@jmb73
Thank you for reaching out and That is a very good question. The answer in short - YES But I will share a longer version which is not in the medical text books.

Before they removed my sternum my chest wall became very barrel shaped. The theory “The more stable you can keep the chest the better the pain control”. The doctors believed that the sternal joint is a “false joint” However the purpose of the sternal manubrium joint is to allow your chest to rise and fall with each breath. This constant movement becomes the problem. Unlike a joint like knee and elbow you can not immobilize it. At the time of my injuries we tried to have a special brace formed to help minimize the movement which did help but not enough to prevent further injuries which keeps the inflammation angry. My paired over fracture, over the course of 3 years splintered 100’s of different ways causing 100’s of bone fragments in my breasts & 7 hours of surgical intervention to dissect as many as possible during the 1st surgery. They harvested bone from my hip and implanted it in the sternal manubrium joint and wired in a figure eight pattern to prevent the movement and hopefully prevent further damage. 6 weeks after surgery the wires broke in 2 places therefore changing the once believed theory that the sternal manubrium joint is a “false joint”. I ended up back in surgery to remove all the hardware and we decided to leave a hole thus preventing friction when the chest would rise and fall with each breath. Resulting in the relief of irritation to the are and overall rest for the entire costocondral area and successful illumination of the inflammation.

Side note: your mind and body will subconsciously prevent you from deep breathing & will change your posture over time to drawl up the shoulders and pull them forward to protect the chest. This became the source of many other problems - chronic pneumonia, headaches, insomnia, depression, anxiety just to name a few. Took 6 months worth of physical & respiratory therapy to correct all the wrongs. But I was finally pain free!!

Have you noticed any other changes in your own situation?

There is hope and treatment options!!
Dawn