Does anyone have experience of Costochondritis ?

[HollyBerryz]

My son was complaining of pain in his lower ribs on one side. The GP said it's costochondritis and it would clear in a couple of weeks. It didn't so we went back. Saw a nurse practitioner who wasn't concerned but suggested an appt with physio to check some other stuff.

Saw the physio, he said the same but it takes much longer than 2 weeks to go. This was probably 3-4 mths ago and it's still bothering my son to the point it affects his sleep and daily activities at times. We have ibuprofen gel which helps.

Is this normal? When will it go?

I had it once-caused by accidentally digging my thumbnail between my ribs. I go to a chiro. clinic regularly, so I had a deep massage done; which helped a lot. The massage is painful, but does the trick. Basically, the muscles have gone into spasm and need releasing.

I had a terrible attack a few years ago and it does still flare up very occasionally. I actually tried not to take painkillers too much.

I would take him to an osteopath to get him checked for a full muscle skeletal assessment. I have a scoliosis which makes me more susceptible to it.

It is very much something affected by stress and upset.

The physio did check for scoliosis

Yes, it's bloody painful! I get Teitze syndrome in my breastbone which my GP said is a form of Costochondritis. It comes out of nowhere and takes a minimum of 3-4 weeks to settle down. First time I got it I thought I was having a heart attack. My doctor recommended Ibuprofen tablets rather than gel to take the inflammation down.

My DH was diagnosed with it and had it for months but he is 70 so maybe more difficult to shift at that age. It moved around his body but started in his back I think.

Yes, I went to A&E many years ago as I didn't know what it was and it was very painful. Mine took a few weeks to settle after being provided with some painkillers.

I had this and it was absolutely awful. It lasted about 6 weeks and what helped were visits to a chiropractor to loosen up the vertebrae between my shoulder blades, and regular stretching of my upper back with a yoga wheel / backpod / cervical traction back & neck massager thing off Amazon.

I have it, it flares every now and again. Sometimes it lasts days, other times months.

Posture is really important. I use lidocaine patches (on prescription) which really help.

I had this and the doctor prescribed ibuprofen 3 times a day for a month. He said it was a swollen sternum so I needed to keep taking the ibuprofen even if it got better as if I stopped immediately the swelling would come back because no time to heal. No idea if that's correct but it worked and did go away