Costochondritis Definition, Reason, Symptoms, Treatment & Prevention
Understanding
Costochondritis is an inflammatory condition of the costochondral joint. This is the joint that connects the ribs and sternum at the front and center (sternum).
Costochondritis is one of the most common causes of chest pain in children and adolescents. Most costochondritis sufferers are in the age range of 10 to 21 years. Although it affects many children and adolescents, this condition can also be experienced by adults. In adults, it is women who are more often found to suffer from costochondritis.
Symptoms
The typical symptom of costochondritis is pain when pressing on the ribs in the chest. In addition, generally, sufferers of costochondritis complain of chest pain as well as heart disease.
The pain is often worse after exercising and after having a respiratory infection. Chest pain usually feels like stabbing, and can radiate from the chest to the back or stomach.
Reason
Costochondritis occurs due to an inflammatory process in the area of bone and soft tissue. However, the cause of this inflammation is not clearly known until now.
Some conditions that make a person more susceptible to costochondritis are:
• Injury to the chest wall area
• Presence of respiratory tract infection
• Post-surgery in the chest area
• Injecting drug users
Diagnosis
To ensure the presence of costochondritis, generally, the doctor will ask about the patient’s complaints through a detailed medical interview and conduct a thorough physical examination. No laboratory tests or special radiological examinations are needed to confirm this disorder.
However, because the main complaint of patients with costochondritis is chest pain, the doctor needs to ensure that the complaints of chest pain they are experiencing are not caused by other diseases. Especially other diseases that are more life-threatening, such as heart attacks or pneumonia (lung infection).
Therefore, sometimes doctors will ask sufferers to undergo EKG examinations, X-rays, and blood tests. The goal is to ensure that there is no possibility of other diseases.
Treatment
In general, costochondritis will heal by itself within a few days. To reduce the symptoms that occur, warm compresses or cold compresses can be given to the chest area that feels painful.
If the pain is felt to be quite disturbing, pain relievers such as paracetamol and ibuprofen can be consumed. To speed up healing, you should avoid sports or excessive physical activity until complaints of chest pain disappear.
If pain complaints have not disappeared with this treatment, the doctor can inject steroids in the chest area to treat the inflammation that occurs. If costochondritis occurs as a result of a bacterial infection, antibiotics also need to be given to eradicate the bacteria that cause it.
Prevention
Because the cause of costochondritis is not clearly known until now, there are no preventive measures that can be taken. Being careful not to get a chest injury is one effort that doesn’t hurt to pay attention to.