Costochondritis

[hus1996]

I’ve been suffering with costochondritis for the past 5/6 months, is there any sort of further treatment for this? My pains have eased over time however the soreness is always still there. I feel the pain pretty much everyday and some days it’s worse than others. I’ve been managing the pain with painkillers, heat pads, gel etc. I’ve been seeing a physio also for the past couple months but don’t see much improvement. I’ve been doing stretches and trying to go gym for light exercises but it’s difficult with the soreness. Will appreciate any guidance on this as I want to get back to doing sports.

I’ve been told I have this. Ten months later and it still hurts. I keep worrying because it should have got better by now if it’s just muscular?

I had it 20 years ago amd it was a nightmare for about a year, to be honest. Lots of ibuprofen. It did go though, and never came back, so don't give up hope. Commiserations.

I’ve been told I have this. Ten months later and it still hurts. I keep worrying because it should have got better by now if it’s just muscular?

Costochondritis isn't muscular. It's inflammation of the cartilage between your ribs and sternum. Cartilage has very little blood supply so it takes a long time for the cause of the inflammation to resolve and the tissue to repair. Costochondritis can take anywhere from a few weeks to nearly a year to resolve. However, some cases don't get better spontaneously or with the usual treatment (dugs like ibuprofen or paracetamol), so if it's really not improving as you get towards a year, it's worth going back to the GP.

Costochondritis.

Honestly, my typing gets worse every day.

EDIT: just realised there is now an edit function. Whoo-hoo!