Accompanying symptoms of pain under the breast
Depending on the cause of the pain under the breast, accompanying symptoms may occur. Inflammatory processes often lead to fever or chills. In addition to chest pain, pneumonia can cause coughing and shortness of breath.
The cough can be dry or accompanied by sputum. Greenish-yellowish sputum is typical of bacterial infections. Respiratory problems also occur with pulmonary embolism (an occluded lung vessel) and heart attack.
In addition to severe pain under the chest, the latter often causes accompanying symptoms such as nausea and clouding of consciousness. Nausea and vomiting are also accompanying symptoms of diseases of the abdominal organs. The stomach and the gall bladder play a particularly important role in these cases.
A pinched rib nerve can cause pain under the breast as well as accompanying symptoms. Depending on the extent of the entrapment, disturbances of the sensitive sensation can occur. Tingling or numbness are the most common accompanying symptoms.
In the case of a rib blockage, certain movements are sometimes no longer possible. Pain under the chest is often observed when breathing. This is due to the fact that the rib cage expands and contracts with each breath.
Therefore, pain under the chest caused by nerves or muscles often occurs when breathing. Inhalation in particular causes pain under the chest due to stretching of the structures. Furthermore, pain when breathing can be a cause of pain in the lungs.
In some cases, pain under the chest occurs during breathing even if the cause is in the abdominal cavity. This is because the organs are constricted by breathing. Most often, however, pain under the chest when breathing is caused by a blocked joint, trapped nerves or bronchitis.
Coughing causes an increase in pressure in the entire thorax. This can cause pain under the chest if the structures are damaged. Typically, the muscles, nerves and bones (ribs and sternum) of the thorax can be affected.
However, the lungs themselves are also often the cause of pain when coughing. For example, centres of inflammation in the airways can be irritated by the cough and cause pain under the chest. Even small adhesions caused by infections of the lungs or damage to the lung tissue can make themselves painfully felt when coughing.
Pain that occurs simultaneously in the back and under the chest usually indicates a muscular origin of the symptoms. Typically, poor posture or muscular imbalance leads to tension in the back muscles. These tensions are also transferred via the ribcage to the muscles of the thorax and thus lead to additional pain under the breast.
The complaints occur less frequently if there is damage to the spinal column. This can also cause pain under the chest and ribcage through circulatory disorders or nerve irritation and entrapment. These then usually radiate into the back.
Intercostal neuralgia refers to a pain syndrome (algie = pain) of the nerves (neuron = nerve) between (= behind) the ribs (=costae). These intercostal nerves are responsible for supplying the muscles between the ribs and play an important role in breathing, as they expand or contract the ribs and thus increase or decrease the volume in the thorax. The intercostal nerves run directly below the ribs.
If entrapments occur in the course of these nerves, the normal breathing movement can cause a pull on the affected nerves. This typically manifests itself as nerve pain (electrifying, stabbing). This intercostal neuralgia is particularly severe when coughing.
Pain under the breast can also occur during pregnancy.First of all, it must be said that during pregnancy all of the above mentioned causes can be responsible for pain under the breast. In fact, pregnant women have an increased risk of developing gall bladder disease. Also the risk of a blockage of a pulmonary artery, i.e. a pulmonary embolism, is slightly increased.
Nevertheless, pain under the breast during pregnancy is usually caused by adjustment processes in the body and the growing baby. This takes up more and more space in the abdomen, especially in the third trimester of pregnancy. This leads to increased pressure around the abdomen.
These can also project upwards, which can cause pain under the breast. Especially when the woman is pregnant, such complaints occur. Heartburn plays a greater role in pain under the breast during pregnancy (see: Heartburn during pregnancy).
Almost every pregnant woman suffers sooner or later from a reflux of stomach acid into the esophagus. This leads to burning pain in the area of the breastbone. It can come however also laterally to pain under the chest.
As a rule, pain under the breast is harmless during pregnancy. Relief can be achieved by adopting a sitting position or sleeping with a slightly raised upper body. If, on the other hand, accompanying symptoms such as shortness of breath, anxiety and nausea occur, this must be clarified by a doctor in order to recognize or exclude a dangerous illness.
