1. < Digestive Health

Rib cage tightness: Not sure what it might be

Posted by greekcan @greekcan, Jun 10, 2022

I am at wits end with this hugging tightness around my rib cage. Does any have any idea what might be causing this and who can help me. It started almost 4 years ago when I was diagnosed with a hiatal hernia. That got repaired but the squeezing tightness never went away. It will calm down at night but during day it start buy end of day it leaves me so uncomfortable and it’s gotten worse. Doctor I am seeing is ruling out MS. Thanks for reading my post.

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arod1217 | @arod1217 | Mar 15 10:54am
In reply to @petuniamom567 "I was told that I had this disease for about 30 years. Kept complaining. Went to..." + (show)
@petuniamom567

I was told that I had this disease for about 30 years. Kept complaining. Went to an excellent digestive specialist.
He did a barium swallow and discovered I had achalasia. After I had a balloon dilation, most of the pain went away. The diet is somewhat limiting. However, being on a semi-soft diet is much better than having a pain
in the chest. This is a rare disease but it's diagnosis might help you feel better. Most regular Gi doctors don't
test for this. Good luck.

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How are you now? I feel like we have the same symptoms! I also have hiatal hernia with neck and thoracic disk herniations and disk degenerative disk disease which I believe could contribute to it. I’ve also had the MALS surgery which has not help. I’m trying myofascial release on my thoracic and not my diaphragm and so feel like it’s helping since the nerves from the thoracic run to the front of ribs. I do have some anxiety which I want to give medication a try just to help me relax with stuff I have no control over. Hope you have found more answers since you last posted.

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arod1217 | @arod1217 | Mar 15 10:55am
In reply to @whatisthis "it is indeed nearly impossible to explain the feeling and not being pain, people don't understand..." + (show)
@whatisthis

it is indeed nearly impossible to explain the feeling and not being pain, people don't understand that it can be just as debilitating. my quality of life is very low right now. this has been happening for me for a little less than a year, but that's long enough! i understand there is not a definitive test for MS. do you know of one besides all the diagnostic testing to rule everything else out. i don't choose to go that route.
your statement, "it might be due to tight fascia in the rib cage area or maybe something to do with my diaphragm." is what rings true for me as well. i think it's my intuition and i'm trying to listen to that. i have a chronic case of post nasal drip for over 10 years which causes me to cough a lot, sometimes hard in the mornings b/c it gets stuck in my throat. i feel the muscles that are already tight, tensing considerably when i have to do that. it's every morning. groundhog day! it's another relentless symptom of something, i know not what. so i think i strained my diaphragm or rib cage or fascia....just as you said. and i can't wait to go to bed at night, as that is my only complete relief. sitting is better than walking, but still obvious. yes, please let me know what you find as you explore. i will do the same. thank you for your thoughtful reply.

Jump to this post

How are you now? I feel like we have the same symptoms! I also have hiatal hernia with neck and thoracic disk herniations and disk degenerative disk disease which I believe could contribute to it. I’ve also had the MALS surgery which has not help. I’m trying myofascial release on my thoracic and not my diaphragm and so feel like it’s helping since the nerves from the thoracic run to the front of ribs. I do have some anxiety which I want to give medication a try just to help me relax with stuff I have no control over. Hope you have found more answers since you last posted. I’ve also have been living with this for 6 years and it got better but now struggling with air hunger and dizziness. Some things get better but others get worse.

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pb50 | @pb50 | Mar 15 3:43pm
In reply to @gdanker "Well, I guess that eliminates me from wanting to try it. I have enough health problems..." + (show)
@gdanker

Well, I guess that eliminates me from wanting to try it. I have enough health problems as it is, and to risk more complications and side effects, etc. for minimal relief, not to mention the expense, is not worth it to me either!

As you say, the relief that prednisone provides is really stunning, and while I only took it for 5 days because of my COPD, it really gave the only relief I've had since getting this awful tightness. It wasn't completely gone, but very close to it, and I felt like a new person, as it also helped my lung condition enormously at the same time. I actually felt good! I almost went into mourning when I realized that after a week of bliss, thinking I was finally free of this, I was back in the same condition after the treatment ended!

My pulmonary doctor was going to refer me to a Neurologist, as he believes it could possibly be due to a trapped nerve in the thoracic area of my rib cage, but it never happened, and I went into a slump and started having second thoughts about prednisone use, even if a doctor would prescribe it for me. I never received the referral, probably due to an oversight of some kind, and as I started to think that even with the relief, prednisone might just be too harmful in the long run! It's very tempting though!

Jump to this post

It’s hard to know what to wish for- a legitimate reason to have another course of prednisone just for a couple of weeks relief of the rib pain, or - or
Nothing I guess. Just keep believing it must end at some point. Nothing hurts forever surely.

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barbbielor | @barbbielor | Mar 16 6:53am

I have rib cage pain. Sometimes my costachondritis is responsible. I see a PT trained in Osteopathic treatment and she has identified problems with my diaphragm caused by problems with C3-C5 and the phrenic nerve! She helps a lot.

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barbbielor | @barbbielor | Mar 16 6:54am

I should have mentioned she helps relieve the rib cage pain by her hands on treatment.

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jlmp | @jlmp | Mar 16 9:37am

I am just reading about this and am stunned that it is a “thing.” I thought I was the only one with this weird symptom. In the course of three years it has happened to me four times. Each time it starts with a “tightening” of my upper rib cage that, in the span of a minute, progresses to the point of not actual pain but very uncomfortable. If I stay very still it will gradually relax and go away in about two minutes. I googled and found the MS connection. My internist said it was probably a GI issue.

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newgalaxy | @newgalaxy | Apr 24 12:32pm
In reply to @loribmt "Your symptoms sound very much like my husband’s situation. Two years ago he developed burning in..." + (show)
@loribmt

Your symptoms sound very much like my husband’s situation. Two years ago he developed burning in his stomach and this feeling of tightening or muscle spasms in his stomach/chest area. An endoscopy showed an ulcerated area in his stomach from daily aspirin and evidence of a hiatal hernia.
His stomach has now healed. However the spasms, which felt like a band pulling around his ribs or a gripping feeling in his stomach area, persisted. They were relieved somewhat by taking FDgard. It’s an over the counter med recommended by his gastroenterologist. It’s safe to use as it’s basically oil of peppermint. It seems to be a common med suggested for people with a hiatal hernia.

Because the symptoms didn’t go away completely, his gastro-doctor also prescribed a very low dose of an anti-anxiety med, Zoloft. He’s not prone to anxiety but the med works as a relaxant for those muscles. 100mg of Zoloft brought significant relief. Added to that was 5mg morning and night of Buspirone. That was the winner long term. 100% of his symptoms are gone.
Although his doctors didn’t suspect a heart issue, prior to going on those meds, my husband had a calcium score test run and a physical to rule out any heart issues.
I hope this might help you or give you a direction to follow.
Have you had a physical to rule out any heart/lung involvement?

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me too.....thank you all. particularly lori.

i intend to try every option suggested for her husband except ct scans, etc.
my extreme tightness began three months ago. altho, i'm 81, i am very much alive and mobile.
this ongoing squeeze is exhaustive and only lessens , as one member commented.......lying in bed on your side.
why can we not determine a specific diagnosis and find a remedy.
in this great nation health care research???/
godspeed to all. again, thank you,,,,,,,,the commiseration is SO comforting
leah

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1 reply
Mentor
Lori, Volunteer Mentor | @loribmt | Apr 25 6:24am
In reply to @newgalaxy "me too.....thank you all. particularly lori. i intend to try every option suggested for her husband..." + (show)
@newgalaxy

me too.....thank you all. particularly lori.

i intend to try every option suggested for her husband except ct scans, etc.
my extreme tightness began three months ago. altho, i'm 81, i am very much alive and mobile.
this ongoing squeeze is exhaustive and only lessens , as one member commented.......lying in bed on your side.
why can we not determine a specific diagnosis and find a remedy.
in this great nation health care research???/
godspeed to all. again, thank you,,,,,,,,the commiseration is SO comforting
leah

Jump to this post

Hi Leah, That stomach tightness is just awful and I felt so badly for my husband when he was dealing with that level of discomfort. I’m sorry you’re going through that now!

As a little update, I wrote the reply about my husband 2 years ago and he is now off all medications for his stomach. The FDgard initially helped a little, but what really made the difference in the end were the Zoloft and Buspirone, as mentioned. He was on those two meds for about a year and then eased off. No issues at all now. So I hope you can find some relief!
Have you seen a gastroenterologist for your symptoms?

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letha | @letha | Apr 25 5:56pm

Have had Essential Tremor since my late 20’s. Only my hands shook.
Am now 87. It started getting a bit worse about 3 years ago, but could live with it. THEN, about 6 months ago, I started having this weird pain between my shoulder blades. Small area around the spine. And now my arms, shoulders and hands shake so bad I have trouble eating.
Am so fed up with Doctors and tests and no answers. Going to a Spine doctor now, will see what they say when I see them.
Getting appointments with any doctor over the last 3 years has been a NightmarE!

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heyjoe415 | @heyjoe415 | Apr 26 8:25am

For all the people on here with rib cage tightness, I wonder how many are smokers.

I unwisely took up smoking for 10 years in my 50s. I know - dumb, dumb, dumb. But as a result, I developed a slight "barrel chest". The rib cage expands in an attempt to drive more oxygen to the lungs with each breath.

Fortunately I stopped smoking and feel much better. But while I smoked it caused the barrel chest condition and breathing became more difficult. No surprise here. I'm just wondering if some of the people here are suffering the same thing.

It's always a good idea to either 1) never smoke or 2) give up smoking asap. Easier said than done, I know. But I'm 69 now, in the gym 7 days a week and doing cardio 5 times a week in spin class. That's a lot, too much really, but I feel sooooooo much better.

As always, check with your Dr. before starting exercise or increasing the time spent exercising.

All the best to everyone.

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