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Am I experiencing muscle rib pain or is it something else?

Hello, I am a 30 year old female who has been experiencing left rib pain. This pain has been on and off for a weeks now, and it is not the first time it has happened. I have had this pain a few months ago as well. The pain is sharp and pressure like (feels like something is pushing on my ribs), and there is some swelling. The hurt when I am standing, sitting, and even laying down. It takes me along time to find a comfortable position when I am sitting or laying down because of the pain/pressure. There has been no injury or anything like that to my ribs.

I have had doctors appointments for this pain and have only been prescribed a pain medication. The medication worked for like a few days before the pain came back. My doctor thinks is muscular bit it does not feel like a muscle pain. I have had muscle pain before and this pain is not like that.  

I have also had months of low grade fevers and more recently, extreme itchiness all over my body that antihistamines and lotions do not seem to work.

Can this be a muscle injury or can the pain be actually be from the rib bones??
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1081992 tn?1389903637
Hi, "bone pain" is certainly a well known thing, and there can be a variety of different causes.

"My doctor thinks is muscular..."
With your medical history, it seems far more reasonable to first consider immune system related causes. What was your recent CBC like?
Helpful - 0
1081992 tn?1389903637
"The hurt when I am standing, sitting, and even laying down"
That sounds like bone pain. For example:
"Bone pain is extreme tenderness, aching, or other discomfort in one or more bones. It differs from muscle and joint pain because it’s present whether you’re moving or not."
https://www.healthline.com/health/bone-pain

If we scroll through that page, we come to: "If an infection originates in or spreads to the bones, it can cause a serious condition known as osteomyelitis. This infection of the bone can kill bone cells and cause bone pain."

That's rare but it's possible. If your WBC has been high, is it because of high neutrophils or high lymphocytes?

Btw, do you have bad allergies?

==================

"I have had this pain a few months ago as well."
Since it went away and came back, that seems unlike a cracked rib - especially since you didn't have any injury. But a cracked rib does make it difficult to find any good position without pain - so once again we can look at some source of bone pain, but that is not from a cracked rib.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
YSI
Do you wear a bra and is your bra very uncomfortable because of these symptoms? Are you in a warm locale?

I finally concluded my bras were causing my discomfort this year. When my leg lymphedema moved to my breasts I had to buy new bras., most of which today have latex foam/gel foam in them-not like the old cotton/nylon/polyester unpadded bras! Why do manufacturers torture us like this?!

When I was shopping for a mattress and kept reading consumer comments about how hot the new foam mattresses are, I decided that was my bra issue also.

I was sweating terribly in these new bras and alot of pain (front left rib area) and itching (back.) Very painful situation and I kept buying different bras thinking size was the issue.  

Uncontrollable itching only on my back. I have allergies to metal and latex. I started lining the back of the bra with a cotton washcloth so the metal/sweat did not touch me. Immediate relief.

I also had sharp rib pain on left side. I experimented with a cotton washcloth tucked up under the elastic and padding, and that helped some.  

I want to go to a local store and buy a cheap bra that is not over-engineered!

Best bras used to be sold by KMart but they went out of business. I can catalog shop for the right bra but they ask for ~$50!

I think this stems from noticeable cotton shortages and cheap foreign latex.
Helpful - 0
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