Sternum Pain Causes

Sternum, also known as breastbone or chest bone, is the flat bone that is situated in the central portion of the chest, underneath the collarbone. If you refer to human anatomy, you can easily identify the capital 'T' shaped sternum, which joins the rib bones on both sides via the cartilage. Together with the rib bones, sternum protects the inner organs such as heart and lungs from physical injury or trauma.

Pain in the sternum or sternal pain can be an acute (lasting for a short period) or chronic (lasting for a long period) condition. At times, it is associated with cracking or clicking sensations in the sternal bone. In order to understand better about this painful condition, let's take a look at some of the factors responsible for causing sternum pain.

What Causes Sternum Pain?

Speaking about the causes of sternum pain, it is listed as a common symptom associated with chest pain. Nevertheless, it is to be borne in mind that sternum pain is entirely different from cardiac related chest pain or angina. Following is a list of the probable sternum pain causes.

Costochondritis
An injury or inflammation to the rib cartilage (costochondritis) is one of the most common reasons for experiencing sternum pain. Even though not many of us are aware about costochondritis, thousands of people seek medical attention every year for treatment of this medical condition. In majority of the cases, costochondritis developed due to inflammation and/or swelling of the cartilage that connects the ribs to the sternum, results in sternum pain.

Injury to the Sternoclavicular Joint
Sternoclavicular (SC) joint is the anatomical structure that connects the sternum or breastbone to the collarbone (clavicle). Accidental trauma to this joint can cause mild to serious pain in the sternum based on the severity of the injury. To be precise, dislocation of the SC joint, either anterior or posterior, may cause severe sternal pain.

Trauma to the Collarbone
Collarbone is located at the top portion of the chest (thorax), in between the sternum and the scapula (or shoulder blade). Collarbone fractures and injuries are quite common, which may occur at birth, during falls, or accidents. Sternal pain resulted because of collarbone injury can be combated by correct fixing of the collarbone.

Fracture of the Sternum
Another rare cause of pain in sternum is fracture, which is mostly caused due to physical trauma. Injury to the sternum is possible, only when a hard object hits the sternum directly with a force. However, if a sternal fracture occurs, then it is usually a comminuted case, in which the sternum breaks into pieces.

Other Causes
Sternum pain is also reported as a post surgical symptom of open heart operation that involves separation of the sternum from the adjacent muscles. Other possible causes of sternal pain are overstraining of the muscles in the chest portion, excessive exercise, injured ribs, breast cancer, and bone cancer.

Sternum Pain Diagnosis and Treatment

As already mentioned, pain in sternum is not actually related to heart problems. However, it is to be noted that sternum pain is also a serious condition that should be addressed as soon as possible. Similar to any health condition, early diagnosis and proper treatment of sternum pain is always advisable. In case, the pain in sternum is associated with a mass formation in the sternal area, there are chances of severe ailments like chondrosarcoma or lymphoma.

For diagnosis of pain in the sternum, the physician examines medical history and conducts imaging tests. Depending upon whether pain in sternum is acute or chronic, the doctor may recommend medications such as corticosteroids or non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for treatment of the condition. For mild sternal pain resulted due to rigorous exercise, over-the-counter pain killers are effective for getting relief. Last but not the least, getting adequate rest helps in quick healing of the injuries (if any) and recovery of the sternal pain.