weightlifting and sore sternum

Diceicle

Hello all,

I've been having pain in my sternum area for the past while. It happens periodically, generally not while working out but when sitting prone on the couch or in a meeting. It feels like someone has a grip of your chest bones and is trying to crush them. I've heard that it happens to people who are weightlifting and is related to a layer of fat shifting or dislocating from the sternum area. Has anyone else experienced this?

LaHaine

Hopefully this wont be locked, im interested to hear an answer to this.

I get the same feeling. Its not pain for me, moreso a tightness in that region and its usually after sitting at my desk in work for a long time.

gstack

Not being smart at all but It sounds much more like poor posture /sitting hunched over at a desk for extended periods of time .

LaHaine

gstack wrote: »

Not being smart at all but It sounds much more like poor posture /sitting hunched over at a desk for extended periods of time .

Maybe so. But I had problems with my back previously and went to physio etc. He showed me how to set up my chair correctly and how to sit with proper posture. Im very conscious of my posture as a result of this and Im pretty sure Im sitting correctly. I definitely dont hunch over my keyboard anymore.

mdc5065

That "I'm getting torn in half" sternum area soreness is most often related to overactive muscles in the back. I got it all the time when I did jujitsu. Think about it: your back is so taut it's pulling around the ribs and across the front as if the sternum was the issue. Do you do any flexibility training? Try foam rolling your rhomboids, etc., and see if that helps. If not, might want to see a doctor.

Diceicle

After doing some further research, this is what I think it may be:
http://www.steadyhealth.com/articles/Costochondritis__Symptoms___Treatment_a182.html

denvey

Hey, I have the exact same problem, i cant even do dips any more the pain is so bad. I can bend my arms far back like a bench press/ lat pulldown motion and it cracks it which relieves the pain for a few hours then comes back again.

cc87

I think i read somewhere that dan john wont have his younger athletes do any dips as their sternum is still growing and performing dips can puts too much stress on it.......something along those lines anyway.

Rycn

I've got pectus excavatum, it's where the sternum is slightly collapsed and it usually happens at a young age. Yours may be collapsing but apparently theres no serious risks, it happens to 1 in 5 people at some stage in life.

My chest just looks like theres a tennis ball sized dent in the middle of it. Ruins the look of my chest but I just have to deal with it, doesnt really bother me.

Edit: This is just what i've been told so I may be wrong.

Diceicle

Yeah it was doing dips on the parallel bars that has damaged / inflammed my sternum.

RoadRunner

I had a heavy day of kayaking on holiday about 18months ago having never done it before (amazing day out). However I get similar symptoms since that day. It's nothing really bad or anything, but sometimes I've to reach back with my shoulders and shove my chest forward, until there is a click and a release of tension. Sounds like the same thing.