I am a 44-year-old male. My rib cage is chronically sore, but it has gotten worse during the last 3 days where it hurts to take a medium to deep breath. I never smoked, except a few cigarettes in high school. I had a chest x-ray, EKG, and blood tests, and they were all normal. I sleep on a regular spring mattress with a 3-inch memory foam top. I don’t do manual labor or any sport that would explain the soreness. What do you think is causing my pain?

Dr. Joshua’s Answer:

Sounds like a musculosketelal problem most likely. That is, the muscles and bones and cartilages of the rib cage are likely culprits. More specifically, you could be suffering from the so-calle Tietze syndrome, i.e. costochondritis. See eMedicine article on the topic. I recommend one week of ibuprofen 800 mg three times daily. If there is no resolution, see your doctor again, and discuss possible further investigations, such as MRI to rule out any offending pathology, but usually it’s not needed.

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