popping sternum
 

i have this problem where if i bend my arms back and head back and chest up, i can pop my sterum. i dont know if its bad but sometiems if i dont pop it theres a cramped feeling in my chest and i can feel like pressure there like i have to pop it like a knuckle. also if i dont pop it, i noticed i cannot do some movements such as pushups. those are extremely painful with my sternum in the "unpopped" position.

recently my sternum has been popping more and more and its to the point where I can't pop it anymore and still the pressure is there.

i was wonder if any of you had this problem.

Disclaimer: I am no Doctor.

Go see a doctor and stop that popping thing, you’re going to get worse. You need some physical therapy Sunv.

Yes I had it, started after a nasty spill. I was thinking it was a broken rib but I am sure it’s just a pulled muscle off the sternum. It’s the muscle that runs from the ribcage to the armpit. It acts up going up steep hills when I am really pulling down with my arms.

Solution; don’t pull up hills fast, and no fast take-offs from lights, stay seated.

Mine is mostly all better now. Took about a month.

-dalton

I have the same problem. Ive done a bit of research on it. Its not muscles popping as the poster above said. Its actually just the ligaments or whatever in connection with a rib or something. I read about about 6 months ago. Search google for your thread title.
Anyway, resist popping it or it will have to be done all the time. Thats what my deal was. I quit messing with it for the most part and dealt with the strange feeling as much as i could. It slowly has reduced. Dont think about it.

A similar thing was happening with my right shoulder and my right hand. My shoulder was extremely sore and my right hand wouldn't open it hurt so bad unless I popped it. I just changed my grip on the bars though and everything is fine now...I guess I was holding it funky when I was going downhill but it just seemed most comfortable.

I totally agree with deathhare. “You have to resist popping it or it will have to be done all the time. Quit messing with it for the most part and deal with the strange feeling as much as you can. It will slowly reduce.”

-dalton

I like it. Mine's been doing it since I was a little kid. There's nothing like a good "pop" to set you right.

My sternum pops when I yawn. I feel no pressure or pain. It just catches me by surprise.

My knee on the other hand. It doesn't hurt, but I do feel the need to pop it when I I get on my bike because it feels wierd. It happens less since I have ridden fixed.

thanks guys
i have resisted popping it for about 2 days now and i can still feel that pressure feeling in my sternum. hopefully it wont get worse and will go away.
and i wont be going to doctor. there's not much they can do and i've researched this and found lots of other ppl have same prob, but doctors didn't help them except with anti-inflammatory meds.

i'll take your advice and not pop it for a few days. geez i guess i shouldn't have been popping it all last month. but yea it does feel *so* much better after i pop it.

I think I read the same online stuff mentioned earlier. From what I can tell doctors can't fix it, and it doesn't seem to be a big issue.

I developed the same problem about a year and a half ago after moving some heavy fence sections. It rarely ever hurts, just mild pressure. My sternum usually pops by itself every couple of weeks after a good yawn or stretch. It feels just like cracking my knuckles, which I've done for 20 years to no ill effect.

Don't ge me started on my right ankle. All my life I've been able to pop it as many times as I want for as long as I want. It's very loud too. That always made mom nauseous. :-)

uninformed opinion:

you can't "pop" your sternum. the sternum is a flat bone, that connects to your rib cage via cartilage. what you're most likely doing is "popping" your clavicles (collarbones) at the joint where they meet the sternum. when you "pop" any joint, what happens is that you pull the bones out of their normal position, causing the fluid present in every bone joint to rapidly decompress. this causes bubbles to form, and when they burst, the bones snap back into place, which gives the noise and sensation. when you do this repeatedly, it causes the connective tissues to become inflamed, and your body produces more fluid to lubricate the joints. what is likely the case now is that when your diaphram relaxes, your sternum is not sliding out against your clavicles as it should, giving the sensation of pressure. a doctor would likely prescribe an antiinflammitory/antiarthritic before resorting to surgery.

my opinion: seek medical attention immediately! this is not going to get better on it's own. if you should need further incentive, you're probably going to get a prescription of percocet or oxycodone (dilaudid) out of it as well. spare yourself the expense of the e.d. and go to see your primary or a doctor at a free clinic.
p.m. me if you live in the new england area, as i can assist you in getting free care.


Disclaimer: the above is based on what I've retained from A.P. Biology and from working in healthcare for the past 6 years.

stop sleeping on your belly thats what my doc told me too do when I had that same problem I would roll over onto my belly 9/10 time and end up with my hand under my chest I thought it was a heart attack or something

several ekgs later he says hey how do you sleep and I say ...

yeah man. don't base your actions on freaking bikeforums responses. go see a physician. unless you don't have health insurance. that's the only excuse not to.

exactly the same thing here... it feels like a sharp cramp in my breast plate and i get it when hunched over the computer. I i dont try and crack it i get massive pain and feel like i am about to have a heart attack...

aint had it for a few weeks though...

if you have pressure pains i would visit your gp as others have stated. when i drank i used o get a pushing pain in my chest but since stoping the booze i dont get it any more...

What? But the folks on bikeforums told me how to make a wicked fixed gear with just JB weld and an old Peugeout.

Your welcome

Buy the way; I did not go to the doctor either for the same reasons you mentioned. I figured I would tell you what my wife told me when I mentioned the symptoms to her. I think I should have went to the doctor so I would not have had to suffer for a month.

You will be OK. Lets us know how you fell in a month and we will do a re-diagnoses with no medical knowledge what so ever.

-dalton

Pop collars, not sternums.

what ever you do don't go see a doctor! conventional anti-inflammatories are notorious for side effects such as ulcers and low immune function.

for inflammation i supplement my diet with apple cider vinegar and msm.

google homeopathic anti-inflammatory and check out these sites.

http://www.earthclinic.com/CURES/arthritis.html

http://curezone.com/

I assume you failed that class because you are so wrong i laughed. You clearly have never experienced this because where it pops is nowhere near the clavicle joint.

Yeah, my clavicles are fine. Speaking for myself, the area that pops is right dead center on my sternum, a good four inches away from my collar bones. I just checked.

x2

Solidarity!

Yeah, down low. Don't take a bunch of pills for this. It won't kill you.

The joints where your ribs attach to your sternum are synovial joints (they have a capsule, synovial lining)
http://www.instantanatomy.net/thorax...tosternal.html. The first rib is an exception and the lower ribs attach to other ribs rather than the sternum itself. The joint is also arthrodial (plane) as opposed to say, a shoulder joint, which is a ball and socket, or finger which is a hinge joint.

As such, they can cavitate (pop) just like a finger joint. It's not common, but it can happen and is usually not something to worry about. There are conditions that can affect these joints, but these are almost always accompanied by pain that is not relieved by the popping (e.g. costochondritis (Tietze's syndrome) and would be there most of the time, not just once in a while. In that case, anti-inflammatories can give people relief. Like many joints, the common knowledge is the more you pop it, the easier it is to pop the next time. Hold off and it will likely go away eventually. Work on the flexibility in your midback as the ribs are part of a complex structure that involves the sternum, adjacent ribs, and the midback and surround musculature.

I just thought I'd throw in a bunch of pointless babble, so here it goes:

I pop my finger, ankle and knee joints all the time... Sometimes even toes. My spine makes killer machinegun sounds.
Recently, my shoulder started to pop as well... My body wil fall apart before I hit 40. This ***** sucks, but I'm way too weak to stop once I started... I figure there aren't many more joints left, so it can't get worse, right?

your bars might be too narrow.

try yoga.