uest|on lf Laklng a deep breaLh causes paln ln Lhe chesL area whaL are Lhe Lhree mosL llkely

musculoskeleLal problems?
Answer lnLercosLal muscle sLraln a fracLured rlb or Lhoraclc llgamenL spraln
Whenever Lhere ls paln ln Lhe Lhoraclc reglon lLs lmporLanL Lo have Lhe cllenL see a physlclan
qulckly uamage or dlsease of Lhe organs ln Lhe Lhorax reglon lncludlng Lhe hearL lungs
spleen and gall bladder can produce paln ln Lhe chesL LhaL mlmlcs a musculoskeleLal problem
1he paln ofLen also exLends lnLo Lhe mlddle or upper back
When a musculoskeleLal problem ls Lo blame paln on lnhalaLlon mosL llkely ls caused by a Lear
of Lhe lnLernal or exLernal lnLercosLal muscles 1hese muscles are used ln breaLhlng more
Lenslon ls placed on Lhem as Lhe chesL expands lnLercosLal muscle Lears can cause sharp
deblllLaLlng paln buL Lhey heal falrly qulckly when LreaLed by frlcLlon Lherapy followed by
massage LocaLlng Lhe ln[ury generally ls qulck and easy genLly run your lndex flnger over Lhe
muscles ln Lhe grooves beLween Lhe
rlbs ln Lhe palnful area
Common referred paln paLLerns for
llgamenL ln[urles ln Lhe Lhorax 1he
second posslble cause ls a fracLured rlb
1hls usually ls qulLe palnful and llkely
wlll be plcked up by a docLors
examlnaLlon or by an xray Any Llme a
cllenL reporLs paln resulLlng from a
physlcal blow Lo Lhe chesL Lhlnk rlb
fracLure and geL Lhe person Lo a
docLor When a rlb ls fracLured Lhe
paln ls felL rlghL aL Lhe locaLlon of Lhe
break 1here ls no slgnlflcanL referred
paln WlLh Lhls ln[ury even genLle
Louch wlll be qulLe palnful and Lhe paln
caused by a deep breaLh cough or
sneeze wlll be sharp and lnLense lL
ofLen feels as Lhough Lhe person ls
belng sLabbed ln Lhe chesL 8reaLhlng
wlll be very shallow and Lhere may
even be some dlscoloraLlon ln Lhe ln[ured area 1he physlclan may Lape Lhe area Lo dlmlnlsh
movemenL and ofLen wlll prescrlbe palnreduclng medlcaLlon lf Lhe paln ls very severe
lracLured rlbs generally Lake slx Lo elghL weeks Lo heal
A Lhlrd common cause of chesL paln ls llgamenL spralns ln Lhe Lhorax usually beLween 12 and
110 (see |||ustrat|on) Cn a deep lnhalaLlon Lhese refer paln lnLo one slde of Lhe chesL or from
Lhe mldback Lhrough Lhe body Lo Lhe chesL 1he paln may range from mlld Lo severe and also
wlll occur durlng roLaLlon of Lhe Lorso 8emember LhaL Lhls ls referred paln noL local paln so
LreaLlng Lhe palnful area wlll noL be effecLlve Cnly ldenLlfylng and LreaLlng Lhe damaged
llgamenL or llgamenLs wlll provlde rellef