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Osteochondritis Dissecans – What Is It, Why Does It Trigger Ribcage Pain?

10th November, 2010 - Posted by health news - No Comments

When most people think of rib pain, they’re thinking of the type that comes from a fractured rib or a bruised rib. But a condition doctors call osteochondritis dissecans (often just called “osteochondritis”) can also cause ribcage pain and discomfort.

Osteochondritis dissecans doesn’t only affect the ribs. It can occur anywhere there’s a joint. Typically it occurs it in hips, knees, or ankles.

Osteochondritis dissecans occurs when some of the cartilage in a joint, along with a thin layer of bone under it, separates from the end of a bone.

Individuals who are most likely to be affected by osteochondritis dissecans are not older adults, as you might expect. Osteochondritis dissecans is more common among teenagers and young adults, particularly if they play sports.

When you have osteochondritis dissecans, you feel pain near the end of a bone. When it causes rib pain, the discomfort typically occurs where the ribs connect to the spine in the back or the breastbone in the front. Osteochondritis dissecans usually occurs in one of three circumstances.

1. There has been an injury or repetitive stress damage to a joint. Keeping this in mind, it’s easy to understand why osteochondritis dissecans happens more often to young adults and teenagers – they’re the ones who are most likely to play competitive sports and exercise vigorously (sometimes too vigorously).

Another common cause of rib pain from osteochondritis dissecans is a blow to the chest or back as the result of an accident (especially an auto accident).

Sometimes, however, it takes more than one impact or a single blow to cause osteochondritis dissecans. Small, repeated blows over the course of time can add up and eventually begin to cause pain.

2. A second leading cause of osteochondritis dissecans is an obstruction that blocks blood circulation near the end of a bone. This shortage of blood flow causes deterioration of the bone and cartilage around it, causing a condition doctors call avascular necrosis.

3. Heredity is the third possible factor. Certain individuals seem to have a genetic predisposition for developing the condition.

One of the most prominent symptoms of osteochondritis dissecans affecting the torso is rib pain. This discomfort is likely to be felt near the breastbone or the backbone.

You may especially feel the pain and discomfort when you’re competing in sports or doing strenuous exercise, since these activities require deep, rapid breathing.

As previously mentioned, other areas of the body can develop osteochondritis dissecans too. Affected joints don’t move as readily and you don’t have the normal range of motion. When osteochondritis dissecans develops in joints, there’s sometimes a feeling of weakness, along with some tenderness and swelling. When there’s pain in the front of the torso from osteochondritis dissecans, it’s located in the same area that you typically feel angina – the chest pain you feel when you’re having a heart attack. So it can sometimes be frightening. Someone with pain in the upper back might mistake it for a symptom of a gallbladder attack.

Early diagnosis of osteochondritis dissecans is important because if it isn’t treated, it can result in long-term disability in the affected joint. The object of treating osteochondritis dissecans is to reduce or even eliminate pain and restore normal function to the joint. Your doctor can choose from a number of possible treatment options, and success varies from one patient to another. One or a combination of the following will probably be recommended.

Staying away from activities that could worsen the condition or increase the damage. Rest will help, as will avoiding movements that cause pain or increase inflammation in the joint.

Normally, it’s a good idea to immobilize the joint that’s being affected by osteochondritis dissecans. But if you have pain in the ribs, this is impractical, since you have to breathe. However, you can certainly avoid sports activities or vigorous exercise, which make you breathe faster and deeper.

Medications like Advil, Motrin, Aleve, and Naprosyn can help relieve rib pain from osteochondritis dissecans. These are brand names for a category of pain relievers known as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDs. They are also commonly known by the names aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen sodium.

Exercises and physical therapy will normally help patients with osteochondritis dissecans. But when the condition affects the ribs, exercises are somewhat limited. Follow the instructions of your therapist or doctor closely.

In some cases, surgery may be appropriate to relieve your rib pain from osteochondritis dissecans. But most doctors will focus on non-surgical possibilities for about three months first.

Once again, early diagnosis of osteochondritis dissecans as the source of your rib pain is important. By talking to your doctor and following his or her recommendations for treatment, you can return to normal activities – without pain – as quickly as possible.[/body]

[resource]To learn more, click on what is osteochondritis dissecans and causes of rib pain. Neal Kennedy is a former radio and television medical reporter. To read more of his articles, click on rib pain.