my collarbone hurts

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Susan BAV

I feel pretty ignorant even asking this but which type of doctor should I go to for a sore collarbone? I guess it's the collarbone -- halfway between the top of my sternum scar and the top of my right shoulder. I think it's all related to the OHS and it's been getting worse recently, fairly zinging right now:(. I've had inflamed rib cartilage connecting to the lower right part of my sternum from the surgery, which still slowly gets better with no treatment, and I don't know if this could be more cartilage inflamation in another location or what; can that spread, do you know?

I also don't know which kind of doctor to go to and/or what if anything any of them can do besides maybe expensive and redundant tests with inconclusive results and possibly no helpful treatment. And I don't want to be a medication guinea pig. I have my Pollyanna face on today, as you can tell:rolleyes:. I really don't want to waste time spinning my sore wheels in the wrong type of doctor's office though. Hey, I'm getting downright crabby just thinking about it.

Anyway, have any of you had postop collarbone pain and did you seek medical treatment for it and could you share anything you know about it? BTW, I'm well over three years past surgery, soon to be pushing four years. Anyway, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks:).
 
Susan, I have no experience of collar bone pain to help you with, but if I were you, I would start with my pcp and see what he or she suggests from there. Who did you see about the cartilage inflammation?
 
Thank you both very much, Phyllis and Rachel -

My cardio explained my earlier experience with inflamed rib cartilage to me and said it might never completely heal because sometimes ribs just don't completely heal and he has some that never completely healed from a basketball injury decades ago. My chiropractor, whom I rarely visit but is very gentle, wanted me to wear a rib belt for a month; but I balked at that. My family doctor had been tossed from his horse when it was spooked by a bear on his vacation ranch (in another state) and fractured or broke some ribs and was entirely sympathetic from his recent and personal experience, but discouraged a rib belt; I understood from him that it's usually something you just have to live with. This was all about three years ago.

I'm thinking I'll just hunker down and see if this will settle down; it doesn't hurt today nearly as much as yesterday and I ended up doing a lot of fairly heavy physical work yesterday, moving furniture and such. So maybe it's just something pinched in there, since it doesn't hurt more from heavy use.

But also, I figure I can't be the only one with some collarbone pain from the rib spreader so, I thought I'd just toss in a comment to send this back up to the top of the Heart Talk Forum heap:rolleyes: and maybe more members will read it and post. Thanks again:).
 
Susan, I don't have post-op collarbone pain experience, but I do have collarbone injury experience. A few years ago I grabbed a short rope on a dock while docking a boat that was coming in a bit too fast and sprained/tweaked my sternoclavicular joint (I did manage to stop the boat though:eek: ).

I went to an orthopedic surgeon who took an xray, determined nothing was broken, and sent me to physical therapy. PT consisted of massage of the area with ice and limited ultrasound therapy (limited because they don't like to use it in such close proximity to the thyroid) at the PT office and gentle stretches and ice at home. The gentle stretches consisted of 1) lying on a noodle (one of those foam floaty things) down the length of my spine and letting my shoulders relax and 2) standing facing a corner with a palm flat on each wall and gently pushing my body inward. (I have no idea if either of these would help you, but I thought you could be the judge of that.) The icing at home (which really can't hurt, I don't think) consisted of putting equal parts rubbing alcohol and water in two gallon ziploc bags (one inside the other for leak prevention) and freezing it, then using the ice bag in a bath towel folded in thirds (the long way, so it's long and narrow). Put the towel over your shoulder so 1/3 of it rests on your back, sit in a chair with the towel sandwiched between you and the chair and situate the ice so that it hits the affected part of your shoulder, and hold the other end of the towel.

I can't say that any of this seemed to make a dramatic difference, but the icing definitely made it feel better for a while.
 
Susan

Susan

If it gets worse..I would go to an orthopedic surgeon..PCP sent me to one last spring..around this same time..for aching in right lower arm..Not much but a brace/pain pills. went away on it's own..I think it was the way I was using computer.Are you dropping your right shoulder, ect. for long periods of time on computer?Just a thought? bonnie
 
I am going to take a wild guess and say it might be costochondritis, an inflammation of the costal (rib and sternal) cartiledge. There is no way of telling without physically examining you. And if that is what it is, the treatment is basically nothing. Over time it goes a away. Sometimes ice and or moist heat will help it feel better.

I see this fairly commonly in patients who suffer a blunt chest trauma--auto collison, air bag punches them in the chest, athletes who get hit in the chest.

Ultrasound is a no no. It is not to be used over bone, or anywhere there are metalic wires.
 
Hi PJ and Bonnie and thank you for the posts -

Ice is an excellent idea, PJ, and I think I'll try it when it gets to zinging again, like it was yesterday. I like the ice idea way better than the thought of trying an RX like a muscle relaxant. Maybe I can drink an iced relaxant while I ice the shoulder:D! Then I'll be iced inside and out and relaxed to boot!

And Bonnie, I was wondering if I'm not just sitting a bit too comfortably at the computer:p! I think I've had my arm rests up too high also; I just now dropped them a bit.

I was getting a very gentle shoulder rub recently and there is one little area on that shoulder that was unusually and surprisingly painful, very sharp. And it all feels a bit loose in there too.

Anyway, thank you both very much for your suggestions.
 
BackDoc said:
I am going to take a wild guess and say it might be costochondritis, an inflammation of the costal (rib and sternal) cartiledge. There is no way of telling without physically examining you. And if that is what it is, the treatment is basically nothing. Over time it goes a away. Sometimes ice and or moist heat will help it feel better.

I see this fairly commonly in patients who suffer a blunt chest trauma--auto collison, air bag punches them in the chest, athletes who get hit in the chest.

Ultrasound is a no no. It is not to be used over bone, or anywhere there are metalic wires.
Click to expand...

Hi BackDoc -

I was wondering about that inflammation you mentioned. I searched it before I started the thread yesterday and couldn't find any real information about it; but I think I might not have been spelling it correctly. I'll search it again. I really appreciate your reply. Thank you very much.

(Sorry I didn't see your post when I was working on the reply to the other posts.)
 
Hi Susan,

I don't have any information about collarbone pain, but just wanted to say that I sure hope you are feeling better today!
 
Hi Nan and thanks! It doesn't hurt at all today, as long as I don't touch it. Silly thing.

And thanks for the helpful links, BackDoc. One of the diagrams was particularly helpful. The pain is where the top rib goes under the collarbone. I'm going to do some more searches too. I was misspelling costochondritis when I searched earlier.

Thanks, all, for your kind and helpful replies:).
 
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