Chest Wall Pain – Symptoms, Causes and Treatment

Chest pain is alarming as most people associate it with a heart attack. The chest wall is a structure that surrounds and protects the lungs, including the sternum and ribs. Chest wall pain is associated with the rib cage, breast, or muscle in the chest.

Individuals feel pain when they do certain movements or when pressure is applied to the chest wall. The pain is felt in one side of the chest or across a wider area.

Even though heart attack can cause chest pain, it is important to remember that it can be caused by other conditions too. The other conditions include digestive, lung, and muscle issues. Dr Raju Mantena is Pain specialist based on Houston area.

Symptoms of Chest Wall Pain

• Aching
• Burning
• Sharp and Stabbing
• Tearing
• Pain worsens with movement of the chest or when arms are raised or when the torso is twisted
• Pain increases with a cough or sneeze

The other symptoms include:

• Shooting pain that extends to the neck and back
• Tingling
• Numbness

Chest Wall Pain Causes

The chest is made of bone, muscles and other organs. The most common cause of chest wall pain are musculoskeletal conditions.

Musculoskeletal Problems

• Costochondritis
• Fibromyalgia
• Pulled chest muscle or intercostal muscle strain
• Nerve entrapment
• Lower rib pain syndrome or slipping rib syndrome
• Trauma or injury to the chest (due to a car accident)
• Tietze’s syndrome
• Stress fracture in the ribs
• Rheumatic diseases (ankylosing spondylitis, rheumatoid arthritis, or psoriatic arthritis)

Cardiovascular Problems

• Angina
• Heart attack
• Myocarditis
• Pericarditis

Lung Problems

• Pulmonary embolism
• Pneumonia

Gastrointestinal Problems

• Gallstones
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease
• Peptic ulcer

Diagnosis

The doctor will check the chest, sternum, and ribs for swelling. This is done if the doctor suspects the pain to be caused due to a musculoskeletal problem (costochondritis or rib fracture).

The tests done to evaluate pain caused by musculoskeletal problem includes:

• Electromyography
• Chest X-ray
• Musculoskeletal ultrasound
• Nerve conduction velocity tests
• Sympathetic skin response (nerve reaction is tested when it is triggered with stimuli)

Heart function is tested if the patient has risk factors for heart disease (high blood pressure, diabetics, obesity or history of smoking). The tests that are done to determine heart function include:

• Blood tests
• Electrocardiogram
• Exercise stress tests
• Echocardiogram

If the doctor suspects a problem with the lungs, the diagnostic tests include:

• Bronchoscopy
• CT scan
• Thoracentesis

Treatments for Chest Wall Pain

The treatment will vary depending on the cause of the chest wall pain.

• Musculoskeletal Problem

If the pain is due to a musculoskeletal problem, it is managed with physical therapy, stretching, muscle relaxers, and anti-inflammatory drugs.

Avoid activities that can aggravate the pain. Corticosteroid injections will reduce inflammation if the pain is persistent or severe.

• Lung Infection

Lung infections (pneumonia) are often treated with antibiotics.

360 Pain Treatment is used to treat many types of pain. As pain varies from person to person, the treatment plan is customized as per the specific needs of the patient. The pain treatment plan eliminates the triggers of the painful condition.

Dr. Raju Mantena specializes in managing pain. The most advanced non-surgical techniques are used to get patients back to their peak performance. This helps patients on the road to recovery.

Back Pain Treatment for Sciatica

The pain of sciatica is irritating, thumping and continuous of which the severity can be felt by the patient only. While the conventional medical system generally suggests for the surgery, most of the people are looking for an alternative way which is nonsurgical to get relief. In this scenario doctor who is specialized in Lower back pain is treating sciatical with success. Before know how this improved treatment process can make a difference, let's divulge into the health condition itself.



What is Sciatica?
In Sciatica, the sciatic nerves have been affected for which you can feel the pain from the lower back extending to the back of the leg. The pain generally originates in the lower part of the back or the buttock area which travels to the legs. The intensity and the frequency of the pain can be severe or minimum, and frequent or constant. Some patients report that the feeling of the pain



How to diagnosis sciatica?
Unfortunately, the symptoms of the sciatica are quite similar to any other lower back pain. That's why it is very hard to diagnosis the actual reason from the signs. A proper diagnosis includes different sectors like the medical history of the patient along with the physical and neurological findings. To find out the root cause, you may have to undergo X-Ray, CT Scan, Electromyography. From these examination reports, the pain specialist will identify the lower back pain cause.



How does an anesthesiologist help to get relief in sciatica?
The main purpose of pain treatment is to prepare the body for self-healing. According to this therapy, the restriction of movements and pain are caused by the constraint spinal movement. The anesthesiologist treats the lower back in a drug-free and non-invasive way. Meet the Dr Raju Mantena pain specialist



There are many ways to reduce the pain like ultrasound, TENS, ice therapy as described following.



Ice therapy: It helps to reduce inflammation.
Ultrasound: It helps to increase blood circulation, build soft tissues and reduce muscle pain, cramping, stiffness, and spasm.
TENS: With the help of Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation or TEN, the muscle stimulates to reduce the muscle spasms.
Adjustment: The main treatment process includes spinal manipulation to free the restricted spinal movement.




For more details visit www.360paintreatment.com