that my symptoms improve if I switch to a better chair, elevate the computer and keep better posture. If I manage to stay off the computer except for an hour or so per day responding to emails, my pain sometimes surprises me and nearly dissappears. When it's there the pain is so great it prevents me from sneezing. I cross my arms against my chest and apply pressure and am able to cough. Advil seems to help to reduce the inflammation, but I hate to take too much of that stuff due to long term side effects. Not sure my description will help you, and obviously I'm not a doctor but I suspect you might have costochondritis.

Jim

i am so surprised how many people have this problem and that we are all around the same age, im now 26 but have had this for 2 years now and when i sneeze i get bad pain feels like my whole chest is getting tight. when i wake up my chest feels tight and the only way to make it feel better is to lean back and strech till it pops sometimes i can feel that it needs poping but no matter how far i try to stretch it wont pop, ive been to the doctors and like most doctors they dont really care and wont give you the answers except pain killers or see a specialist. i really hope the is a cure for this or i grow out of it as i really want to start doing weight lifting as ive always been a strong lad but at the minute any kind of lifting just makes me chest feel tigh:-(

I've had the same problem for a year now. Mine popped when I was straining to lift a golf cart to change a tire. It's painful. I've been to a doctor who had nothing to offer really. So I read on another thread that people with very similar symptoms went to a chiropractor and it fixed them. I did the same and ,while it did feel better in the short term, I still deal with pain when sneezing. I still workout, but I can't do dips, the pain is excruciating in the middle of my chest. I'm conviced these symptoms are the result of a spine injury, but I can't find a Dr. that can figure it out. I did recently set an appointment with a "sports doctor"...I'll post if he has anything useful to say.

Hey all, I have this same issue after a car wreck.

I was in a head on collision and for about three months my chest hurt pretty bad; coughing, sneezing, deep breaths all hurt pretty severely. After those three months I went on vacation. After a 30 minute or so swim in the ocean I got out and realized all of the pain was gone. Totally and completely gone.

About 5 years later (2-3 months ago) I felt some tightness in my chest, but not very painful. I've found that if I raise my hands over my head, my chest pops audibly and the pressure is relieved. It is quite common after I have been sitting for an extended period of time, which I didn't realize until hearing some other comments on that here. Since there is no real pain involved I am going to see working on my posture will help. I will definitely be going for another swim in the ocean when I go on vacation next month as well, hehe.  

After reading all of these posts,  I feel like we all have this problem under the same conditions: athletics, accident, or weakness.  I am also 25 and had my sternum pop the first time after I took time off from working out.  Now, anytime I am sitting too long, I feel the pressure build and a sneeze (usually) or even a slight stretch will pop it.  It is truly an uncomfortable feeling, but I do notice that when I am up and about, it happens far less.  I think I will try some of the posted "sleeping remedies" and see if that will stave off some of episodes.

I'm 24 years old… I know my body very well… I'm an MMA fighter… I dislocated my right rib… My sternum has been affected since and hurts when doing push-ups or weight training as in a bench press. It popped when sneezing. As with everything else.. That has to do with joints and bones….. If you make the muscles around the joint or bone stronger… You'll give them more support. Aka I will work through this and create muscles chest back and shoulders and abs to support this etc

I just left the doctor today and they told me to take a anti inflamitor medication fo ra week and see if it gets better or I will need an xray or surgury.

I got the same thing going on. Happened around a year and a half ago. I was sitting in my computer chair and stretched then I felt a pop and a lot of pain. Was in pretty bad pain for a week. Moving, sitting up, arms across chest everything. Then slowly that sort of pain went away but it's still here. The discomfort when I turn into awkward movements, move fast or do anything explosive. Basically, I've been slowly rehabing it myself. I can't lift heavy anymore, I can't do things that quickly with chest muscles and I just do things much more carefully and slowly now. It bothers me when I sqeeze also, I hold my chest to try to lessen the discomfort. I sneeze pretty big lol. And the pain used to be bad in the beginning but now not so much. The main problem is sitting up, lying in bed and sitting up, I always do it slowly now, fearing it might worsen. Because now, it just feels different, it feels weird in certain positions. It feels out of place or something, like something isn't connected the way it was. The worst thing about it now is the thought of "I have to do everything carefully and slowly now because the thought of it being reinjured and all the pain in the beginning could possibly come back"

 

 

 It sucks

Amazing this many people are suffering from this (including myself) and the doctors do not have a clue how to even begin to address this issue. I've been to two doctors, two chiropractors, and a massage therapist over the 18 months that this has been an issue for me and have received zero assistance. One doctor says rest and anti-inflammatory drugs, another prescribes the massage which did nothing but further inflame the area of pain. One chiropractor "adjusts my chest and tries to convince me I'm healed when I can sneeze and pop my chest more than he did. The other chiropractor ignored the issue all together and tried to set me up with a 15 visit wellness plan to help get me hip aligned that doesn't even bother me.

 

Please someone tell me how the get rid of this pain short of heavy narcotics.

 

29 yrs old, sit in front of a computer for 9 hours and sit in a car for 2.5 combined during my commute. 6'1" 190lbs former athlete current desk jockey. 

I know you are probably not a woman, but sternum problems sometimes come with pregnancy also.
I had a little booklet that advised women to lay down, knees bent, and pull their arms over their their chest and curl inward and hold, and do this regularly. If the sternum cartilage was separating because of the weight of the baby, this would help strengthen the muscles and area somehow. Unfortunately I have lost the booklet. Maybe ask if some curl type exercises would help the surrounding ligaments. It's a shot in the dark.

Exactly my problem. Have had it happening for a few years now. I'm a mechanic and thought it may have been something I did at work. No idea how to make it go away, and the doc just said take anti inflams.