COSTOCHONDRITIS
WHY IN NEWS ?
- Recently a celebrity from entertainment industry is found suffering from costochondritis.
ABOUT COSTOCHONDRITIS:
- Costochondritis is a painful condition of the chest caused by inflammation of the cartilage that connects the ribs to the breastbone.
- The site of inflammation can either be at the junction of the rib bone with the cartilage or the junction of rib cartilage to the breastbone (known as sternum).
- This condition usually affects the cartilage where the upper ribs attach to the breastbone, also known as the sternum, in an area known as the costosternal joint or costosternal junction.
- Chest pain caused by costochondritis can range from mild to severe.
- Mild cases may only cause your chest to feel slightly tender or some pain when you push on the area.
CAUSES OF COSTOCHONDRITIS:
- The cause of costochondritis is usually not known.
- Sometimes it can be caused by injury to the chest region, gym exercises involving lifting weight or repetitive coughing.
- Patients with other medical conditions like rheumatoid arthritis or fibromyalgia can also have costochondritis.
- Infection is one of the rare causes of costochondritis.
SYMPTOMS AND DIAGNOSIS:
- Costochondritis is more commonly seen in women older than 40 years.
- Costochondritis usually causes sharp pain in the front of chest that gets worse with movements of chest or upper body.
- Pain can also get aggravated by deep breathing, lying down or pressing over the site of pain.
- Left side of the body is more commonly involved and more than one rib can be involved at the same time.
- Diagnosis is usually made by clinical examination and ruling out other serious causes of chest pain. In most cases, no further tests are required. Sometimes and X-ray of the chest or ECG may be required to rule out other conditions.
TREATMENTS:
- Costochondritis usually gets better on its own, over time. It can last for a few weeks to several months.
- Painkillers that help with inflammation, like ibuprofen, may be recommended to help with the pain.
- If you have very bad pain that does not get better over time, you may be offered a steroid injection to help reduce inflammation or local anaesthetic to ease the pain.
SYLLABUS: PRELIMS, CURRENT AFFAIRS
