Car accidents, slip and falls, trauma from sports (football, rugby, ice hockey) and lifting overly-heavy weights at the gym all tend to trigger sudden onset of pain. Lung cancer, infections and inflammations gradually get worse (within days or months) and are associated with many other symptoms. Pneumothorax is a life-threatening lung condition that can happen due to trauma, strenuous activity, asthma, pneumonia, or cancer. It can come on gradually or suddenly. If you feel pain when you inhale, are breathing shallowly, have a cold, or have a history of coughing or bronchitis, it may be lung pain. Alternatively, costochondritis (inflammation of the cartilage surrounding your ribs) can results in focal tenderness and pain with movement.
Coughing up blood is common with lung cancer, advanced pneumonia and punctures from lung trauma. Get medical attention immediately if you see blood in your sputum. Muscle associated with ribs include the intercostals, obliques, abdominals and scalene muscles. [3] X Research source These muscles move with respiration, so strains / pulls in them trigger pain with deep breaths, but don’t cause coughing.
Feel carefully around your ribs, as those muscles are commonly pulled with too much rotation or side bending. If you can pinpoint severe pain near your chest bone (sternum), then you may be dealing with torn rib cartilage instead of a simple muscle pull. Muscle pulls usually only generate pain when you move your body or breathe deeply, whereas lung issues (particularly cancer and infections) can cause constant pain. Muscles that are directly over your lungs include the pectorals (major and minor groups). These muscle can be strained from doing push-ups, chin-ups or working the “pec deck” at the gym.
Mild muscle pulls seldom leave bruises or redness as evidence, although they often cause some degree of localized swelling. In addition to bruising, injured muscles sometimes twitch or quiver for a few hours (or even days) while they’re trying to heal. These “fasciculations” are further evidence of a muscle pull instead of a lung issue.
Mild fevers are often helpful because they represent your body trying to defend itself against infections. However, high fevers (103°F or greater for an adult) are potentially dangerous and should be closely monitored. Chronic, long-term lung diseases (cancer, obstructive pulmonary disease, tuberculosis) often only increase body temperature slightly.
In addition to coughing up blood and chest pain with deep breathing, other signs of lung cancer include hoarseness, loss of appetite, relatively rapid weight loss and general lethargy. [8] X Trustworthy Source American Cancer Society Nonprofit devoted to promoting cancer research, education, and support Go to source Your doctor can take a sputum sample (mucus / saliva / blood) and try to culture it, which could indicate a bacterial infection (bronchitis, pneumonia). However, your doctor will more likely use x-rays or physical exams for diagnosis.
Advanced lung cancer is virtually always detected via chest x-rays, but the early stages of the disease can sometimes escape detection. A chest x-ray may help detect signs of congestive heart disease. Chest x-rays do not show muscle pulls or strains of the chest or upper torso. If your doctor suspects a torn muscle or tendon, he/she might send you for a diagnostic ultrasound, MRI or CT scan. A CT scan creates a cross-sectional image of your chest, which can help the doctor diagnose your condition if a physical exam and chest x-ray are not definitive.
In contrast, blood tests cannot confirm or rule out pulled or strained muscles, even if they severe. Blood tests will not indicate your level of oxygenation. A test called a sedimentation rate can help determine if your body is under stress and has an existing chronic inflammatory condition. Blood tests are not as helpful for diagnosing lung cancer — x-rays and a tissue biopsy (sample) are more valuable.
