clicking sounds in chest!!!

[Stephie1982]

hi - i'm a 22yr old female and i just wondered if anyone out there has any idea to why i get (which i can only describe as..) clicking noises when i take a deep breath. It doesnt happen all the time, but when it does its very uncomfortable - i've had it now for about 7yrs, and it has got worse as i've aged. I did go to the docs when it started years ago, an got sent for xray but everything seemed fine, and the doc couldnt tell me why - so i got discharged and carried on with it, but it has got worse - and the clicking noises louder!! anyone know what this is?? - Thank you - Steph

[willtme]

Sorry Steph that you have had to deal with this inconvenience.  I have had the same problem over the last year, though I have seen a reduction of my symptoms.  One possibile cause of your symptoms is tietze syndrome a.k.a. costochondritis.  It is an inflammation of the costochondral cartilage next to the sternum.  Most cases are of unknown cause.  But, known causes are irritation due to direct trauma, aggressive exercise that caused a strain, or a prior upper respiratory tract infection with cough that caused repeated stretching and strain at the costochondral junction. It is also possible that you have a structural abnormality resulting from trauma.  

You should be re-evaluated by a physician since it has been a few years as you mentioned.

[Stephie1982]

hi willtme..
Thank you so much for your suggestions - sorry that you delt with the same thing, but its good to hear that its reducing!
I cant remember ever having a trauma that may have caused this, and I dont do any excessive training - i'll make an app this week with the doc's and i'll keep you posted... Thank you again xxx

[ChrisBristol]

Hi,

I have been having probles with my sternum area for the last year. It often starts when I have been lying on my side or if I am supporting my upper body on one arm. After a while if I move I will feel a pain in the sternum, this can be quite uncomfortable. If I move my arms together or bend forward this will get worse, however sometimes if I bend backwards and spread my arms wide and up into the air I will hear and feel a click or series of clicks from my sternum.

After these clicks the discomfort is usually relieved, but I have noticed that over time the incidence of these episodes is increacing, and I find the clicking less easy to achieve.

My theory is I have poorly cartelage connections between the ribs and sternum, if I apply stress to these joints by applying pressure to my ribcage from the side (by supporting my weight on one side of my upper body) these joints allow the sternum to move out of place and hence cause discomfort. Opening these joints by stretching allows them to jump back into place and hence the clicking and pain relief.

Does anyone have a similar experience or alternative theory?

[jake1987]

hi, so i decided to research 'chest clicking'  and this website came up! and haha, i read stephie1982's comment :)  
it just so happens that i have the same exact problem. except mine clicks every time i take a deep breath whether or not im uncomfortable..  i went to the doctor and got xrays as well, and they didnt know what it was!  

so i guess i was just curious.. do you know if this is a serious thing? or...can it go away on its own?  i would love to know.  thank you:)

jake

[TIM ALEN_2]

I have this simmilar experience too just as these guys giving their situtations on the net, my problem is I get irritated often  times I hear clicking deep within my chest whenever I take a deep breath this comes sometimes with what they call a heart burn and it annoys me a lot in the past 3 years. I got a check up; X-rays and ECG'S and the result was  normal, the doctors diagnose it with an atypical heart block but my second reading was normal. so what is this?, any help from the experts PLEASE???

JOHN 22yrs old.

[mattsmart]

Hi
I to have pretty much exactly the same problem as ChrisBristol, only the pain that causes the click comes from being slouched or bending the upper body forward. when straightening up I feel a constricting pain which is relived by spreading my arms wide and back, pushing chest forward untill I hear a crack which must be the cartilage/ sterum popping back into postion?
sometimes I wake in the night /early moring with the pain, but then cannot crack my chect to relive it, this can be very uncomfortable/ distressing, as the pain can last for hours untill i have to put myself into a postion which would normally cause the pain, in order to then relive the stuck sternum!!!
Nightmare!!
I have not managed to find anything to stop my chest clicking, although I do take glucosamine/chondroitine supplements and 2 asprin every morning for the last month. Ill keep the thread posted if I notice any changes!
My doctor said I'd have to live with it, I dont agree!!
I've never had any accidents are distress to the area, and i've had this condition for around 2 years
thanks

Matt ( 26yrs)

[dali_butterfly]

I get the same sternum clicking but mine usually comes after some strenuous exercise. I also sometimes feel something like pressure in my chest. I went and saw a doctor and he said that it's just an inflammation of the chest bones. He told me to apply a cold pack for 5 minutes followed by a heat pack for 5 minutes (repeat a few times). He also told me to take anti inflammatory medicine like Ibuprophen. I took the pills but I haven't tried the heat-cold thing yet. It does feel better when I take the pills.

[mattsmart]

hi dali_butterfly

I too have read about hot and cold packs, but whenever an painful episode occures, its often not convinient to try this method!
I may try ibuprofen as a friend uses it for athuritis, and says its helps?

good luck

[190574]

I know the feeling. I feel an uncomfortable feeling in my chest everyday. It activates anxieity attacks. I take a death breath constantly and it my rib cage clicks. I went to see my doctor, and he said it is loose muscles and that they need to be tighted. When you do that, it will keep the bones attached. But, I also have poor posture which doesnt help the situation at all. I have also been told to go see a chyroptractor to staighten my back. So, I hope this info can help. Just remember, allot of the time when you feel the sharpness, it is the nerves and muscles being pinched between the ribs and sternum and can cause your heart to think of heart attack. It happened to me after work today and it was scary

[mattsmart]

your condition sounds slightly different to mine but still similar. My posture / sitting postion is what causes the sterum to get out of position, not exercise. I usually have to click a few times a day?
I saw a chiropractor who practised a Mctimony method, it didint really do much although at the time you could feel a general improvemrnt in posture?
My doctor also mentioned building up my muscles around the chest are to better support the sternum and ribs.
If you get soreness around the center of the sternum after a crack etc.........I find disolvable asprin help. although I dont think daily drugs hold the key, I think its a physiological problem which like your doctor said may require muscle work?

[mcheads]

My boyfriend and I,both coincedently, get the chest clicking sensation. I thought it was only me. Its a scary feeling which is relieved when a deep painful breathe is taken. We have put our chest clicking pain down to anxiety, however this is not medically proven its just a personal diagnostic. Good to know there are others out there

[mattsmart]

hi mcheads
is it brought on randomly, or when you feel stressed? diagnosis differs between people?

[babydaddy]

So, I seem to have the same problem.  An intense pain in my chest, popping etc.  I spoke to a friend of mine who is a nurse, she said it is likely to be a rib dislocation. Not really dangerous unless it rubs upon your lung, but not really any fun either.  She said to ace bandage the area to keep the particular rib from popping out and to try and sleep in different positions, not do the activities that cause the ribs to pop.  Hope this helps some.  Stephen

[MommyA]

I have the same problem and have been getting really bad anxiety attacks. It happens if I lay on my left side a certain way or if I'm slouching. I had an x-ray last year and they didn't find anything. I have to have another one now. I am worried because I had parotid gland cancer and it can show up again in my chest. My doctor said I'm not considered cured yet and wants to make sure nothing is there. I have also been put on medicine for my anxiety attacks. I really thought this could be cancer since I had never heard of this happening. Thanks to these posts I feel a little better. Thanks.

[brianuk]

I have exactly the same as chrisbristol and mattsmart.

Normally after sleeping on my side, with my shoulders pushing in at the front, i wake up with the tight chest/sternum, and have to lean right back with arms outstretched to achieve the clicking.

recently the clicking has become less effective, and the uncomfortableness remains, which is frustrating.

I do think it is down to bad posture, I am considering trying pilates to improve this.

Just a thought, but I have quite a slim tall build, but wide shoulders. This is why when I sleep I think the compressing effect is exaggerated. Could people posting after me put down their build and posture, and perhaps we will see some similarities?

[sbcomprof]

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[ddan]

So glad I found this forum. I've been experiencing a popping / clicking / snapping sensation in the center lower area between my ribs (after looking at a diagram of the ribs I'd say it would be near the xiphoid). It's particularly bad when I lay on my right side. It feels like one rib is getting caught under the other and "clicking" or "snapping" when I breathe. There's no audible sound (meaning, it's not like when someone cracks a knuckle), it's just a sensation.

I've actually had this for years and never thought much of it because it was primarily when I was lying down and I would just reposition my body and it would go away. But recently I'm noticing that it's getting progressively more frequent and occasionally feel the sensation when I'm standing up or sitting here typing at my computer. It's not so much painful as it is an irritating and uncomfortable sensation.

Is this the kind of thing you all can relate to?

[dmaidwell]

i get the exact same thing and it causes me too have anxiety attacks that i find hard to control...its because i have this clicking sound and when im stressed i notice it happens more but it is only if i breath insounds like a deeper sound of someone cracking their knuckles...i hate it so much because it makes me think that there is something more sinister wrong with me..the doctors just say "oh its just a thing you have to deal with and the pain you can take ibruprofen" but i dont want to live like it and want to have the problem sorted so i can go on living..without having worries in the back of my head!

[rych01]

I get the same occasional click in my chest mainly when i have been laying down for a long period of time like when i wake up in the morning.  It only been happening the past year.

What people have said about loose muscles around the joints sounds promising at least in my case.  I used to work out at the gym a lot with heavy weights and as a result gained a lot of strength and tone.  Unfortunately I had to give up the gym due to time constraints at work and a few months later my clicking chest started.  In fact my shoulder, back, elbow, knees, ankles and chest all started to click.  It was quite scary - I felt like I was falling to bits!!

Anyway I have been back at the gym now for about 2 months, lifting heavy weights and guess what... little by little the clicks have stopped.  Only my chest clicking remains but it is less frequent.

Im not saying that everybody should start throwing masses of iron around their living rooms but strengthening up their joints, ligaments and  tendons through regular weight bearing exercise may help as it has me! :)

[Nicie297]

I have been having the same problem as you, especially when I wake up in the morning, but sometimes when I have been working infront of the PC for a long period of time. Previous posts have mensioned poor posture but I make it a point to keep mine good. Every individual differs though.

Thank you for sharing your experiance as I am going to increase streangthening my chest area using weights in my excercise routine. I'm pleased to hear that your "clicking joints" are going improving and hope your theory works for me too, as well as others looking for advise.

[putange]

I have had a 'clicking' chest for about 5 years now.  I went to my doctor, who said it was nothing, but it is a very scary thing to experience suddenly.  I quit smoking shortly after it started, and the clicks went away.  After a year of not smoking or clicking, i started smoking again.  Sure enough the clicking came back.  Can anybody else relate it to smoking??

[stedro]

i've had clicking of my chest and sometimes its quite painful when i breathe. Also the pain seems to be worse when i bend  over leaning forward.

I started to incorperate dumbell pullovers (stiff arm)at the end of every work out when i trained chest, making sure i get a nice stretch on each rep, and this has helped alot that i no longer get pain on breathing.

[Suri123]

Hi stedro, how are you doing? Hope you are doing well and the chest pain has come down. I feel you might be probably having Costochondritis which is is an "inflammation of the junctions where the upper ribs join with the cartilage that holds them to the breastbone or sternum. The condition causes localized chest pain that you can reproduce by pushing on the cartilage in the front of your ribcage. Costochondritis is a relatively harmless condition and usually goes away without treatment". To know more, go through this link - http://www.emedicinehealth.com/costochondritis/article_em.htm Rest and anti-inflammatory analgesics are helpful and it recovers in a weeks time normally. If still persisting, do call your doctor. Take care.

[Suri123]

Hi stedro, how are you? Hope you are better now with the decreased chest pain. Have you got evaluated by an ortho doctor? Avoid doing sternous exercise and heavy lifting. Heat therapy and stretches should be helpful. In most cases, it goes off with rime. Gentle massage with breathing exercises will also help. Pain gel and drug releives pain temporarily. Keep updating on your progress and share your thoughts. Take care.