Introduction
The sternum is the bone that connects the left and right ribs in the upper body. It consists of three parts: The sternum is a fairly strong bone and breaks quite rarely, because it needs a strong impact on this bone before it breaks. This usually happens in car accidents where drivers are not wearing their seat belts and their upper body hits the steering wheel. – Manubrium,
- Corpus Sterni, and from the
- Processus xiphoideus.
Symptoms
A fractured sternum often causes severe pain in the sternum. The pain of a fractured sternum can occur at rest and during certain movements and can become worse when breathing. The pain when breathing often causes breathing difficulties, which can be treated with painkillers.
The site of the sternum fracture is also very sensitive to pressure. If the heart and lungs are also damaged, breathing difficulties and cardiac dysrhythmia can occur. – Reddening,
- Swelling and haematomas (bruises).
Since the sternum fracture is usually caused by a fairly strong force, it is usually very painful. On the one hand, there is a bruise in the area of the sternum that is painful under pressure. On the other hand, there is breath-related pain, as the sternum moves with every breath and is therefore irritated.
In addition, a fracture of the sternum very often also injures surrounding organs, nerves or bones, which means that the pain also occurs in the area of the ribs. It is also important to note that even severe pain in the chest is not evidence of a fracture of the sternum, and even a contusion of the sternum can be very painful. In case of doubt, only an X-ray or CT scan can help to prove a fracture.
Another type of pain that can occur when the sternum is fractured is so-called neuropathic pain. These are pains that are triggered by an injury or irritation of a nerve itself. Since there are a lot of nerves running through the sternum and ribs, neuropathic pain is not uncommon in the case of sternum fractures.
The pain is then more burning than stabbing and not necessarily respiratory. In addition, they usually do not occur immediately after the injury but only after days or weeks. Unfortunately, nerve pain is difficult to treat and does not respond well to the usual painkillers.
It is therefore advisable to consult a doctor with the additional title “pain therapy” if the nerve pain lasts longer. There are also other diseases that are associated with severe chest pain, in particular heart attack and pulmonary embolism, neither of which is associated with a violent attack, and the pain associated with a heart attack is not usually respiratory. In the further course of the disease, pain is to be expected in particular when lifting heavy objects and also, for example, when sitting on the ground.
It takes up to six months until a fracture of the sternum is completely healed, during which time pain occurs under stress. This can also be understood as an indication that the fracture has not yet healed and should be further protected. and pain in the sternum
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