Thread: Costochondritis

Blah just found out I have this. Just left urgent care. How long does this last? Can I just keep lifting? Doctor said no heavy lifting but it’s just a pulled muscle right?

Did you do a new heavy exercise like pullovers

Originally Posted by Heisman2

It's inflammation of the rib cartilage. Length of time can be variable. You can take scheduled NSAIDs (take them with food) and this will help. I'm not entirely sure why you were told no heavy lifting. I would typically advise to lift as much as you want as long as it doesn't cause pain to worsen. Anything you do that provokes pain will potentially make the inflammation last longer.

Have you been sick recently or done anything that you think could have triggered this?

ya gymnastics about a week ago, in socks on wood floor, slipped into a flip and flung myself in the air 3-4 feet and landed horizontally like a bag of potatoes, thought I just tweaked my back but nope and that’s good news, she was an urgent care doctor. I think I have had this before from falling snowboarding but I started a new medication for epilepsy that can cause pancreatitis and went to urgent care because fear of that. But, nope wasn’t that and that’s a very very rare side effect

Originally Posted by keyboardworkout

Did you do a new heavy exercise like pullovers

nope I’ve been lifting for decades, nothing new

Originally Posted by air2fakie

It's not the same thing, but I lifted through a broken rib years ago and not surprisingly it took longer to heal with lingering issues that lasted even longer. We all obviously do stuff like that, so really up to you to decide what risks/pain you're willing to put up with.

If you want to lift before it's resolved I suggest asking the doc who examined you personally again. If you're going to lift regardless of what he/she recommends, maybe phrase the Q as "Would it be completely insane if I ... ?"

well it was an urgent care doctor. I can’t really ask them.

They said avoid upper body work outs but lower body is fine and my thoughts, um squats and dead’s engage my core more than bicep curls

If it was a broken bone I know better than to ignore it.

Originally Posted by air2fakie

Yeah doctors tend to just give conservative advice esp when unsure, both for your sake and liability purposes. I usually want to stay active through past injuries and avoid surgery, so I make sure to word Qs to doctors about it in a way so they can answer without feeling they're doing anything improper.

It kinda sounds like you can continue to work out upper body as long as there's only mild discomfort, but that's my non-medical opinion and just what I'd prob do if I were you.

today I did lower body with machines only. Don’t think squats would be good nor dead’s since the pain is in the front and in the back. Also, switched my 5k run with a up hill walk in my treadmill, less pain today and doing Aleve and heat pack at night