STERNUM, PAIN IN
Description and Possible Medical Problems
If you exercise regularly and are in relatively good shape, and you feel a sharp pain in your sternum, or breastbone, which runs from just below your chin to a few inches above your navel, you may jump to the conclusion that you’re having a heart attack.
Don’t worry. Tenderness in the sternum is actually a merit badge given for your good health and is a very common condition in people in their 40s and 50s who are physically active. In addition to the pain in the sternum, you may also feel pain in your joints and between the ribs and the sternum.
If you feel pain and tenderness in your sternum, it’s probably caused by a sprain that’s the result of over activity, especially on exercise machines, which can easily strain your joints, muscles, and sternum in ways they haven’t been stressed before. In people over 60, a pain in the sternum can also be caused by osteoarthritis.
Treatment
The treatment for a pain in your sternum is easy: rest and analgesics like aspirin and Tylenol. If the pain lasts for more than a week, your doctor may suggest the injection of a stronger analgesic.
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