Pain when breathing is a common symptom. It is a pain that can be felt in the neck or chest area and can sometimes also lead to complaints in the back. Pain when breathing can have a variety of causes.
In addition to lung diseases, infections of the upper respiratory tract are much more often the reason for pain when breathing. However, diseases of the lung skin are also typical for this symptom. In addition, complaints of muscles, bones and nerves can also cause pain when breathing. Depending on the cause and severity of the pain, various therapeutic approaches can be considered.
Causes of pain when breathing
The causes for pain when breathing are manifold. Most often, diseases of the respiratory tract and lungs are the cause. These include infections and inflammations of the mucous membranes in the throat, trachea and bronchi.
Pneumonia can also cause pain when breathing. Especially when the lung membrane is involved, pain when breathing is not uncommon. If the pain occurs acutely and suddenly and is accompanied by shortness of breath, pulmonary embolism must also be considered.
This is a rare but severe clinical picture in which a blood clot blocks an artery in the lung. A (partially) collapsed lung is similarly sudden, but usually less drastic. In addition, other structures in the thorax can also cause pain when breathing.
The musculoskeletal system is the most important of these. Breathing pain can be caused by a pinched rib nerve, overexerted muscles or even after a contusion of the thorax. All these are common causes.
In some cases, chest pain originating from other organs is hidden behind pain when breathing. A heart attack is often accompanied by chest pain, and the stomach or gall bladder can also be affected in this way. In these cases, however, the pain is not always related to breathing.
Pain is often felt when breathing in the back. This is the typical painful spot where inflammatory processes radiate to the lungs and lung membrane. The most common cause is a flu-like infection caused by viruses and often accompanied by pain when breathing in the back.
Similarly, bacterial pneumonia in the lower lung sections of the back often leads to pain when breathing. These are particularly noticeable when inhaled. Particularly when the lung membrane is inflamed, the affected person can report easily localized pain when breathing in the back.
Just as frequent causes of back pain are bruises and simply a sore muscle. The breathing muscles are located between the ribs. If this is overstrained, it hurts with every breath.
After a jerky movement, a pinched nerve can cause pain when breathing. This might also be of interest to you: Treatment of a rib contusion In the case of breath-related pain, it is important to know whether a previous trauma has occurred. After a blow to the back, a bruise or contusion can sometimes cause severe pain when breathing in the back.
Rare causes of pain when breathing that radiates into the back are rheumatic diseases of the spine or rib attachments. If the pain when breathing is more localized at or under the ribs, a muscular cause or one originating from the nerves and bones should be considered first. In addition to the respiratory muscles, the abdominal muscles are also located under the lowest rib.
If the abdominal muscles are sore or pulled, pain can therefore occur on/under the ribs when breathing. This is also a typical symptom of rib contusion. After a trauma to the chest, the ribs may be severely bruised.
This causes pain when breathing at and under the ribs. If the symptoms are severe, a fracture of the ribs should be ruled out in hospital. This is done with an X-ray.
In most cases, a rib fracture is treated conservatively by sparing and painkillers. Classically, an inflammation of the pleura, which lies directly against the inner chest wall, is also manifested as pain in the ribs when breathing. Especially deep breathing causes stabbing pain.
Causes of pleurisy are manifold and include pneumonia, rheumatic causes, trauma and rarely tumours. A rare clinical picture that causes pain when breathing at the ribs is the Tietze syndrome. The exact cause is not known.Breath-dependent pain of the rib attachments at the sternum occurs.
Pain when breathing may occur on one side of the left side only. In principle, all the processes and diseases described above can be the initial causes. These include pneumonia with involvement of the pleura, a collapsed lung on the left, a blow to or a fall on the left thorax or a pulmonary embolism.
These things can theoretically occur anywhere on the thorax, including the left. Specific causes of pain when breathing on the left are caused by the organs on the left. Deep breathing can irritate damaged abdominal organs.
An inflammation of the stomach or a stomach ulcer can thus cause pain when breathing on the left. Do you suffer from a gastric ulcer? You can find out more about this under: Symptoms of a peptic ulcer The spleen is also located on the left side of the abdomen.
This organ rarely causes pain. An enlarged spleen can possibly lead to pain when breathing on the left. The most important organ on the left side of the chest is the heart.
An oxygen deficiency due to narrow coronary arteries leads to severe pain in the front left of the thorax. The worst case scenario is a heart attack, which can be accompanied by severe pain, sweating and unconsciousness. However, pain emanating from the heart is not necessarily related to breathing.
It is more likely that a rib nerve has been irritated by an unusual or incorrect movement or that the muscles have been overstrained. As on the left, pain when breathing on the right side of the thorax must primarily be attributed to a cause in the lungs, ribs or muscles and nerves. There are, however, some special reasons for pain when breathing on the right side.
On the right below the costal arch, closely related to the lungs and diaphragm, are the liver and gallbladder. Diseases of these organs can be accompanied by pain when breathing, because the movements of the diaphragm exert pressure or pull on these structures. An inflamed gallbladder can thus be responsible for the complaints.
A bulging liver, e.g. in the context of infectious diseases, can also cause pain on the right side of the costal arch when breathing. Gallstones, which lead to cramping, swelling and decongestant pain on the right side, can also be the cause of pain when breathing in rare cases. In most cases, the cause is assumed to be in the abdominal cavity if there is nausea or abdominal pain at the same time.
For this reason, pain when breathing with the accompanying symptoms mentioned above should be assumed to be caused in the abdomen. If the pain occurs on both sides when breathing, a disease of the lungs and their accompanying structures is very likely. Nerves, traumas or other organs are usually accompanied by unilateral pain.
Breathing pain that occurs on both sides can be caused by severe pneumonia in both lungs with involvement of the lung membrane. The inflamed lung skin rubs against the lungs and chest during breathing, causing pain. Rheumatic diseases also occur rather on both sides.
Overloaded muscles after extensive sport would also lead to pain on both sides when breathing. An accurate assessment of persistent complaints is important in order to identify serious causes. The heart lies slightly offset to the left in the chest under the chest.
Pain caused by the heart therefore occurs to the left behind the breastbone and typically extends into the left arm and sometimes into the jaw. They can be interpreted as pain when breathing. Pain that increases when breathing and decreases at rest can also be an indication of an inflammation of the pericardium.
The cause may be a temporary shortage of blood supply to the heart. Under stress, this leads to pain when breathing through the heart (angina pectoris). If the pain is acute and accompanied by nausea and breathing difficulties, a heart attack must be considered.
An emergency doctor must be alerted immediately. During pregnancy, the woman’s body has to adapt to many things. It does not always succeed completely.
During pregnancy, for example, there may also be pain when breathing. All causes that also cause pain when breathing in other people are of course also conceivable during pregnancy. Special reasons for the complaints, however, are caused by the fact that the child takes up a lot of space in the mother’s stomach as the pregnancy progresses.
Thus, pain when breathing during pregnancy is usually only observed from the last third (3rd trimester) onwards.The unborn child increases the pressure in the abdominal cavity, against which diaphragm must work. This alone can cause pain. In addition, the child may press against the lungs or accompanying structures from below.
The pain when breathing depends on the position of the baby during pregnancy. It is worst in the supine position and improves when standing or with the upper body bent over. The complaints are usually harmless.
However, if the pain increases or if symptoms such as shortness of breath, pain at rest or nausea occur, medical advice should be sought for safety reasons. In addition, it is possible that the child presses against the lungs or accompanying structures from below. The pain when breathing depends on the position of the baby during pregnancy.
It is worst in a supine position and improves when standing or with the upper body bent over. The complaints are usually harmless. However, if the pain increases or if symptoms such as shortness of breath, pain at rest or nausea occur, medical advice should be sought for safety reasons.
Pain when breathing with shortness of breath is an indication of a more serious cause. It may be a dangerous condition that requires quick treatment. Pain with shortness of breath can occur with a collapsed lung, pulmonary embolism and heart attack.
A collapsed lung is safely treated by inserting a suction drainage into the chest. In the case of pulmonary embolism and myocardial infarction, quick action is required. Pain when breathing with shortness of breath can also occur with pneumonia. The fact that the pain occurs with shortness of breath suggests that the condition is more severe. One should not wait, but go directly to a doctor or hospital.
