I have a strange pain in my xiphoid process area. It hurts to raise my arms, take deep breaths, lay on my back, stretch with my arms up and out. I can feel the pain constantly whether sitting or standing or lying down. It s pretty much feeling like I got punched in the chest all the time. I am certain it is not breast related. My ribs do not hurt except for that particular area. I cannot wear a bra or anything that will slightly squeeze the area as it causes a constant pain that feels like the area is a constant cramp. If i stand too long I get relief from hunching over as stretching the area just plainly feels like torture. In fact that s how I discovered the lump between my ribs. I have long hair so I put it up a lot and it s been painful to lift my arms to put it in a ponytail. I have noticed this pain for a while now. (Months) I ignored it because I blamed it on my back and the herniated discs I have. Three right around where my bra fastens in the back and three on the bottom L3-4 through L5-S1. Now it it unignorably painful and I realize it has nothing to do with my back. It feels like a tight gripping constant cramp in the middle of my chest right in my xiphoid process area. There s been no trauma or injury or explainable cause for this pain. There is a noticeable bump mostly hard it s about 3 or so inches long. I can t tell how wide. I ve had xrays and an ultrasound done within the last week and other than a small bit of fat on my liver (thats been there at least the last 16 years) there s nothing out of the ordinary to cause any concern. My doc has ordered a ct with contrast scan.im starting to feel like I am crazy but I m 100% certain I am in pain 24/7. I guess I m looking for any clues as to what the cause of the pain is. Feeling like I have been punched in the chest all the time is really uncomfortable. Any insight is much appreciated!