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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gdanker | @gdanker | Jul 21, 2022
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.

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I do not know much about testing for MS. I only know that the Neurologist that I went to said to me that if I had MS I would definitely know it. I imagine he meant that after having this condition for such a long time already, I would be dealing with other symptoms as well, so I can pretty well eliminate that.

This was about two years ago, by the way, so I'd already had this condition for two or more years at that time. He also went by the results of a blood test and checked my reflexes and that's all I remember about that. I have other medical conditions but nothing that would suggest MS other than this extreme tightness.

I do think that you should have this possibility eliminated if possible. However, like you, I think we often intuit correctly what's wrong with us.
I find the Internet a useful tool when looking up conditions and their symptoms. If I was you, I would look up everything you can find on MS, see if any other symptoms listed apply to you as well, and look up all other conditions that might apply.

Also, please feel free to contact me any time you want. In fact, it's good to have some support from other people who are going through the same thing.

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whatisthis | @whatisthis | Jul 27, 2022

are comments monitored and approved before they are posted? my last one is not showing up and i'm testing this.

nevermind, i repeated my comments (below) and it posted fine this time. can't delete this one, so just ignore. must have been a computer glitch.

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1 reply
whatisthis | @whatisthis | Jul 27, 2022

Hey gang! In a visit to my chiropractor yesterday, he believes this issue is "Diastasis Recti". Yeah, I never heard of it either but look it up! It totally resonates with what i have been going through, and all the coughing I did/do that created it. i believe this could be an answer for many of us. The good news is that the solution is specific exercises. There is a book by that name with the subtitle "Abdominal Weakness and Separation". Fits everything I have been experiencing! Includes the explanation and the solution. Hope this is it for me and for all of you as well!

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1 reply
Mentor
Lori, Volunteer Mentor | @loribmt | Jul 27, 2022
In reply to @whatisthis "are comments monitored and approved before they are posted? my last one is not showing up..." + (show)
@whatisthis

are comments monitored and approved before they are posted? my last one is not showing up and i'm testing this.

nevermind, i repeated my comments (below) and it posted fine this time. can't delete this one, so just ignore. must have been a computer glitch.

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Hi! Not sure what happened to your lost comment but they’re not approved before submission. However, if there is content in a conversation contrary to the rules of conduct for the forum, they can be reviewed by a moderator and removed. But I don’t believe that was the case here.

I see a comment from you regarding visiting your chiropractor that was posted just moments ago, (when I happened to see this reply from you) but then nothing prior to that for 5 days. Not sure what happened to the comment that isn’t showing up.
You can check your comments by clicking on your avatar, the little photo area on the left of this comment, which takes you to your profile page. From there you can see a menu on the left for Discussions, Comments, and Reactions. Click on comments and it gives you a chronological listing of all your comments. Is this helpful?

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1 reply
whatisthis | @whatisthis | Jul 27, 2022
In reply to @loribmt "Hi! Not sure what happened to your lost comment but they’re not approved before submission. However,..." + (show)
@loribmt

Hi! Not sure what happened to your lost comment but they’re not approved before submission. However, if there is content in a conversation contrary to the rules of conduct for the forum, they can be reviewed by a moderator and removed. But I don’t believe that was the case here.

I see a comment from you regarding visiting your chiropractor that was posted just moments ago, (when I happened to see this reply from you) but then nothing prior to that for 5 days. Not sure what happened to the comment that isn’t showing up.
You can check your comments by clicking on your avatar, the little photo area on the left of this comment, which takes you to your profile page. From there you can see a menu on the left for Discussions, Comments, and Reactions. Click on comments and it gives you a chronological listing of all your comments. Is this helpful?

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it was the same comment i was able to post. it just didn't post the first time but did the second. then i couldn't delete the comment about it not posting. lol sorry for any confusion. thanks for your reply.

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1 reply
Mentor
Lori, Volunteer Mentor | @loribmt | Jul 27, 2022
In reply to @whatisthis "it was the same comment i was able to post. it just didn't post the first..." + (show)
@whatisthis

it was the same comment i was able to post. it just didn't post the first time but did the second. then i couldn't delete the comment about it not posting. lol sorry for any confusion. thanks for your reply.

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No problem. After I posted my reply, I noticed your correction too! Lol. Same issue, I couldn’t delete either. 😄.

Just so you’re aware, if there’s ever a comment that you do want to delete permanently or make a change after the 30 min edit window, just click on the 3 … at the bottom of the reply. In the menu, click Report message and enter your reason for deleting or the change you’d like to make. It notifies a moderator who will take care of your request. 😉

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gdanker | @gdanker | Jul 28, 2022
In reply to @whatisthis "Hey gang! In a visit to my chiropractor yesterday, he believes this issue is "Diastasis Recti"...." + (show)
@whatisthis

Hey gang! In a visit to my chiropractor yesterday, he believes this issue is "Diastasis Recti". Yeah, I never heard of it either but look it up! It totally resonates with what i have been going through, and all the coughing I did/do that created it. i believe this could be an answer for many of us. The good news is that the solution is specific exercises. There is a book by that name with the subtitle "Abdominal Weakness and Separation". Fits everything I have been experiencing! Includes the explanation and the solution. Hope this is it for me and for all of you as well!

Jump to this post

Do you have an author's name for the book or where it can be purchased? I would definitely look into it although coughing has not been a problem for me. I do feel that my abdominal muscles are weak. It's worth looking into!

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ealeonard1214 | @ealeonard1214 | Jul 29, 2022

If your muscles were tightened they are not happy I would get a feeling the same after abdominal surgery also a charlie horse feeling for years also I have no thoughts on how to stop it except external massage

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cctoo. Catherine Crowley | @cctoo | Jul 30, 2022

I used to have that very much... Was related to a House!! I lived in. Mold due to water in heat ducts/AC ducts...after moving it went away. It is awful feeling. Used to get antibiotics but didn't help.

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cctoo. Catherine Crowley | @cctoo | Jul 30, 2022
In reply to @gdanker "I have come to believe that it could be something like what you describe. One thing..." + (show)
@gdanker

I have come to believe that it could be something like what you describe. One thing that differs, though, is that it is not actual "painful". It is an extreme tightness around the lower rib cage and midriff. I do think it lies in the Fascia of the rib cage that are extremely tensed all the time. It is just this constant "squeezing" and it is incredibly unbearable to live with year after year. Now if I press down with my fingers in this area, I can find painful areas but only painful when I press down, not otherwise. There are also little nodule-like areas, which are often described in trigger point therapy that when you push on them are extremely painful but otherwise you don't feel them. My insurance paid for a couple of weeks of therapy but somehow the therapist was not quite getting it right. It's hard to explain. It didn't help a bit.

However, with kind people like yourself, writing in with possible diagnoses, I have a fighting chance of getting some help with this. I will look up the MALS as it is a possibility. Thank you very much.

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I had exactly that! I feel you need to get home checked for mold or other something in air. When I moved to current house it disappeared! Still very occasionally get that tightness in ribcage during damp times or when ac/ heat filter needs changed.... I had this current house fogged before moving in as this house was really bad.. This is not medical prob
lem. Although now after years of tight grabbing ribs, no pain, my lungs are very sensitive. Check house or filter!!?

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