in honor of my nearly two week long flare up, let's discuss a condition i literally never see talked about, costochondritis!
costochondritis, also known as costosternal syndrome, is a condition in which the cartilage in the joints connecting the sternum to the ribcage becomes inflamed, causing chest pain. it often follows strenuous repetitive activity, like exercising or coughing, and in rarer instances can be caused by an infection, but it's often exacerbated by conditions like fibromyalgia and eds. in my case it gets triggered when i stretch too hard in juuuust the wrong way.
the main obvious symptom is chest pain, but it specifically usually presents on one side, usually the left. the pain can radiate down ones arm or up the neck through to the jaw. it mimics many heart attack symptoms, to the point where ~30% of people who go to the er with chest pain/heart attack symptoms are actually experiencing costochondritis.
unfortunately theres not a whole lot of options treatment wise other than pain meds and potentially steroids to help with the inflammation, but it's benign and usually goes away on its own eventually.
if you're having concerning chest pain it could be this, but it's best to still get checked out in case it is something more serious that presents similarly.
