clicking sounds in chest!!!

hi - i'm a 22yr old female and i just wondered if anyone out there has any idea to why i get (which i can only describe as..) clicking noises when i take a deep breath. It doesnt happen all the time, but when it does its very uncomfortable - i've had it now for about 7yrs, and it has got worse as i've aged. I did go to the docs when it started years ago, an got sent for xray but everything seemed fine, and the doc couldnt tell me why - so i got discharged and carried on with it, but it has got worse - and the clicking noises louder!! anyone know what this is?? - Thank you - Steph

[willtme]

Sorry Steph that you have had to deal with this inconvenience.  I have had the same problem over the last year, though I have seen a reduction of my symptoms.  One possibile cause of your symptoms is tietze syndrome a.k.a. costochondritis.  It is an inflammation of the costochondral cartilage next to the sternum.  Most cases are of unknown cause.  But, known causes are irritation due to direct trauma, aggressive exercise that caused a strain, or a prior upper respiratory tract infection with cough that caused repeated stretching and strain at the costochondral junction. It is also possible that you have a structural abnormality resulting from trauma.  

You should be re-evaluated by a physician since it has been a few years as you mentioned.

[Stephie1982]

hi willtme..
Thank you so much for your suggestions - sorry that you delt with the same thing, but its good to hear that its reducing!
I cant remember ever having a trauma that may have caused this, and I dont do any excessive training - i'll make an app this week with the doc's and i'll keep you posted... Thank you again xxx

[ChrisBristol]

Hi,

I have been having probles with my sternum area for the last year. It often starts when I have been lying on my side or if I am supporting my upper body on one arm. After a while if I move I will feel a pain in the sternum, this can be quite uncomfortable. If I move my arms together or bend forward this will get worse, however sometimes if I bend backwards and spread my arms wide and up into the air I will hear and feel a click or series of clicks from my sternum.

After these clicks the discomfort is usually relieved, but I have noticed that over time the incidence of these episodes is increacing, and I find the clicking less easy to achieve.

My theory is I have poorly cartelage connections between the ribs and sternum, if I apply stress to these joints by applying pressure to my ribcage from the side (by supporting my weight on one side of my upper body) these joints allow the sternum to move out of place and hence cause discomfort. Opening these joints by stretching allows them to jump back into place and hence the clicking and pain relief.

Does anyone have a similar experience or alternative theory?

[jake1987]

hi, so i decided to research 'chest clicking'  and this website came up! and haha, i read stephie1982's comment :)  
it just so happens that i have the same exact problem. except mine clicks every time i take a deep breath whether or not im uncomfortable..  i went to the doctor and got xrays as well, and they didnt know what it was!  

so i guess i was just curious.. do you know if this is a serious thing? or...can it go away on its own?  i would love to know.  thank you:)

jake

[TIM ALEN_2]

I have this simmilar experience too just as these guys giving their situtations on the net, my problem is I get irritated often  times I hear clicking deep within my chest whenever I take a deep breath this comes sometimes with what they call a heart burn and it annoys me a lot in the past 3 years. I got a check up; X-rays and ECG'S and the result was  normal, the doctors diagnose it with an atypical heart block but my second reading was normal. so what is this?, any help from the experts PLEASE???

JOHN 22yrs old.

[mattsmart]

Hi
I to have pretty much exactly the same problem as ChrisBristol, only the pain that causes the click comes from being slouched or bending the upper body forward. when straightening up I feel a constricting pain which is relived by spreading my arms wide and back, pushing chest forward untill I hear a crack which must be the cartilage/ sterum popping back into postion?
sometimes I wake in the night /early moring with the pain, but then cannot crack my chect to relive it, this can be very uncomfortable/ distressing, as the pain can last for hours untill i have to put myself into a postion which would normally cause the pain, in order to then relive the stuck sternum!!!
Nightmare!!
I have not managed to find anything to stop my chest clicking, although I do take glucosamine/chondroitine supplements and 2 asprin every morning for the last month. Ill keep the thread posted if I notice any changes!
My doctor said I'd have to live with it, I dont agree!!
I've never had any accidents are distress to the area, and i've had this condition for around 2 years
thanks

Matt ( 26yrs)

[dali_butterfly]

I get the same sternum clicking but mine usually comes after some strenuous exercise. I also sometimes feel something like pressure in my chest. I went and saw a doctor and he said that it's just an inflammation of the chest bones. He told me to apply a cold pack for 5 minutes followed by a heat pack for 5 minutes (repeat a few times). He also told me to take anti inflammatory medicine like Ibuprophen. I took the pills but I haven't tried the heat-cold thing yet. It does feel better when I take the pills.

[mattsmart]

hi dali_butterfly

I too have read about hot and cold packs, but whenever an painful episode occures, its often not convinient to try this method!
I may try ibuprofen as a friend uses it for athuritis, and says its helps?

good luck

[190574]

I know the feeling. I feel an uncomfortable feeling in my chest everyday. It activates anxieity attacks. I take a death breath constantly and it my rib cage clicks. I went to see my doctor, and he said it is loose muscles and that they need to be tighted. When you do that, it will keep the bones attached. But, I also have poor posture which doesnt help the situation at all. I have also been told to go see a chyroptractor to staighten my back. So, I hope this info can help. Just remember, allot of the time when you feel the sharpness, it is the nerves and muscles being pinched between the ribs and sternum and can cause your heart to think of heart attack. It happened to me after work today and it was scary

[mattsmart]

your condition sounds slightly different to mine but still similar. My posture / sitting postion is what causes the sterum to get out of position, not exercise. I usually have to click a few times a day?
I saw a chiropractor who practised a Mctimony method, it didint really do much although at the time you could feel a general improvemrnt in posture?
My doctor also mentioned building up my muscles around the chest are to better support the sternum and ribs.
If you get soreness around the center of the sternum after a crack etc.........I find disolvable asprin help. although I dont think daily drugs hold the key, I think its a physiological problem which like your doctor said may require muscle work?

[mcheads]

My boyfriend and I,both coincedently, get the chest clicking sensation. I thought it was only me. Its a scary feeling which is relieved when a deep painful breathe is taken. We have put our chest clicking pain down to anxiety, however this is not medically proven its just a personal diagnostic. Good to know there are others out there

[mattsmart]

hi mcheads
is it brought on randomly, or when you feel stressed? diagnosis differs between people?

[babydaddy]

So, I seem to have the same problem.  An intense pain in my chest, popping etc.  I spoke to a friend of mine who is a nurse, she said it is likely to be a rib dislocation. Not really dangerous unless it rubs upon your lung, but not really any fun either.  She said to ace bandage the area to keep the particular rib from popping out and to try and sleep in different positions, not do the activities that cause the ribs to pop.  Hope this helps some.  Stephen

[MommyA]

I have the same problem and have been getting really bad anxiety attacks. It happens if I lay on my left side a certain way or if I'm slouching. I had an x-ray last year and they didn't find anything. I have to have another one now. I am worried because I had parotid gland cancer and it can show up again in my chest. My doctor said I'm not considered cured yet and wants to make sure nothing is there. I have also been put on medicine for my anxiety attacks. I really thought this could be cancer since I had never heard of this happening. Thanks to these posts I feel a little better. Thanks.

[brianuk]

I have exactly the same as chrisbristol and mattsmart.

Normally after sleeping on my side, with my shoulders pushing in at the front, i wake up with the tight chest/sternum, and have to lean right back with arms outstretched to achieve the clicking.

recently the clicking has become less effective, and the uncomfortableness remains, which is frustrating.

I do think it is down to bad posture, I am considering trying pilates to improve this.

Just a thought, but I have quite a slim tall build, but wide shoulders. This is why when I sleep I think the compressing effect is exaggerated. Could people posting after me put down their build and posture, and perhaps we will see some similarities?

[sbcomprof]

have you ever use inhaler for this if not then check it will be good for u
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[ddan]

So glad I found this forum. I've been experiencing a popping / clicking / snapping sensation in the center lower area between my ribs (after looking at a diagram of the ribs I'd say it would be near the xiphoid). It's particularly bad when I lay on my right side. It feels like one rib is getting caught under the other and "clicking" or "snapping" when I breathe. There's no audible sound (meaning, it's not like when someone cracks a knuckle), it's just a sensation.

I've actually had this for years and never thought much of it because it was primarily when I was lying down and I would just reposition my body and it would go away. But recently I'm noticing that it's getting progressively more frequent and occasionally feel the sensation when I'm standing up or sitting here typing at my computer. It's not so much painful as it is an irritating and uncomfortable sensation.

Is this the kind of thing you all can relate to?

[dmaidwell]

i get the exact same thing and it causes me too have anxiety attacks that i find hard to control...its because i have this clicking sound and when im stressed i notice it happens more but it is only if i breath insounds like a deeper sound of someone cracking their knuckles...i hate it so much because it makes me think that there is something more sinister wrong with me..the doctors just say "oh its just a thing you have to deal with and the pain you can take ibruprofen" but i dont want to live like it and want to have the problem sorted so i can go on living..without having worries in the back of my head!

[rych01]

I get the same occasional click in my chest mainly when i have been laying down for a long period of time like when i wake up in the morning.  It only been happening the past year.

What people have said about loose muscles around the joints sounds promising at least in my case.  I used to work out at the gym a lot with heavy weights and as a result gained a lot of strength and tone.  Unfortunately I had to give up the gym due to time constraints at work and a few months later my clicking chest started.  In fact my shoulder, back, elbow, knees, ankles and chest all started to click.  It was quite scary - I felt like I was falling to bits!!

Anyway I have been back at the gym now for about 2 months, lifting heavy weights and guess what... little by little the clicks have stopped.  Only my chest clicking remains but it is less frequent.

Im not saying that everybody should start throwing masses of iron around their living rooms but strengthening up their joints, ligaments and  tendons through regular weight bearing exercise may help as it has me! :)

[Nicie297]

I have been having the same problem as you, especially when I wake up in the morning, but sometimes when I have been working infront of the PC for a long period of time. Previous posts have mensioned poor posture but I make it a point to keep mine good. Every individual differs though.

Thank you for sharing your experiance as I am going to increase streangthening my chest area using weights in my excercise routine. I'm pleased to hear that your "clicking joints" are going improving and hope your theory works for me too, as well as others looking for advise.

[putange]

I have had a 'clicking' chest for about 5 years now.  I went to my doctor, who said it was nothing, but it is a very scary thing to experience suddenly.  I quit smoking shortly after it started, and the clicks went away.  After a year of not smoking or clicking, i started smoking again.  Sure enough the clicking came back.  Can anybody else relate it to smoking??

[stedro]

i've had clicking of my chest and sometimes its quite painful when i breathe. Also the pain seems to be worse when i bend  over leaning forward.

I started to incorperate dumbell pullovers (stiff arm)at the end of every work out when i trained chest, making sure i get a nice stretch on each rep, and this has helped alot that i no longer get pain on breathing.

[Suri123]

Hi stedro, how are you doing? Hope you are doing well and the chest pain has come down. I feel you might be probably having Costochondritis which is is an "inflammation of the junctions where the upper ribs join with the cartilage that holds them to the breastbone or sternum. The condition causes localized chest pain that you can reproduce by pushing on the cartilage in the front of your ribcage. Costochondritis is a relatively harmless condition and usually goes away without treatment". To know more, go through this link - http://www.emedicinehealth.com/costochondritis/article_em.htm Rest and anti-inflammatory analgesics are helpful and it recovers in a weeks time normally. If still persisting, do call your doctor. Take care.

[Suri123]

Hi stedro, how are you? Hope you are better now with the decreased chest pain. Have you got evaluated by an ortho doctor? Avoid doing sternous exercise and heavy lifting. Heat therapy and stretches should be helpful. In most cases, it goes off with rime. Gentle massage with breathing exercises will also help. Pain gel and drug releives pain temporarily. Keep updating on your progress and share your thoughts. Take care.

[Grahamrob]

Im a 17 year old male, i work out alot and i find when im doing a chest exercise if i push to hard, my chest cracks really loudly, its not painfull but wandered if it was anything to be concerned about? should i get it checked out?

[Stefan123]

I am a 20 year old male and for 2 years I have experienced this somewhat clicking sound in my chest after stretching. It doesnt happen always and is typically like clicking your nuckles in you hand after working for a while at the computer or just during sports. I have played rugby in my younger age and have never broken any bones. The doctor throughout my life has provided very positive results on my general health and bones being strong. I dont think it is to do with weak cartilage?? anybody have any ideas?

[Mat2]

HI, i am also a 20 year old male with a similar problem, I fell realy hard snowboarding onto a hand rail and it hit right at the bottom of my rib cage on the right side, it hurt like hell at the time but went away after 5 minutes and i kept snowboarding. I forgot about what happend and then i think about 3-7 days after i was sitting at my computer and stood up and herd/felt a click on the right side. I pushed on it and i could repeat the click each time and actualy feal something popping out from under the rib cage, it had no pain at all so i ignored it for a month. after that month i noticed it had swelled up quite a bit and it started to hurt, i was freaking out. Randomly it would go back to being a very small click almost unoticeable, and then all of a sudden i dont know if i was straining or something but it would swell up again, hurt to the touch in a weird way and then a dull ache after. Eventualy the pain was radiating to my back around the same level. I was getting panick attacks at night trying to sleep not knowing what was going on with me. Went to the doctor he felt around and said it seemed fine, i told him i think its my liver because i was realy tripping out on this problem. Had an ultrasound everything was OK. Then it prety much completly went away for about a month and i was even working and lifting heavy things. I stoped working for about 2 weeks. Then i helped someone move alot of heavy rocks and about 3-4 days after it came back. Swollen, and when i mean swollen i mean i was able to lie on my left side and it would pop out and i could use my hand to push it in a out, and it had a tender ache. I let it rest up and now it seems to not be swollen in the front rib cage but my spine has started to crack alot in one spot like its not aligned or something, and its giving me intense back pain through the muscles along the spine. Im going to see a chiropractor and a doctor soon. Do you think this could be something with torn cartilage/or just a messed up rib thats throwing my whole body off?????? i dont even know anymore its verrrrrry frustrating

[derc72]

i have had clicking or a crackling sound in my chest for years now and still undiagnosed, it is scary, but i am very fit , i dont smoke or drink alchohol excessively, so it gets depressing, i have no other symptoms, i hear it when things get quiet, but it gets worse when i lie down, my dad died of lung cancer , so it is a worry, the sound it makes is like an old boat rocking on the sea!,  i dont hear it as much if im standing up, any ideas how to rid myself of this problem, my GP doesnt seem to care.

[jackalost]

i have been havin these sounds for a year but now i found a magical ixir that i can suggest u all   apple vinegar.....that is the best thing u can heal.... use it two spoon wit a glass of water in the morning and evening after meals.... and u will get well like me  in 2 weeks...  i hope everyone will heal soon.. bye all

[alisonr]

I have the same thing as brian, chris and matt.. I think it's down to bad posturing/sleeping style..  I'm also finding it harder lately to remedy the discomfiture by stretching back and clicking. Oh well.. i'm glad its a dislocated sternum and not the onset of a heart attack (the first article I came across regarding the 'clicking' -___-)

If I had to guess I'd say resorting to the chest click isn't the most advisable thing if this is the first time it happens to you..  i didn't always have a clicky chest... and never had the feeling like i could tense my chest as i can now (female btw) which is probably caused by the clicking.. which probably isn't necessary.. its very tempting to click.. but in the end.. the clicking can't save you.. i'd try a light stretch instead.. cheerio

[brianmm]

i also have this clicking noise in my chest when i breath, im 26 now and have had it for 7 years,
at first when i noticed it when id breath i her a clicking noise every so often true out my regular day ,
at first it was only one click and as the years went on so did the amount of clicks now a days if i breath really deeply il get 4 clicks easily
it used to be only 3 but im sure it will even out at 4 most of the time its just one big click followed by 2 or 3 small clicks ,
i never known what to put it down to i guessed it was smoking coz i am a heavy smoker,
i figured it might be tar involved there somewhere i dont know
im planing on quiting the tobaco so il know then whether smoking had contributed to it
when i told my doctor years ago he said nothing much about it
and told me not to worry
its good to know i am not the only one out there with this clicking chest thing ,
we should start a fan club and call our selves the clickers club LOL

[jezra]

My 11 year old was laying in bed and said he heard his ribs pop. He had taken a deep breath and sure enough I heard it. He kept taking deep breaths and told me he could also feel it. I put my hand over his lower right rib cage and could feel that, "click" or "pop" each time he had taken a deep breath. Is that the same as what you all are feeling? I have not read where you can hear and feel the pop.

Anyway, I am taking him to the doctor in the am but any advise for this is much appreciated. He is athletic and plays basketball and football but he has never taken a bad fall or been hit that hard. He has never complained after any game that he was hurt though he did say this has been happening for about a month and it was tender when I touched the area.

[INPAIN999]

MY CHEST HAS BEEN CLICKING FOR A FEW YEARS NOW I AM 30 YEATS OLD DRINK AND SMOKE OCCASSIONALLY UED TO DO A LOT OF SPORTS AND SEE MYSELF AS A RELATIVELY FIT MAN FOR THE PAST FEW YEARS I HAVE BEEN WORKING AT A DESK, MAYBE THIS HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH MY CHEST CLICKIN . LAS NIGHT I WAS UP ON THE COMP UNTIL 4AM TOWARD THE END OF THE SESSION I YAWNED AND STRETCHED AND LOW AND BEHOLD THERE WAS A MASSIVA CLICK THE  BIGGEST I'VE EVER HAD AND AFTR THAT THE PAIN IN MY CHEST CONTINUED I COULDNT SLEEP PROPERLY AND IT HURTS WHEN I MOVE. I WOKE THIS MORNING AND STILL HAVE THE PAIN. IF IT HASNT GONE TOMORROW IM GONNA GO DOCTORS CAUSE THIS AINT RIGHT.
HOW DID THIS HAPPEN? IT CANT JUST BE FROM BAD POSTURE BECAUSE I HAVE RELATIVELY GOOD POSTURE COMPAIRED TO OTHERS.

[ahnuld]

@rych01, who wrote: "I used to work out at the gym a lot with heavy weights and as a result gained a lot of strength and tone.  Unfortunately I had to give up the gym due to time constraints at work and a few months later my clicking chest started.  In fact my shoulder, back, elbow, knees, ankles and chest all started to click.  It was quite scary - I felt like I was falling to bits!!
Anyway I have been back at the gym now for about 2 months, lifting heavy weights and guess what... little by little the clicks have stopped.  Only my chest clicking remains but it is less frequent.
Im not saying that everybody should start throwing masses of iron around their living rooms but strengthening up their joints, ligaments and  tendons through regular weight bearing exercise may help as it has me! :)"

...Same with me :-(
But I disagree with you, since tendons can't really be trained like muscles (they take seven times longer to stretch!), and to me it sounds like you strengthened your muscles while weakening the rest with the heavy training!
(As to the reasons, possibly you started using heavy weights and stuff like forced reps too early?)
Sounds like you might depend on tensing your muscles from now on to make up for the damage...


@stedro, who wrote:
"I started to incorperate dumbell pullovers (stiff arm)at the end of every work out when i trained chest, making sure i get a nice stretch on each rep, and this has helped alot that i no longer get pain on breathing."

Sure, pullovers can expand the chest, but they do this for exactly the same reason that some people experience chest/ sternum clicking in a negative way: loosening up the cartilage. For me, my first set of pullovers was also the first time I had a really loud "pop" sound from my sternum, and ever since then it has been more prone than before to the sort of shifting around and clicking when lying on my sides or my elbows which most people here describe.
But maybe, if your body has generally good connective tissue and good regeneration capability and if you do the exercise with good symmetry and the right amount of weight, it's really a way of stretching, not hurting?
So, one thing may be either the cause or the cure in this case, perhaps depending on body type and how carefully one exercises?

[xandrani]

I also get sternum popping / clicking.  Mine seemed to start after a blunt impact trauma to my chest... although as ever doctor's never find anything (are they really educated I wonder!?).

Anyway I have found that swimming 'breast stroke' helps open up my chest and after this I don't have problems for up to 24-48 hours after.  I think somehow this expanding and contracting of my chest while swimming must help everything move back in to an equilibrium state.

Swimming could also help anxiety (unless you're scared of water ;-)).

Note that the high incidence of panic attacks / anxiety mentioned seems to suggest non-diaphragmatic breathing (i.e. you are breathing in the upper chest instead, which you shouldn't really).  Breathing high up in the chest rather than the diaphragm will put unnecessary stress on your upper rib cage and connective tissue which over time could possible damage (although probably temporarily) these areas.

So learning to breathe from the diaphragm should help relieve the clicking AND the anxiety.  Yoga or a physiotherapist specialised in breathing properly should help you here.

I also agree that good posture will also reduce strain on this area of the body.

Obviously some people will have more pronounced physiological problems like a fractured rub etc, but I reckon most people just have the problems I mentioned above.

I hope this helps some people.

[kaela]

i have the same clicking ( especially when i reach diagonally up and back) or bend my upper body down , i believe i got this through years of yoga , doing the push ups, probably the wrongway ... i have pain by the sternum on the right sid e.. i tried not exercising , and ibuprofen , i bleive it ets better , but the second i exercise again it comes back .. i can;t stop exercising, it is just annoying!!    i don;t think the doctor would help , anyne have luck with acupuncture ..i'm scared of chiropractures  .. im very fit .. it looks like there is really no answers .. just ibuprofenor aspirin, hot and cold packs .. it does;t prevent me from normal life activities and most excercise , just the push ups really .. but i love y oga , so it ain;t too fun ...

[stev01]

ive also had similar clicking sensations for 18 months now,and after reading all of your postings its nice to know im not going insane.my clicks happen if im sat down and take a deep breath or yawn.im 37 and otherwise reasonably healthy.has anyone found out the true cause?

[Niknak999]

Hey I'm a 32yr old woman and have been experiencing pains in my sternum too.  It almost feels like my ribs are slightly misaligned and something is out of place.  They are only relieved by pushing my arms back or bending sideways until I hear an audible 'click' which gives a brief shooting pain in the middle of my chest then it goes away for a bit.  I was putting up with them because they were infrequent episodes but lately they have been happening frequently, at least once a day, and as some others have said on here it is becoming more difficult to find the right position to 'unclick'  the sensation and it hurts for longer after.  In fact this morning as I got out of bed just the act of sitting up cause a 'click' when i wasn't expecting it!  I have trouble with my hip joints too and the doctor just said I had a weak hip muscle on one side.  Exercise has helped my hip but its hard to think what exercise would help the ribs!!  I'm slim with wide shoulders, maybe there is a link as someone suggested!!  If anyone comes up with an exercise to relieve this please post on here!!!  I'm sure its weak muscles allowing the ribs to move too much or something like that.....

[lemondrops]

My situation is the same as yours mattsmart.  Mine occurs on the left side of my chest close to my clavicle.  Years ago I would wake up and stretch and it would pop.  Now it won't pop and it's stuck and it's driving me insane.  I also have pain in my left shoulder blade as well and the sides and front of my neck are tense.  I mostly sleep on my right side with my left shoulder coming forward towards the bed.  I think this has a lot to do with it.  Especially worse I think when I'm stressed out.  I just have this constant urge to pop it.  I can move my shoulder up and my chest out and it just clicks.  And like someone else said it causes anxiety and frustration which I'm sure doesn't help.

[prvnkumark]

Hi, i too have the same prob as you guys have i have tried all they took x-ray,scanning,bloodtest,urinetest. and lot of teset they took and told i am normal . I approached Homeopathy he gave some med and asked me to do some streaching excerise. I was feeling good in starting then latter i haven found much releif. I tried physiotherapy he told there is no problem at all just do sm streaching excerise. I am doing streching exs i am feeling better some days.
things which makes me feel good
!)good sleep.
2)after swimming.
3)after taking ibrupen.
4)and afcourse after clicking i feel bit releived.
I dont knwo what is the solution . But sure we can live this for our life time. Please guys keep updating. I will also if i find anything curing.

Regards,
Praveen

[Nate98]

Weird how many of us seem to have anxiety and panic attacks annnd a common issue of chest clicking. I do feel better after reading this because I worried I had Tuberculosis,  cancer ect! I think that I have been very stressed and unhealthy lately. exersise sleep and strees manegment are needed I would suggest something new and a little corny to me but medetation work, deep muscle relaxation 3 times daily 20 min each look for good rutines and be healthy, I wonder if I lift weights and workout hard again and push lungs? if clicking and tight chest will get better? Just wondering but what are your Myers Briggs personality types...I am an ENFP i wonder if we .....well ill wait to see what you guys are to elaborate. I hope yall get healthy. if doctor scans show nothng major clicking dosent mean your dyin so... oh does anyones food get stuck when they try and swallow?

[top_angler]

I have the same condition!
I went to the doctors who referred me to a Physiotherapist, my problem was due to poor posture.
I was told to take a hand towel and role it up like a sausage, lay it on the floor and the lye down with the towel between my shoulder blades running the lengthways down my spine, this cause my head to fall backwards and my chest to be pushed towards the ceiling, its very painful for the first 2 min or so but after this I get used to it, I do this every day for 15 min a time and my chest clicking and soreness ease and almost go completely.

[billyham]

Great thread everyone! I've had a clicking chest for the last year, which has been driving me crazy.. It happens when I stretch or exercise and can sometimes feel like my chest is stuck for days until it suddenly it clicks again with relief.

It's good to know that it's not as serious as I thought. Stretching and strengthening seems to be the common solution here.

If anyone knows of a particular exercise to limit this clicking I'd be very interested.

Many thanks

Billy

[damson79]

I agree with your description.  This is exactly the same as the condition which I have suffered with from early twenties (now 30).  I was informed by a doctor - after being told that it was in my head by a number of doctors - that it is called costochondritis and would go away of it's own accord during my mid twenties, which it hasn't.  It seems to be made worse from stress and sleepless nights do not help.  I get a tightness across the chest and feel restricted, which is only alleviated by the cracking of the sternum.  I worry that this cracking will cause issues long term, like Arthritis, etc. However, sometimes there is no option as the amount of times that this occurs is increasing and the cracking (and sometimes popping) can happen from just sitting up, turning or running up the stairs. The noise is very audiable and apart from grossing out my other half and sister on a regular basis, is very annoying.
This seems to be a common complaint and yet I keep seeing comments from people that have had doctors say that they are unable to diagnose anything, this cannot be right… I suggest that if you suffer from these symptoms and are planning to visit the doctors, just ask if it could be costochondritis and if they can suggest anything for it.

[richy200]

Hi all i get the exact same thing as chris bristol and matt, pain in my sturnum area.  Once i arch my back (push my chest forward and move my arms out i usually am able to click my chest and the pain goes away.  This usually happens 3 - 4 times a day.  This morning i have woken up and feel discomfort in my chest, i can;t seem to click my chest either.  When i take a deep breath there is a lot of pressure at the top of my chest.

Let me just make it clear, i doubt this problem is down to bad posture so whoever said that can cross that off their list of things to try.  I am a professional latin dancer and my posture is pretty good from the years of training.  I have never suffered with this discomfort before however i used to train a lot.  Now that i haven't trained for the past 2 years (just been teaching) I have noticed a massive loss in muscle from the upper body.  I am thinking that this loss of muscle is the reason i am getting this sensation.  I have started swimming and training again so will update shortly.  On another note Doctors these days haven't a clue!

[richy200]

To all that have the symtoms (symptoms) i have chest pain in stirum, more pressure when you cough, bend forward, usually it's eased by clicking the chest.

i have spoken to client of mine who is a doctor for the south wales area (very good doctor).  She told me that i have costochondritis.  She said the causes are unknown (can be cause be a virus) there are no operations that can sort this out.  It can happen to anyone of any age and usually will sort it self out. It can be eased by ibuprofen.  Basically it's where the ribs connect to the stirnum is inflammed.  I only have it in one area but she said people can have it in multiple ribs and in such situations they can inject a steroid bases anti infamitory into the chest.

Just thought i would share this with you as a lot of people like myself was looking for answers.  Google costochondritis for yourself and hopefully that will help you understand a bit more.

[CJswim]

Hi all!
My symptoms started June of 2009 when I was really run down.  I chucked it all up to fatigue, but 2 months later, they were testing me for pneumonia.  Once I was given atibiotics most of my symptoms cleared up except the clicking....somewhat sometimes more of a whirrrr/rattling behind my sternum...never went away.  I was told that it was probably bronccho spasms and it would take a few months for the alvioli to function at normal levels again.  Well, the rattling never stopped.  It comes and it goes.  Also, since the rattling/clicking started last June, my swimming mile has decreased from 32 minutes to between 40 and 45.  If I push too hard, I get light headed.  My clicking/rattling seems completely unrelated to my actual skeletal system unlike many of you, but I have many of the other symptoms that many of you have.

Sometimes when it flares up, it's accompanied by the anxiety that so many of you have talked about.  I just can't seem to get enough air in and then it rattles and clicks when I exhale.  The pulmonologist tells me that I definitely don't have asthma or pneumonia(clear chest x-ray).  He says my VO2 scan shows that I breath better than 99% of the population.  My lung sounds are clear, but the clicking/rattling can be heard right behind the center of my sternum and when it really flares up I get short of breath and I have night sweats.  Sunday, I got dizzy after strenuous yard clean-up after a storm and Monday it happened again once my pulse exceeded 120 beats per minute.  I have always considered myself an athlete until this kicked up and now I'm no match for my former self.

Has anyone else's doctor suggested a possible swollen lymph node putting pressure on the windpipe, besides mine?  He now wants to do a CT scan.  So many of your doctors haven't given you definitive answers.  I feel terribly for everyone!  Has anyone recieved any new answers that I might be able to explore?  This thing must have a name, right?

[tommo24]

hi im 23yrs old,im very fit,exercise 6-7days a week and also im a roofers carrying heavy weight all the time,i was training for my MMA fight,wen i took some blows in the chest. Didnt feel to bad after,bt 7months on,2 doctors and an x-ray its clicking worse. I thort i would stop exercising n give it a rest,bt seems to be getting worse the less i stretch.when i lye on 1 side and reach for sumthink in struggle to move my arms due to my ribs feeling like they need to pop. some times now its takin 4 attempts at cracking it so i can carry on doing what i was doing. I think for me maybe the best option it to strengthen the chest again and take some anti-imflamatories and stretch regulary maybe try the steriod injections.will keep u informed how i get on so u can take from it what u need. happy clicking to all

[carly91x]

ATTENTION EVERYONE. :)
Look i know this is scary for you all i am experiencing the same thing.
Im Not A Doctor BUT Back When I Was In HighSchool I Woke Up Feeling Out Of Breathe. My Family Got Worried So They Took Me To The Doctors. He Made Me Have X-Rays But Apparently They Were Fine But Yet I Still felt Out Of Breathe So Because they couldnt find anything wrong with me they put it down to "anxiety" now i know what anxiety is and i have it at times but i feel out of breathe every second of my life. i really do hate it it makes me depressed not knowing what it is.
so another time i went to the doctors and she was really good with me she had me do blood test xray again check my oxygen levels they were all fine. but then th clicking started! :O i was like :| you gotta be kidding me.
ive heard its phneomina BUT my grandfather had phneomina and to see what he went through isnt what he all have UNLESS when you breath in and out you hear gurgeling.
i smoke.
and drink but i only drink every now and then.
im thinking its from smoking but yet again some comments above say you dont smoke.
ive also experienced coughing up balls off yellow stuff. like litreally its a ball.
i have NOOooooOOOo idea what that is and some how the doctors dont either... aaahhhh how weird right?
the only thing i can think of in my past is being bullied in primary school by my best friends and crying my heart out everyday not wanting to go to school which may have brought the anxiety on.

but the clicking... this is my honest opinion

back at school it was winter and frreezzziinnngg.
so me and my friends decided to go play in the rain. we were litreally drenched! and freezing after that. i got:
sore throat
a big cough
ear infection

im thinking my lungs couldnt handle the coldness and i got an infection that cant go away.. and why? because i dont let them heal and i continue to smoke.

so my symptoms are:
anxiety! defenantly
out of breathe.
clicking whilst inhaling.
dizziness
coughing up a yellow looking ball.
and sometimes! chest pain in middle just below my coller bones.

at least were all in this together right guys :)

let me know if your expriencing what i have.
x

carly

[YDG]

Top forum!  

The data available from this forum where the diagnosis from doctors seems to be generic (i.e.  costochondritis, take anti inflammatory pills etc) should be looked at more closely by health professionals not to further aid diagnosis, but to determine ways in which to aid recovery through the changes in the lifestyles that we follow.

My reasons are as follows;

I too experience pressure on my chest which can only be revealed by bring my arms back and puffing my chest out to hear the audible crack however this becomes harder to achieve as time progresses - meaning that more weird and wonderful stretches must be used to achieve the crack ;-)

This problem only started 3 months....I finished a heavy program of weight lifting 3 1/2 months ago due to an unrelated injury with my knee.  I also done plenty of aerobic exercise and was a proficient rock climber until my knee gave way so I would say I had a good range of flexibility (i can also touch my toes lol)  

The on set of pain comes in a variety of ways.  This morning for example I woke up in pain due to the way I was sleeping. Hence why I'm hunched over my computer just now like the bloody elephant man. Previous to this I had raised my arms to reach a pot above my head. Other times my chest feels tight like I need to crack it and when I do the pain starts.  Regardless of what I do it is always the same pain.

A fair amount of people on here - more than can be considered a coincidence, have reported that after a lull in physical activity (particularly resistance training or anything that increases muscle mass ) the onset of this particular condition begins.

Now I'm not in any way qualified to begin an in-depth analysis of how the pectoral muscles attach to the sternum so my theory may be suspect      but I do know that muscles are connected to the bones via tendons  and when any form of training regime is stopped you will loose the mass of those muscle groups.

Could the shrinkage of the muscle cause stress on the tendons which in turn causes stress on the rib cage?  With this the cartilage would be pulled out of position causing the relief and cracking sound when it pops back into place?

Again this is just a theory but would seem to suggest the reason why anti inflammatory drugs are often prescribed.

As a help in limiting the pain, paracetamol and anti inflammatory drugs short term. However exercise - maybe something that encourages good flexibility would hopefully work in the long term.  I plan to try and improve my posture as well as i do tend to slouch.

My knee is near enough healed so will post up some details on how I get on over the coming months    

[gems160]

Hi guys,
just wanted to say i am experiancing the cracking in my chest too. Im not sure if anyone has said this before as the post is so long i didnt read the whole lot, but i have been diagnosed with Hypermobility which the doctors say is the cause of all my cracking? Does anyone else have hypermobility? xx

[prvnkumark]

Hi everyone.

Any update from any one. Still i am suffering with the same problem.
I dnt know where to go what to do.
Its killing.

Regards,
Praveen

[bluedaisy1983]

i'm having a very similar experience. a very uncomfortable tightness feeling that usually only alleviated by an arms back stretch and giant click - but yes, its getting harder to achieve and the boughts of this are becoming more frequent.

I have hypermobility too which i think has gotten worse since having my little girl. And this has only come on since having here too so may be linked with these chest symptoms.

also i think my posture and muscle tone could be better!

sounds like there is not much we can do but be assured there are lots of us and its not too serious.

sarah

[oj123]

Hi all,

I'm a doctor and I get this problem too! Though I'm afraid to say I'm not entirely sure what this is but I do have a theory:

To be clear I seem to get many of the same symptoms as Matt et al - pressure, usually after a period of inactivity which is then relieved by extension of the chest resulting in clicking with occasional brief pain).

My theory is this: medically it is widely known that from the late teens/twenties the costal cartilage (between ribs and sternum) starts to ossify/calcify. This process continues usually until the late 30s - though the timing is different for everyone. I think that for us this process has begun and the clicking and subsequent relief of pressure is a 'breaking' of these areas of semi-calcification.

If this is the case then:
- the problem should occur in 16-40 year olds mostly and usually in the twenties or thirties
- it should get progressively more difficult to click as more calcification/ossifcation occurs over time (timeline of years)
- a point should be reached (timeline years) when no further clicking occurs as the joint cartilage is now fused

Alternatively this could also be costochondritis - an inflammation of the costal margin, though it seems to go on too long for this I think (5 years in my case).

I do not think this is a case of lax joints, dislocations, muscle strain nor muscle laxity etc. Neither do I think that this is something to do with anxiety (except that which might be produced from the click itself) or some red-flag for a major disease. In fact this should not cause any long-term problems at all, and is probably normal. The caveat to this is to see a doctor if you are concerned!

Anyway interested to hear your thoughts, try searching for costal ossification or calcification for further information.

[aadam]

I also have the 'clicking sensation' however, I find that if I put pressure on my chest (i.e. push in my chest really hard with my fingers) that I get a larger click (almost a crack) and relief follows.

Is anyone else addicted to pushing in their chest besides me???

I've only had this for the last year or so and I can put it down to one of two (possibly both) events:

1. I broke one of my lower left ribs. I didn't go to my doctor I just let it heal (took about a month)

2. I had a chest infection through food poisoning.

I also noticed that someone else on this forum identified a link between acid indegestion and the clicking/chest pain. I have observed something similar.

[ejb321]

HI oj123 and everyone,
Really happy to have found this thread as I fit in perfectly with many people's problems, and it is driving me nuts. I can't pop my sternum anymore and I can't get relief from the dull sternum pain which just gets temporarily better if I stretch my chest in a certain way.
I have one question about the costal ossification theory...
oj123, you say:

"- it should get progressively more difficult to click as more calcification/ossifcation occurs over time (timeline of years)
- a point should be reached (timeline years) when no further clicking occurs as the joint cartilage is now fused"

Does this mean that once the joint cartilage is fused together then as well as there being no more clicking, will there still be pain which can no longer be relieved? Or once the ossification is complete, will everything adapt and then the pain should go away? Is there any way to stop this process (by stretching for example), or is it a normal thing for everyone?

I am a tall, slim male, age 37. At this point I think I am getting relief from exercise, especially upper back strengthening (to help my poor slouching posture) and chest strengthening. I will keep doing these exercises and check back if I notice any positive effects.

[Davey3]

Hi all,
My chest has been clicking for the best part of a year now, unlike some of the other posts I have read above I feel no breif pain sensation afterwards. My chest tends to click when I am lying on my side and when I take in a deep breathe and my chest (ribs) are push right out.
It didn`t really bother me untill I started getting two clicks somtimes when lying on my side and what only can be descibed as a few mini clicks through the day when standing up. I`m a 29 year old male and plaster for a living, maybe it`s due to stretching at work. Just wondering if it`s worth a visit to the Doc`s?

[Hayley2653]

Hi , I'm a 22 year old female and I have a partially similar problem. When I have been sat in a certain position for a length of time and I want to move I get a surge of pain in the sturnum which is relieved very quickly by pushing my chest forward which makes the (sometimes very loud!) cracking noise. The pain doesn't bother me particularly but I get a bit scared that something is going to happen when I crack it. If it isn't a sign of anything serious and I'm not doing myself any damage then I can definitely live with it. Those people who have been to the docs about it - is it worth going?

[shaynenz]

wholly! its good to know there are so many others out there with this same problem. I have had this for years now and the doctor has just brushed me off saying you cant click your chest!!!! haha. he said it must be the spine clicking but we all know that it is our sternum!! haha.
sounds like no one has had any luck figuring this one out but hey, it cant be to serious. we are all in good health still, just blimn hurts sometimes eh. I really hate it when you just cant get that click out!!! painful

[ChestpainRobert]

Hey !
I don't know if anyone has the same problems that I do, but I thought I could share my own experience when it comes to chest pains that are similiar to this.
These "chest pains" started randomly one night when I tried to sleep. I always sleep laying on one of the sides. It's a clicking sound, that people that are 2 metres away from me can hear. It's either a squishing, cracking och clicking sound. I went to a doctor to see what it was, he was stunned by this, since he could also hear it clearly, without any instruments. While I was there, I made a couple of tests, blood pressure and so on. They couldnt find anything wrong with me, except the loud sound that is. They did also send the "report" to some heart specialists, which never heard of this problem before. However, the sound usually appears when lay on the left side while having my hands between my knees, or when I support the head with one arm (hand). It sometimes hurt, sometimes dont, sometimes more that other and so on. It also hurts sometimes when I take a deep breath, or when I blow out all of the air in my lungs. I can also hear this sound when I'm walking in stairs and such. This really confuses me, since no one seem to know what it may be, or how to cure it. If any of you have any tips that you may seem helpful for me, please throw me an email at ***@**** or write a reply here. Because this really worries me. Thanks ! / Robert, 17 male.

[ChestpainRobert]

Hey !
I don't know if anyone has the same problems that I do, but I thought I could share my own experience when it comes to chest pains that are similiar to this.
These "chest pains" started randomly one night when I tried to sleep. I always sleep laying on one of the sides. It's a clicking sound, that people that are 2 metres away from me can hear. It's either a squishing, cracking och clicking sound. I went to a doctor to see what it was, he was stunned by this, since he could also hear it clearly, without any instruments. While I was there, I made a couple of tests, blood pressure and so on. They couldnt find anything wrong with me, except the loud sound that is. They did also send the "report" to some heart specialists, which never heard of this problem before. However, the sound usually appears when lay on the left side while having my hands between my knees, or when I support the head with one arm (hand). It sometimes hurt, sometimes dont, sometimes more that other and so on. It also hurts sometimes when I take a deep breath, or when I blow out all of the air in my lungs. I can also hear this sound when I'm walking in stairs and such. This really confuses me, since no one seem to know what it may be, or how to cure it. If any of you have any tips that you may seem helpful for me, please throw me an email at ***@**** or write a reply here. Because this really worries me. Thanks ! / Robert, 17 male.

[MANIAPOLANDUK]

I GOT TABLETS FROM INDIA AND THEY DID HELP ME MUCH MORE THAN ANY OTHER TABLETS:  THE NAMES OF THE GRAET PILLS ARE:   VOLFLAM PLUS,  DEXONA,  MERCK
I ALSO suffer from PAIN AND CRACKING IN THE CENTER OF THE CHEST.
IT IS ANNOYING ILNESS, chronic

MANI POLAND UK

[aiman_nz]

Wow long thread... thought I would share my story with this. I have had the sternum click for a few years now and I'm 26. A previous comment mentioned the xiphoid, but my click originates in what seems to be called the sternal angle. However the pain I get seems to not be in the area of the click, but in the parts attached to the sternum and even up higher by the collar bone and towards my shoulders. Like other people have said I can reproduce the pain by pushing my chest and shoulders inwards and putting my arms out in front of me. The pain came on a few months ago and has given me some quite bad anxiety, because I had no idea what it was. I went to the GP and she gave me stomach pills and a referral to a cardiologist. The stomach pills did nothing, and the cardiologists did a stress ECG and found nothing but a fast heart rate, probably due to anxiety. Im pretty sure it comes down to my lifestyle.
* I have very bad posture as I work hunched over on a computer all day and then at home for fun too.
* I smoke heavily.
* I exercise twice a week on average, I do 10km runs easily and light to medium weights.
* my chest is stronger than my back
* I am 6'0 (182cm) and have a lean build with wide shoulders.

I have found correcting posture helps to some degree

[TJ0622]

Stephie,

I have had the same symptons for awhile now and finally went to the doctor for it.  The person who did my Echo test said I may have a problem with my valve but I am waiting for the results.  It's frustrating because I know how it feels and the doctors look at me like I am crazy.  I just hope they figure it out!

[funks]

Had the same problem myself for a couple of years.
Seems to flare up with exercise at gym, particularly chest exercises.

i believe its literally tendinitis of the chest.

My clicking has been so loud my partner could hear it, and it hurts lying on the side.

Ive found that rest helps (gym),  glucosamine tablets  and anti inflammatory tabs.

Heres hoping OJ123 is correct and we will out grow it (im 42).

[Pistolpete1491]

I also have the same problem, when I take a deep breath, am lying down, or when I press on both inner sides of my rib cage its a click and/or popping sensation...it doesnt hurt just very annoying maybe its just me I feel like i can't eat as much at one time then I used to because of this..any info on this would be helpful and much appreciated../i am also a male,22 years of age and in good physical condition..thanks

[mitchg]

I'm 17 years old, I read these posts on this thread and It makes me feel better knowing I'm not the only one. I truly can't live with this. I can't sleep as much as I used to.  I have had chest xrays and EKG tests and its all normal, but I can hear the snapping, I can feel it. It hurts so bad. It happens when I am sitting and lying down.  It has been happening the last 3 months and is getting worse and worse.

Thank you for posting this thread, I hope there is some solution to this. Going to cardiologist in a couple weeks.
                                                                     -Mitch G.

[rossssssco]

wow massive thread, that has answered a load of q's, cheers folks. It seems that chrisbristol et al and i have the same, sleeping on a fairly hard matress - wondered if a softer one may help. Clicking, especially when i breath in deepely. Glad it is a 'common' complaint!!
thanks again all

[oldclicker177]

Hello everyone. I am 30 years old and my chest has been clicking since I was about 16. The reason mine is, is because I started lifting weights when I was about 14 and I was in the gym doing dumbell flys, I know, a bit young!! to late now!! anyway I lifted too heavy being a bit of a plank!! I took the dumbells down and snap, my sturnum made 1 allmighty click and since then I have had the sturnum problem, had x rays and all sorts no joy.
So I do think this problem is caused by a strain to the chest centre, not the end of the world, i'm still lifting weights now, very heavy and also pushing my chest in to click it is a habbit that I would be lost without!! it still gets painfull but manageable, just hope if I have heart attack I can tell the difference!!!!!!!  
Jon Jon.

[Loveronfire]

I have had this issue for a year and a half now... one night I was just laying down on my side and I woke up to that same gross popping sound that everyone here is talking about. It hurt so bad it was like it knocked the air out of me. Since then almost every night I have had the painful popping and clicking.  I sleep on a sleep by number, Tried both soft and firm, even added 4 inches of memory foam. That did nothing.  I know that I am hyper mobile with all of my joints and my doctors haven't even bothered to do x rays but they just said that it was probably due to that.  Knowing that so many other people have this issue makes me think otherwise.  I have never had any trauma to my chest, I do not lift weights. This simply happened in my sleep.   Last week I went on a tilt table for my back, and the noise that my chest made was disgusting!  It was this nasty squishing sound like my muscles turned to liquid. Since then my ribs almost feel like they are floating... I do not really recommend going on to any traction device if you are having this issue.

[LightninLew]

I have the same thing, but I think it's just starting. I have been getting small clicks with a little discomfort for a couple of months when I sneeze, it is always the same rib.
About 15 minutes ago I sneezed and it popped louder and actually hurt, a lot, it hasn't been constant but the pain isn't going away and a visible red patch (like a slap) has formed on my sternum.
I am 18 and have had joint problems for a long time and clicking all my life but never as strange as this. I have taken a few wrestling spear tackles (real wrestling not messing around WWE style) to this area but I stopped training a few months ago now.
This has coincided with my hip getting painful, it has been cracking for years but started being painful around the same time as the rib. I have been to doctors about my joints before because I have very loose shoulders, stiff hips and pretty much all my joints crack. They say I don't have arthritis and kept passing me around to specialists, and I haven't heard back from the last one.

[stunninglyblue]

I have the same thing. My rib would pop or click when I would take deep breaths or lay on my stomach. My doctor said it was caused by poor posture. One of the ways to help this is to 1. Stand up straight and 2. Take a tennis ball, lay on your back and place it under you (aprox. Under the rib that pops). Lay there with it under you for 5 minutes a day and it really seems to help!

[Chkchad]

So every time I've looked up any information regarding this popping sensation it's always been the same result: tons of people with the same complaint and tons of theories about why it's happening, many of them perhaps right, but none applicable to my case, or so I believe.  I guess I'll start with listing all the other typical info I've seen.  It's gotten worse over the years, I've gotten X rays a couple times and there's "nothing wrong" (talk about a lie) and I grow nervous that something I did in the past is cutting my life short. Guess I'm getting what was coming.  I seem to recall the general time period during which it occurred and I had been smoking tobacco out of a hookah quite often (an hour a day for a week straight) and snorted some smarties candy within a week of it's occurrence. Both of these contain sugar in them which someone I spoke with proposed to be extremely difficult to remove from the lungs and could be potentially quite damaging to them.  Back when I first began experiencing this I was convinced my lung had partially collapsed,however I think I would be suffering more if that were the case. Since then the popping has increased an insane amount to an uncountable number each day. I seem to think though that when I exercise more that it goes down as well as the severity of the pop, which relieves less but the tension is not as great in the first place.  Anywho, I figured the best way for us to eventually find out what is wrong with us is not just a submitting of our symptoms, which is the easiest part, but also a proposal of how we feel we developed this... bizarre trait.  Could be heredity influenced but I'm sure some things we exposed ourselves to (ie smoke or physical trauma) was probably what finally caused it.  I have asthma as well if that is somehow related, which it very well could be and I do believe it is. If you're really searching for what's wrong take that extra step. If listing symptoms could have solved it, the "doctors" would have helped us by now.

[GMER13]

I have the same slim, tall build with a very wide shoulder span. Every time i try to breath in deep, i feel as if i cannot fill my lungs all the way up with air. When i breath in deep, i feel a popping type of noise right around the lower left area of my sternum. Also, when i breath in deep, i feel as if a sticky substance is releasing and then sticking again whenever i release the air.
Another thing, whenever i begin to yawn, i feel the popping sound and i can never finish my yawns anymore.

I have had an experience where i felt as if I was having a heart attack, (I wasnt) and it does trigger some severe anxiety wich causes the pain to worsen. I am very cocerned that I may have a lung disease . please comment if you have any similar experiences.

[Tantine]

I have asthma so I am used togetting lung infections but u recently had one that caused extreme fluid in my lungs and therefore caused violent coughs...I feel like u pulled something loose in my chest...I hear the clicking too followed by extreme
E shooting pain...any similarities???

[chestpopcrack]

I have the same problem...my chest pops occasionally and i need to find the answer. is there a good technique for cracking your chest. it feels great.

[briantotherescue]

wow im going through the same thing and i have to admit i woulnd wish it on anyone.!!.......ive had it for about 5 months now and havent had any luck finding a solution( ive only gone two the doctor twice since this incident btw, but im planning on going again soon), although i do feel does affects me somewhat physically most of the damage is on a mental level not knowing how severe it.................................I THINK WE SHOULD ALL MENTION ANY UNORDINARY INCIDENT'S THAT OCCURED AROUND THE TIME IT BEGAN TO SEE IF CAN NARROW DOWN THE CAUSE!.........i use to work out alot(mostly hard cardio workout with some weight lifting, im male and 22 btw)...i recall the day it happend.
It was summer time, and we had a heat wave of above 100 degrees here in southern california which lasted for about 3 days! Ofcourse foolishly and uneducated about the dangers i continued my workouts, i think i may have gotten dehydrated( not sure) but by the third day i recall having so much trouble trying to get a full deep breath. After about two weeks it was so unbearable that i just had to go see a doctor,they took an x-ray of my lungs which came out normal, aswell as oxygen level which came out normal too ,so they prescribed some stress reducing medicine aswell as medication for inflammations. After about two weeks of taking the medication all the symptoms subsided at that point i stopped taking the medicine even though i still had some left, well i had trouble taking deep breaths again about a week later. Fast forward about two months, i had gotten hired for a new job which required me to work in temperature which was about 45 degrees for about 10 hours a day. I was still having trouble taking deep breaths but i still wasnt dealing with any popping/cracking sound near the sternum untill about two weeks later, so long story short i think that noise may be the result of extreme cold temperature, at least for me. I havent used that medicine that initially cured me for that one week because if financial reason but i do plan on going back to it very soon!


anyways here are some tips that have helped me out substantially!!!

burping!(  even if u dont feel like it , try burping ...im not sure why but ireally helps)

also try breathing through ure nose more often than ure mouth...personally when i cant take that deep breath through my mouth it sorta sets me into that panic/anxiety mode! try burping and and then inhale air steadily via the nose.....i noticed this helped me out alot about 3 months into this whole ordeal...

anyways i would really appreciate if u can talk about what u think cause this issue for u...have u been around extremely cold or hot temperature also any excessive workout?

[briantotherescue]

wow im going through the same thing and i have to admit i woulnd wish it on anyone.!!.......ive had it for about 5 months now and havent had any luck finding a solution( ive only gone two the doctor twice since this incident btw, but im planning on going again soon), although i do feel does affects me somewhat physically most of the damage is on a mental level not knowing how severe it.................................I THINK WE SHOULD ALL MENTION ANY UNORDINARY INCIDENT'S THAT OCCURED AROUND THE TIME IT BEGAN TO SEE IF CAN NARROW DOWN THE CAUSE!.........i use to work out alot(mostly hard cardio workout with some weight lifting, im male and 22 btw)...i recall the day it happend.
It was summer time, and we had a heat wave of above 100 degrees here in southern california which lasted for about 3 days! Ofcourse foolishly and uneducated about the dangers i continued my workouts, i think i may have gotten dehydrated( not sure) but by the third day i recall having so much trouble trying to get a full deep breath. After about two weeks it was so unbearable that i just had to go see a doctor,they took an x-ray of my lungs which came out normal, aswell as oxygen level which came out normal too ,so they prescribed some stress reducing medicine aswell as medication for inflammations. After about two weeks of taking the medication all the symptoms subsided at that point i stopped taking the medicine even though i still had some left, well i had trouble taking deep breaths again about a week later. Fast forward about two months, i had gotten hired for a new job which required me to work in temperature which was about 45 degrees for about 10 hours a day. I was still having trouble taking deep breaths but i still wasnt dealing with any popping/cracking sound near the sternum untill about two weeks later, so long story short i think that noise may be the result of extreme cold temperature, at least for me. I havent used that medicine that initially cured me for that one week because if financial reason but i do plan on going back to it very soon!


anyways here are some tips that have helped me out substantially!!!

burping!(  even if u dont feel like it , try burping ...im not sure why but ireally helps)

also try breathing through ure nose more often than ure mouth...personally when i cant take that deep breath through my mouth it sorta sets me into that panic/anxiety mode! try burping and and then inhale air steadily via the nose.....i noticed this helped me out alot about 3 months into this whole ordeal...

anyways i would really appreciate if u can talk about what u think cause this issue for u...have u been around extremely cold or hot temperature also any excessive workout?

[briantotherescue]

wow im going through the same thing and i have to admit i woulnd wish it on anyone.!!.......ive had it for about 5 months now and havent had any luck finding a solution( ive only gone two the doctor twice since this incident btw, but im planning on going again soon), although i do feel does affects me somewhat physically most of the damage is on a mental level not knowing how severe it.................................I THINK WE SHOULD ALL MENTION ANY UNORDINARY INCIDENT'S THAT OCCURED AROUND THE TIME IT BEGAN TO SEE IF CAN NARROW DOWN THE CAUSE!.........i use to work out alot(mostly hard cardio workout with some weight lifting, im male and 22 btw)...i recall the day it happend.
It was summer time, and we had a heat wave of above 100 degrees here in southern california which lasted for about 3 days! Ofcourse foolishly and uneducated about the dangers i continued my workouts, i think i may have gotten dehydrated( not sure) but by the third day i recall having so much trouble trying to get a full deep breath. After about two weeks it was so unbearable that i just had to go see a doctor,they took an x-ray of my lungs which came out normal, aswell as oxygen level which came out normal too ,so they prescribed some stress reducing medicine aswell as medication for inflammations. After about two weeks of taking the medication all the symptoms subsided at that point i stopped taking the medicine even though i still had some left, well i had trouble taking deep breaths again about a week later. Fast forward about two months, i had gotten hired for a new job which required me to work in temperature which was about 45 degrees for about 10 hours a day. I was still having trouble taking deep breaths but i still wasnt dealing with any popping/cracking sound near the sternum untill about two weeks later, so long story short i think that noise may be the result of extreme cold temperature, at least for me. I havent used that medicine that initially cured me for that one week because if financial reason but i do plan on going back to it very soon!


anyways here are some tips that have helped me out substantially!!!

burping!(  even if u dont feel like it , try burping ...im not sure why but ireally helps)

also try breathing through ure nose more often than ure mouth...personally when i cant take that deep breath through my mouth it sorta sets me into that panic/anxiety mode! try burping and and then inhale air steadily via the nose.....i noticed this helped me out alot about 3 months into this whole ordeal...

anyways i would really appreciate if u can talk about what u think cause this issue for u...have u been around extremely cold or hot temperature also any excessive workout?

[Adesupo]

i always hear some cracking noise in my chest each time i tried to swing my chest left and right. Pls can someone enlight me on what to do ?

[stinkingrichaftersettlement940]

Hi everyone

I was sitting in the back of a Renault Kangoo in March 2009, obviously not wearing a seatbelt, and I remember my dad taking a corner and then he stops SUDDENLY.  Its like I flew to the front, anyway so I was fine no real immediate pain (please don't think why didn't she just say - OH WHIPLASH- no it can't be.) Well odd enough my lower back hurt for about 2 weeks and it magically disappeared - no chiropractor needed.

How does this relate to sternum pain? well I worked for like a month after that with no pain but all of a sudden I got stressed at work and then I started to get pain in the chest area behind the sternum and when I would try to move properly and breath to see if it would go away I would hear weird popping sounds behind the sternum and clavicles area.

I hope this helped someone trace this back to mild to middle in severity whip-lash anything worse was probably already claimed for!

To date my symptoms are related to stress and only appear when I meet up with someone as tough as my old boss.  

[skokie123]

I am experiencing similar symptoms and it seems that they srarted happening after I stopped working out. Tightness in chest in the morning as soon as I get up, the feeling of something being dislocated. I make myself crack, and get the feeling as something moved back but with pain through the muscles. Then I get a relief, even tughtness in jaw goes away and I can feel air going through my ears. But what started happening recently if I lift something around 10 pounds my heart started pounding really fast, I get dizzy, I can not breath, and I get as if anxiety/panick attacks symptoms.  Is this related to the chest pain? How can lifting heavy activate an anxiety attack?

[Fergie116]

I'm 36 and my sternum cracks almost every time I press on it (with little pressure),  I feel a small amount of discomfort after each crack. This just started a few weeks ago. I've played sports my whole life such as hockey, rugby and snowboarding (been riding for 23 years) without any major injuries to my chest. It's kind of strange this has started now??
I came here hoping to find a simple answer but I'm just as confused.
I guess it's x-ray time...

Cheers & good luck all!

[magicjay750]

i too suffer from the same thing and yes i have severe panic attacks and anxiety issues. but my clicking is more in mid back and when i lie on my right side and sometimes its a double clicking or poping. its been happening for the past 8 years with slight changes in how often it happend man its good to hear im not alone!!!!

[mthuneman]

I get a clicking too.  Only mine is left side, lower rib cage.  It only happens when I'm relaxing on the couch or laying bed, on my left side.  And its only painful when I wake in the middle of the night, unable to take a deep breath.  I DO have poor posture, slim build, with weak narrow shoulders.  I haven't had any known traumas to the area, although I do visit the gym regularly, but nothing out of the ordinary has taken place. I find it very annoying when relaxing on the couch.  Like I said, it's not painful then, but very annoying as the feeling is easily confused for gas bubbling in my stomach.  This has been going on for a little over a month now, and reading some of these posts of people living with this for years is making me nervous.  I don't have insurance, so visiting the doctor is a hard feat for me ;-(

[briantotherescue]

hey , i read the part where u mention that u go to the gym regularly, i wonder. do u use any pre workout supplement?

[Sassyx]

Hi guys i have this problem too.. When i take a deep breath my ribs click in my back.. It almost pulls for a slught second then clicks. I go to chiro fortnightly for neck, back an hip problems. I find its getting way more consistant an drivingme nuts.. The pressure hurts an it feels like somethings wrong. I hve been in many car accidents and exercise 6 days a aweek.. Hmm not sure. My hubby will be hugging me in bed an i take my deep breath an my back cracks sometimes making 3-5 noises.. He can feel it on him. Hense y im looking this up now! Need answers

[greg904]

http://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/hiatal-hernia

This clicking, could it be a Hiatal Hernia?

Sounds like some of these things occurred after lifting stuff at gym

[trudyvdr]

same problem, but generally in the morning when i wake up, sometimes i can't open a bottle because the muscles in my chest is too tight, then i have to push my shoulders back, arch my back, and click, whala, the pain is gone.  

[StuPower]

Hi,

WOW! that explains exactly what I have been going through for the last 4 months. It started when I jumped into water and the impact from the jump hurt my chest. Ever since I have had pain/popping  in the area. It bothers me ever know and then when I workout my upper body or when I lie on my side for an extended time. Was yours sports related or did it just starting hurting?

[eddy89]

Hi i am 23 yr old male and have similar problem past 3 years. Did you find any way to get rid of it. It is driving me crazy.

[eddy89]

hi aiman_nz .. i have similar problem. Did you find any way to get rid of it.

[pingopete]

i am in the exact same possition as you, when i stop smoking for a week or so it leaves, as soon as i smoke again ill get it after just one smoke. This leads me to believe it's nothing as sinister as i'd previously thought. My theory is it's a build up of flem (phlegm) or mucus that smoking could cause to be released somewhere in the lungs and it's some how sticking, or flapping or unsticking when one breathes out. This is much more what it feels like

[53028]

I am a 32 year old male who has experienced the cracking in my sternum for the past 7 weeks. I broke my left collar bone playing rugby when I was 27. I went to an hour-long aerobics/weightlifting class over Christmas 2012 and my chest started cracking after that. My collar bone break was bad - malunion - and I never got surgery for it. I imagine it places some undue pressure on my sternum when I work out and that the intensity of the aerobics class was just too much. I've taken the last three weeks off at the gym and that has seemed to help, and my chest does not pop as much any more. But when it does, it sometimes starts a panic/anxiety attack that can only be relieved by IB proferen and rest. There is also a deep, brooding pain in the interchostal area where it pops when I am symptomatic. I'm chalking it up to chostocondritis. If it gets worse I may go see a doc. But even for thus of us with health insurance, it can break your budget just paying your deductible. Better safe than sorry though, so I'll probably go in.

[Blkbird83]

Hi Stephie,

I am a 30 year old male.  And I have been dealing with this issue for at least 6-8 years now.  I am a very fit individual, train 3-4 times per week (weight training/Anaerobic cardio) I try to eat clean 60-70% of the time, and I don't smoke, and drink occasionally.  However I have a slight clicking in my chest when I take a deep breath in, or sometimes it catches me off guard doing something.  I hear it come up through my left ear, so it has to be referred to that lower side (I have no idea the cause)  I have had several ECG's and monitors.  And as usual it came out totally healthy and fit.  I thought that I was the only one.  Did you end up finding a diagnosis for yours ?

Thanks - Chris