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What Causes Costochondritis?
Question: Hello,
I was in a car accident on 10/31/14. I had a spinal contusion (on the milder side) and an MTBI. I have reached maximum improvement on these injuries. But I also was told I have costochodritis on my chest wall from where the seatbelt held me back. Its been close to 2 years and my chest wall is still tender. I have had a negative CT scan and a negative chest xray. Are there any other tests I should as for, or is this kind of thing normal?
I was in a car accident on 10/31/14. I had a spinal contusion (on the milder side) and an MTBI. I have reached maximum improvement on these injuries. But I also was told I have costochodritis on my chest wall from where the seatbelt held me back. Its been close to 2 years and my chest wall is still tender. I have had a negative CT scan and a negative chest xray. Are there any other tests I should as for, or is this kind of thing normal?
Brief Answer:
Can be associated with normal reports of CT scan and X-ray.
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for posting your query.
Inflammation of costochondral joints - costochondritis is mostly due to a genetic predisposition. There are some autoimmune disorders also which need to be ruled out for their association like- fibromyalgia, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis reactive arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease (such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease). It is less likely to be aggravated by injury only.
I hope you are not having any problems related to any other joint pains and bowel movements.
Pain killers, antiinflammatory drugs- steroids and lidocaine patch are the main treatments. You need discuss all options available with your orthopedician for proper treatment.
Meanwhile doing a hot compresses will be useful pain relieving measure. You may apply a local analgesic gel on that area.
It is not necessary to show a finding on X-ray or CT scan.
I hope this answers your query.
In case you have additional questions or doubts, you can forward them to me, and I shall be glad to help you out.
Wishing you good health.
Regards.
Dr. Praveen Tayal.
For future query, you can directly approach me through my profile URL http://bit.ly/Dr-Praveen-Tayal
Can be associated with normal reports of CT scan and X-ray.
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for posting your query.
Inflammation of costochondral joints - costochondritis is mostly due to a genetic predisposition. There are some autoimmune disorders also which need to be ruled out for their association like- fibromyalgia, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis reactive arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease (such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease). It is less likely to be aggravated by injury only.
I hope you are not having any problems related to any other joint pains and bowel movements.
Pain killers, antiinflammatory drugs- steroids and lidocaine patch are the main treatments. You need discuss all options available with your orthopedician for proper treatment.
Meanwhile doing a hot compresses will be useful pain relieving measure. You may apply a local analgesic gel on that area.
It is not necessary to show a finding on X-ray or CT scan.
I hope this answers your query.
In case you have additional questions or doubts, you can forward them to me, and I shall be glad to help you out.
Wishing you good health.
Regards.
Dr. Praveen Tayal.
For future query, you can directly approach me through my profile URL http://bit.ly/Dr-Praveen-Tayal
Note: For further queries, consult a joint and bone specialist, an Orthopaedic surgeon. Book a Call now.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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