muscle spasms under breast in ribs

[judybg1]

I have muscle spasm in or around the ribs on both sides (in the front under the breast and sometimes in the back at the same horizontal position), it feels like a ball rolling, in that it switches sides. It occurs even at night during sleep, painful enough to wake me.  I only know that when I relax and stretch (the side where the knot is) using several positions I have to wait till it goes away, in many cases to have it return in other places described above. What does it mean, how do I treat it.  I have high blood pressure and the meds deplete my potassium so I take a prescription supplement for that.  What should I be asking my doctor.

[Buggy5]

When I read this 2 things come to mind... A slipped rib, in which case you will feel popping or crackles in your ribs, usually on one side. This is actually the cartilage popping and not the ribs themselves. It will also cause an ache in the side, along with abdominal pains.  Slipping a rib is not common but can happen.

2nd would be Acid Reflux. This can easily cause most of what you're feeling. This diagnosis would result in you being put on antacid daily.

[Ro2018]

I get these catches under my ribs that radiate to the back. The only thing that helps me is drinking of salt water immediately. I get this catch usually when I strain in the washroom or randomly when I twist or reach for something. I have always been prone to muscle cramps, but these started only last year after I started taking Nexium for my acid reflux and Barrett’s Esophagus problem. Now I seem to be stuck with this cramping condition even though I don’t take any Proton Pump Inhibitors anymore. I am beginning to think this is linked to low acid and sodium in the body as that’s what I feel has reduced in my diet since I stopped eating pickles and acidic foods due to my acid reflux. Some people recommend pickle juice for cramps. Which would make sense if we are missing sodium and acid.

[NewEnglandGirl1967]

I suffer with these as well, the ones in the stomach and hamstrings are the most painful!!! "tears" worthy kinda pain... I tried everything under the sun for relief, everything from increased fluids,potassium,to prescription for muscle relaxers, to no avail nothing worked until a trip to the ER for heart issues, LAB work was done I was given MAGNESIUM because my levels were low,  I did some research on the supplement and one symptom to low level of magnesium is MUSCLE SPASMS....I have been taking the supplements for 6 months and I have no SPASMS.. you can buy these supplements really anywhere and not very expensive....

[Lstb]

I get these spams all the time as well, they can be quite debilitating. My husband found this magnesium spray that takes only a few squirts a day and it’s supposed to deep into the skin. It’s helpme me tremendously. I also drink a lot of water, that helps right away.

[HBack2017]

I too currently suffer from this. My symptoms are exactly as you've described yours! With no answers. I'm currently having th3se issues as I hold my breath to type trying to find answers. Glad I'm not the only one who deals with this. Medical professionals have no clue I was told in the past that it's pleuracy. And now recently they look at me as if it's all in my head.

[Yellowgirl1660]

I also have spasms under ribs and down my back.I find ice helps reduce the pain and stops spasms.also magnesium will help

[Confused2111]

I have the same thing but I do not take any meds other than antibiotics evey few years so I doubt it has anything to do with meds . I am 36 and it has been happening for  about 6 months. Seems to be getting worse. I first noticed it doing sit-ups and a massive Charlie horse feeling happened in my heart area. I had an ultra sound of hear done and stress test and everything is normal. The dr is stumped! I don't know what to do!

[Lesitha]

I also have spasms my Dr. Started me on baclofen 4 times a day seem to work .I went on vacation forgot my pills n it stared again.

[Mel74h]

I have the same spasms but it also goes down to my right leg

[floplikeafish]

I also have diabetes and take Metformin and also have charlie horses Under my rib cages I floplike a fish and I scream in pain it hurts so so bad Ive been told to try magnesium I;m going to try it because my doctor said he can't find anything wrong

[Torylovescats]

Muscle spasm can be caused by many things including dehydration, lack of calcium, lack of other electrolytes, and side effects from medications. I recommend seeing a massage therapist. They can work with your intercostals to decrease tone and prevent recurring spasm.

[JoDixie]

I believe I have costocondritis

I've had bouts in the past, like a Charlie horse in my rib cage, can show up just about anywhere in my ribs but most often in my right side. I'm right handed & reaching can set it off. Have gotten it bad with bronchitis, but have gotten it with bad with flu . . . had been doing good till now, just started dieting, low carb, low fat & on vacation for going on a week, showed up after 3 days of the diet & 4 days off work. When I'm off work I often forget my vitamins/supplements. I take my Armor thyroid med & bio-identical hormones but forget my 3 tabs magnesium which I know stops the cramps but also I'm starting to put this together. I have not been thirsty, I'm drinking less than half the water that I normally do, same as when I'm sick. So I think dehydration is part of it. Also my last vit D test was low even though I was taking 10,000, so I normally take 20,000 D, which I have not done for 4 days. I normally take vit K & B vitamins, regular vitamins, all of which I have been too lazy to take! So I was feeling great, I changed my food intake (to veggies, lean meat & fruit) but drinking less than half the water that I normally do, and forgetting all my supplements, magnesium, vit D (which I KNOW I need HIGH doses of both- do not take them at the same time, one cancels the other out-doctor never told me that!) my K, my B sups & regular vitamins and BAM!  Such bad cramps I'm getting them from turning over in bed! they hit me in waves, a few seconds of Charlie horse pain so bad I can't hardly breathe, only thing that lessens them is to cough till it's gone & they will often last up to 5 minutes hitting me in waves. Got up took my supplements & grabbed water! So stay hydrated & take supplements! I know that I need Magnesium & D for sure!

[Bobbiejean51]

I have a charlie horse in my ribs and just about every where in my body and about two weeks ago I had charlie horse in my heart

[trish0627]

i am 59 but have been have the spasms for several years, it feels like a baby moving and i can even see my right side poke out like a baby was kicking out. It hurts so bad and i seem to get it if i sit too long.

[EricaLOLZ13]

Im only 14 and was on here just to see why I have spasms on my right ribcage but what all of yall are saying is what Ive been experiencing since I hit puberty. In my belief its the muscle under the boobs... Or lack of exercise. I get it every now and then after I started track. Almost died the first day but Im okay. Just it is painful and when resting on side I'll feel it and if I turn it'll move back and twist which feels soooo bad! My doctor just gave me an inhaler. But I couldn't use it though. Mom wouldn't let me.

[TJAdams]

I want to know if anyone ever found out what causes this. I have it very often on both sides. I turn wrong or twist, stretch, take a deep breath or turn over in bed. When it first started, it actually felt like a baby stretching out into my ribcage. Now it is worse. It's hard to breathe when it happens so I basically freeze sometimes. Sometimes bending forward leaning on something helps but not always. Please did anyone find out why this happens?

[WeeBoo63]

Yes!!! That's is EXACTLY  what it feels like....a baby moving around in your ribs!!!!
GEEZE I really wish SOMEONE could help all of us out

[amp1667]

So many of us have this same problem.  I can't believe that doctors cannot find the source. I too experience the knots under my Brest and feet if I turn the wrong way. What do we all have in common? I believe it is the medicines that we take. I take Sinthroid for hyperthyroidism and metformin for diabetes. Could it be possible that most of you take these medicines too? I guess we all have to come together to find a common ground and hopefully discover what is causing this. Doctors will not tell us if it's a side effect of the meds they are pumping us. They have to peddle those meds. I do a lot of research and I've come to the conclusion that it's our meds.
Amp166700

[WeeBoo63]

I'm not on the same meds as you though??? But I'm having the same problem.  For many years I have had problems with the muscles in between my front, side and back ribs. I get little muscle "knots" about the size of a loonie that seize & cramp up just like a mini charley horse. It has been occurring more frequently and in more areas than before. I went to school for massage therapy so I know how to try to "release" the muscle knot but it only works sometimes. It is in the areas where a person would have intercostal neuralgia but instead of nerves it's attacking the muscles and I don't know what's causing it and it is getting worse everyday. Has anybody heard about this and where can I find research for this condition? . I desperately need to find out how to prevent these painful episodes. Thank you for your time and consideration, please.... I would be greatly appreciative of any help I can get thanks.

[Jadegreeneyes]

I am 64, going on 65.  Last April, 17, 2015, I had a massive heart attack at night.  threw up, and told my husband I was "going out".  He called emt and started cpr.  He saved my brain by acting fast.  They used the paddles at least 15 times.  Put stent in rca as surgery was out of the question due to my condition.  Put me at 33 degrees, drug-induced coma, as I died again, and blew me up like balloon.  Woke up week and a half later.  Brain ok.  However, ended up with some quack in Nashville who gave me so many supplements to take (took for 18 days) that I gained 20 lbs in my stomach.  Never weighed over 119 in my life.  I weigh 140 now.  Trying to feed my heart but also am dieting to lose weight, walking the dog when I can and riding my sister's aerdyne bike for at least 20 minutes each. day.  Not taking any supplements until I lose this weight. Problem is this:  Under my left breast, there feels like a swelling of something that makes my breast feel like its on a shelf, it pulls and twists and moves and makes me feel really uncomfortable.  I had a ct scan of my stomach, and I had an xray by a gi doctor who thought I might have blockage in my colon.  They found nothing.  I thought I could have gotten parasites due to all those quack's supplements.  I did find giardia on my private parts, but I cleansed myself with castor oil drink, ground cloves and ground flax seed for 4 days.  I even saw a worm like thing come out of my rectum, as it was not fecus colored, but bright reddish-pink like an earthworm.  Then I went to doctor and had them test my feces.  It came out negative.  I couldn't believe it and read that you never take that test after a laxative or it comes now negative. so I went to gi doctor to do "comprehensive test" on feces.
Again, it came out negative.  I am of the belief that it has something to do with my breasts having blown up a size, my stomach being too large making my back hurt, and that somehow, a muscle is cramping up and down.  I have had no doctor that I've seen, heart, internist, or otherwise, give me any explanation as to why this thing keeps moving around and making me feel crappy and sort of hurts.  I think maybe I will try hot showers more often as I've been so depressed, I only bathe every few days - and this has been going on for at least 6 months.  But I think the water might help.  I already take Lorazepam twice a day, so it looks like that would relax it, but it always comes back, and like you guys say, it always comes back when I am going to sleep and turn on my right side - then the left starts its things all over again....I take Brilinta for my stent, and an aspirin and Carvedilol as a beta blocker.  Don't know if those medicines cause cramps.  I think it has to do with the fact that my body has been through sooo much, and so many hits with the paddles and now with the extra weight, that muscle is rejecting the whole thing.  Maybe with time and exercise, it will get better.  Pray for me, and if you know anything about what I have said to give me advice, please respond asap.

[Sincyn]

Really. I've been trying to figure this out for 4 months . thank you. How is ALS diagnosed ?

[natashasrealm]

Thanks to all these comments about spasms under the breast and above the rib cage...from you all.  Mine started about a month ago and it's very unnerving especially if you turn to the side in bed and the spasm starts.  It's awful.  Because of your comments, I realized I do have chostochondritis (tsetse syndrome) since I was in my 20's which is that the breast bone is too close to the rib bones. When I start coughing every time I lay down...I cough up phlegm and then I'm ok.  Could be the coughing caused the breast bone and rib bone to abut closer?  That's how I see it. Possibly too, I haven't been eating bananas like I usually do.  Note to self:  MUST GET BANANAS!  The potassium could be key as someone mentioned earlier in this post.  But really?  The coughing is the BIG key.

[B_R_O_N_W_E_N]

Probably a magnesium deficiency.  Get a blood test.

[B_R_O_N_W_E_N]

I have the cramping at times - normally while sitting and then bending down to the right - it causes cramps under the right breast.  It went for many years with no information about what it was.

Then I talked to my Endocrinologist about it.  She had my blood tested.  It happened that I had extremely low MAGNESIUM levels. Now, I carry a bottle of Magnesium GEL caps 250 mg.  When I have a cramp, I take two, sometimes three.  It used to be that if I had a cramp, I would continue to have them all day.  Now, taking the Magnesium stops them from happening all day.  I just have the one cramping session and know that I need Magnesium in my system. Sometimes I add a banana for the quick potassium too.  In addition, I take a tablet of 400mg Magnesium and a tablet that has 500mg Magnesium/Calcium and Zinc every night before bed.

I am also type 2 diabetic.  Sometimes when I use the insulin shot, I get the extreme cramps in my feet when the insulin works into the muscles.  The Magnesium helps with this too.

Have you seen the commercials on TV about NEXIUM - the Purple Pill?  In the small text, they tell you that taking this pill can cause your magnesium levels to drop.  I do take an equivalent of the purple pill every day.  I am pretty sure this is why my magnesium levels are lower than normal.  If you take something for GERD or heartburn other than just plain TUMS - you should have your magnesium levels checked.

[Flowerandrose]

Hi,

2 months back I woke up and tried to prepare breakfast. I began to feel some little spasms under left breast and underneath ribs, but I continued to do my job. Later I saw that pain is going worse and It becomes hard for me to take breath. I took and gave breath hardly, later i felt that I don't feel good. I called my friend for help. When she came I felt that I am loosing my "energy". My hands went off, my eyes began to close. After she put me on bed few minutes later I began to feel good. I was told that maybe I my blood pressure fall. But why? I have never had such spasm or blood pressure fall. And two days back I was at balcony with pajamas (weather was cold) I felt spam again. It seemed like there is a beating heart under my hand. I thought that cold can affect it. But I am not sure. I also want to reveal what is it and take treatment.

[rosrodz]

This is the exact area where I feel the pain..this occurs when I'm sitting on the toilet haha..it starts to concern me 'cause it's painful as if a small button is in there..it goes away when I straighten up but leaves me thinking there might be something starting to grow in there..so I come looking for answers..finding out i'm not alone..

[MiTmite9]

I would like to suggest to all who have complained of these muscle cramps/spasms that you try taking a magnesium supplement.  Preferably one that is in powdered form, added to water and then drunk.  A friend of mine suggested that I take a magnesium supplement when I complained to her of my legs suddenly cramping for no reason.  I, too, have had the same terrible under the breast (always the right breast) pain.  I believe taking magnesium helps immensely to stave off such pain. It certainly made my leg cramps stop altogether.

From "Pure Essence Labs" there is a powdered vitamin supplement called "Ionic Fizz."  I suppose you can find it online, although I purchase it at my local health food store. There's a calcium and a magnesium version, so be sure and get the magnesium one. Try drinking this supplement for 30 days and see if the pains don't go away completely.  Best of luck to all of you.  Those pains are no joke.

I would also like to suggest that anyone having such pains try to lose weight and definitely lower your intake of white flour and white sugar.  It's worth a try.

[SpudsMom55]

Also, lipitor or other statin drugs for cholesterol can cause leg cramps.

[indusmusicfan]

a couple of years ago, I strained/pulled/sprained rib muscles on my lower left ribcage shoveling snow with my left hand. a Week ago, I woke up with back pain, could barely move.. the next few days I was getting muscle spasms in back muscles and rib muscles. I assumed the rib pain was because I was relying on those muscles to get out of bed and was reactivating an old injury..like when you resprain your ankle just by stepping wrong.

[Teenysurfer]

1.  Could it be we have an infections/continuous type?  Someone said people with terrible joint pain and other pains stopped after having their teeth pulled that had had root canals done.  That the dentists can't get all of the bacteria and it can re-grow and leech infection into our blood stream affecting us in many ways.
2.  Could it be all the GMO's/pesticides in our foods leeching into our bodies? They are not just in the skins anymore.  They are down into the fruit now.  I started buying organic.
3.  I notice my cramps increase after drinking a coffee.
I am 47.  I use my inhaler more often now.  (Chemtrails?) I take Nexium for Gerd about three x's a week.  I have a 2 1/2 year old and I'm about 100 lbs overweight.  Low thyroid/nodule.  My chiropractor said he thinks I broke a rib as a child.  The adjustments don't help my cramps.  I'm worried I hurt myself tossing my baby in the air to make her laugh.  So many things go through my mind on what this could be.  I'm guessing outloud here to brainstorm with you all.  My mattress is sagging in the middle lately;could that be it?  My gallbladder was removed after baby was born.  Scartissue?  She laid sideways inside of me the entire pregnancy.  She was taken by csection one month early.  I have three buldging discs c3- thru c7. (No pain with spine)  What could it be?  Has anyone tried going totally organic or getting off wheat?  Write me with specific ideas if you don't mind. :)
***@****  Thanks! Kristina