Pain between chest and stomach
A distinction must be made between superficial and deep-seated pain. Superficial pain often originates in the rectus abdominis muscle, the large abdominal muscle. If this muscle is tense, it pulls on the edges of the lowest ribs and thus exerts painful tension on the chest.
The resulting pain is often respiratory, since abdominal breathing causes the abdominal muscles to bulge forward. Excessive training of the abdominal muscles can also cause this type of pain. If the pain is deeper, the diaphragm, which is the main breathing muscle below the lungs at the lower edge of the chest, can be affected. The cause here can be overstrain due to constant coughing or excessive physical exertion.
Pain between chest and shoulder
Pain between chest and shoulder usually involves joints, nerves or muscles. A frequent cause is previous overloading, for example through sport or heavy lifting. In most cases, this pain disappears again within a few days.
If a nerve is pinched, the pain can last longer and a visit to the doctor may be necessary. ! Caution is advised in the case of severe pain between the chest and the left shoulder: If the pain radiates into the upper left arm and is also associated with a tightness in the chest, this can indicate an impending heart attack. In this case a hospital must be visited as fast as possible. You can read about other possible causes of shoulder pain in our article about shoulder pain.
Pain between chest and stomach
Since the stomach is partially under the ribs, stomach complaints can also be partially perceived as pain in the lower left breast.Stomach problems can have very different causes, which are usually harmless and disappear after a short time. For example, excessive or even very fatty food intake can irritate the stomach and cause cramp-like pain. Excessive alcohol consumption and smoking can also cause stomach problems.
In rare cases, however, stomach pain can also indicate serious illnesses, such as an irritated stomach, a stomach ulcer or a part of the stomach sliding up into the chest. You can find out what you can do about stomach pain in our article Stomach pain – what can you do about it? There are also many organs in the stomach. Some of them can also lead to chest pain. You can read about which organs these could be and what you can do about it in our article Chest pain caused by abdominal organs.
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