Chest Pain--Does it sound cardiac related?

[JamesAA]

Of course both my PCP and cardiologist are both on vacation at the moment.  A few hours ago, while driving, my cell dropped and fell near my feet.  I quickly reached over to pick it up and felt pain in my chest--thought it was a nerve or something.  Since then the center of my chest as been "tight" all over and hurts worse in certain positions or certain body movements.  I ended up going to the gym for my scheduled workout, which involves running, stairmaster, etc.  I was able to perform my routine normally...didn't feel any harder, BUT my chest hurt worse when I took deep breaths in.  As I sit here and type this I am not feeling pain upon deep inhalations.  But I'm also sitting still.  

Anyway my HR was normal during my exercise (normal for me, i.e. went up to the numbers it usually reaches, and went back down after I stopped).  It didn't feel harder in any way, other than the discomfort in my chest while I breathed in deeply.  I'm not short of breath, no nausea, etc.  Not now and not while working out.  I am a little concerned as to why the deep breaths hurt worse when I was on the stairmaster than it does while I sit here but it could've been cause I was in motion....hopefully NOT because my heart was under more exertion.  I paid close attention and there wasn't pain during exercise when I exhaled.  I also ran in place outside to get my HR high and noticed less pain in that activity while breathing in deeply.  

The pain also doesn't feel "deep."  It feels closer to the bones or surface of my body.  BUT I just simulated pickup something up from the floor, by my feet and it doe NOT hurt at all and it seems like NO chest muscles are used in that process.  So I can't explain why quickly reaching down to pick up my phone could cause a chest problem.  

But my main goal is to RULE OUT anything cardiac related.  

What do you think?  

Thanks,
James

[unhappyliver]

Usually you'll feel pain when you press on the area but not always. I feel pain when my pulled muscles and muscle spasm on back and rib are pressed on, but don't feel pain from pressing on my hip and part of my abdomen that hurts from pulled muscle. It sounds like yours really isn't cardiac related.

Try alternating cold and hot pads and it might help. You should see a doctor and they might recommend physical therapy if it isn't getting better on it's own. I have to go for phys therapy twice a week and get injections. Pain meds just aren't working for me..

Good luck!

[achillea]

Yes, in general, if you can reproduce the pain by touching or pressing on the area, the problem is superficial.  There are exceptions, as in something that is called 'radiating' pain, which involves an irritated nerve root.  The pain is felt far from where the problem is.  The classic case is sciatica, but it can happen elsewhere.  Yours does not really sound like radiating pain, but could be.

There is also a weird, irritating, but harmless phenomenon called 'precordial catch syndrome':

http://www.failedsuccess.com/index.php?/weblog/comments/precordial_catch_syndrome_chest_pain/

Overall, it still sounds to me as though you have suffered some kind of musculoskeletal injury, because you just do not describe any of the symptoms associated with a heart in trouble:

You can exercise vigorously, and while doing so, you are not faint, short of breath, nauseated, or drenched in a weird, icy-cold sweat.

However, I don't think you mentioned your age or your family's cardiac history, and since you are obviously still worried about this, it would be a good idea to take yourself to your doc for a quick check.

[JamesAA]

Thanks guys for your comments and help.  The fact that certain movements can bring out the pain definitely makes me relieved that it may not be cardiac in nature.  However an identical motion that cause pain yesterday may do nothing today.  Also there is ZERO pain when I touch the spot...ever.  That kind of scares me cause I was under the impression that if the pain in your chest is not cardiac in nature, then it will hurt when you touch it.  But mine only hurts during certain movements or positions I lay in bed, some of the time.  Since Monday night (when I reached for my cell phone on the floor quickly) there have been few times I've felt the pain.---a motion here or there but that's about it.  About 2 hours after I first noticed it Monday I ran on the stairmaster and every single deep breath I took in caused pain in the upper chest region.  My actual workout was easy--not short of breath at all.  So I was assuming it was not cardiac.  Plus there was zero pain after I exhaled.  

But if there's join or muscle problems shouldn't it hurt when I touch it?  All I feel is bones, and no unusual pains at all.  

[achillea]

Somatic pain or musculo-skeletal pain:  As a general rule, when you have pain in the chest or back (or pretty much anywhere on the outside of the body), if you can put your fingers on the place where you perceive the pain, and then reproduce that pain by pressing or poking on that spot, or by moving in a certain way, it is NOT coming from your heart.

Visceral pain:  It comes from inside the body cavity and tends to be deep and poorly localized.  IOW, it is hard to put your finger on it exactly.  Due to  developmental embryology, visceral pain CAN be 'referred'--that is, felt in other parts of the body (distant from the heart, for example)--but if you press where you feel the pain out there, you will not reproduce that pain.  The classic case is heart pain referred to the jaw, neck, and left arm, but not actually touchable in those places.

[unhappyliver]

Yes, back pain can cause chest pain and vice versa. The back pain sounds like a muscle spasm. I have a muscle spasm that's always on my right side, same location as yours except on the right. I've been having pain front of rib and back on right side and doctor just told me this week that it is a muscle spasm/pulled muscle. I've had muscle spasms before but went to the doctor because I have mild fatty liver disease and wanted to make sure it wasn't related.

It sounds like your pain is all muscle related. Using a cold press on my back really helped. My physical medicine doctor said to try alternating between cold and hot and use whichever works best. I found cold to work best because it was inflammed.

[unhappyliver]

Possibly a pulled muscle, muscle spasm, strain in the chest? I had bad chest pains from anxiety and stress (not saying yours is that since you just picked up a cell phone when it started) - i was having sharp pains, discomfort, tightening. I had an EKG and didn't show anything. Then the doctor pressed really hard on my chest with her palm and hurt really bad. She said it was the wall cavity that was tightening up, and not my actual heart.

It kind of sounds like it might be the wall cavity tightening for you. You definitely should still make a doctor's appointment. You can call your clinic and ask to speak with a nurse or on call doctor to ask questions and describe your pain.

[JamesAA]

Edit:  I noticed a knot (tight muscle in my upper left back (below should about the same height as where my chest pain is).  Could that cause chest pain even though it's on the opposite side?