Costochondritis

[obbay]

Have any of you (or more appropriately, your kids) had any experience with this?

Readers Digest version: an inflammation of the cartilage where the ribs meet the sternum.
result is stabbing localized chest pain and shortness of breath. (An adult told me it felt like he was having a heart attack.) The reason I'm asking on this board is because the doctor said you just have to let it go away on it's own, which could be a matter of days,weeks or months.

DD seems to be ok hitting but pitching and or chest contact gets it going. sometimes it just starts when she's sitting quietly in school. this is a recent development and the doctor said "just take it easy for awhile". when it happens, it is very scary as she has trouble breathing.

My questions:
How long did it take to go away?
Did the player have to stop all activity to get back to normal?
Was there anything you found effective relieving the symptoms? (exercises/stretching, Ice, Heat, etc)? DD is taking anti-inflammatories (aleve)

thanks.

 

[ian]

I would get a second opinion. The pain flare up while just sitting seems strange. I'm not anything close to a doctor, so maybe pain flare ups while sitting is normal for her diagnosis.

 

[MacLobo]

Sounds similar to something that used to happen to me off and on...I believe my doctors called it pleuricy?? Basically felt like I was being stabbed in the lung.

Would come and go at random times, but never lasted too long. Not sure if it's the same thing, but I don't recall doing anything special or any long hiatus from activity. It was just something I had to play trough from time to time.

 

[Coach JV]

Ask the Dr to refer a specialist, DFP is a great forum for softball gibberish, not the go to for medical diagnosis

 

[obbay]

Maclobo- she was away on a school field trip the week before last and her roommate was taken off in an ambulance to the hospital and the diagnosis was pleuricy(sp?) so initially she was afraid that's what she had. She doesn't know what pleuricy is but it was a scary experience. Now you got me thinking.....

Coach JV- I hear you! I just wanted to hear if anyone else had experienced this and what happened.

 

[twoplacesatonce]

Just my two cents......I had costochondritis after a really bad bout of bronchitis and then didn't help myself through the healing process by continuing to play adult league volleyball. Anyway, it can take a really long time to heal fully so you do have to be patient through that process. It's always good advice to seek a second opinion if you don't feel comfortable with the diagnosis or with how it is healing, but from my experience it took a few years before I was completely better and a good solid few months before I saw any real improvement. There was no real rhyme or reason to what aggravated it or how often that would happen. What worked best was anti-inflammatory meds, massage therapy and a lot of patience. Since mine resulted from a respiratory infection most of my ongoing pain was from coughing and what helped with that was putting pressure on my flank with my arm when I coughed (so essentially splinting my rib cage)....so you may be able to find a wrap or garment that will give her some extra support. Good luck!

 

[obbay]

Thanks 2- that's exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for.

my wife(the nurse) called the office to check on the test results (x-rays, etc) and when they heard DD was having a tough time, they suggested she could come back in and they could take another look. DW said "what for? What'll you do the second time you haven't already done?" they had no answer, so they don't know what to do either besides rest.