Pain in chest and adjacent back while yawning,laughing and coughing

[Gilly66]

Hi(i'm 18 years old) i'm suffering from a chest and back pain while yawning,laughing and coughing for two months.the pain arrear after i increased my bench press weight.i've also put a heavy workouts before the pain.the pain is not constant.it seems to appear in ribs and sternum.pls help me i don't no what to do.......i'm feared of telling to my parents

[Dr Vinod]

Hello!

Any of your seven costochondral junctions may be affected; these are the places where the ribs are attached to the sternum. Cartilage has a very limited blood supply so healing is stretched over a long period of time. I would suggest you to go for an X-ray and rule out any other bony involvement and follow up with an orthopedician for a proper diagnosis. You need to stop lifting of weights and also stop active upper body exercises involving your chest till properly diagnosed and treated. Take intermittent pain killers.

Take care!

[Qodpoc]

Unless you have some pre-existing heart condition, the most likely cause of your trouble is an inflammation of the cartilige around/in between the ribs. It is called costochodritis and it can be very painful, but isn't serious. Advil or other NSAIDs should help with the pain.