Chest Pain: Is It Muscles?

Though chest pain can be very serious, most of the time it's not. One of the most common cause of chest pain is related to the musculoskeletal system.

Generally, chest pain involving the muscles, ligaments, bones & joints is usually localized to a specific area. It is also reproducible by applying pressure on the pain area. The pain is usually sharp and aggravated by moving the affected area such as when moving the body/arm or taking a deep breath (chest wall moves up and out).

There are a few reasons for musculoskeletal chest pain:

- muscle strain or ligament sprain : after strenuous exercise or work (carry heavy things etc), trauma, after heavy coughing, even after one night of improper sleeping posture etc.

- bone: fracture (obvious severe trauma), cancer (rare)

- ribs cartilages or joints (costochondritis): trauma, infection, unknown cause

Chest pain with musculoskeletal origin is usually harmless and will resolve by itself in a few days. Some pain-killer and anti-inflammatory medicine may help to relieve the pain.

Click here for clues on how to differentiate chest pain.