Rib Cage Discomfort

meanredspider

Over Xmas, when both the snow and, frankly, being off work limited my cycling, I started to get discomfort (pain is probably too strong a word for it) in my chest. I was obviously a bit concerned - "chest pain" at 47 is rarely good - but it wasn't localised and it tended to feel more like my ribs than anything important on the inside and it seemed movement-related.

Anyhow, I was going to see the doc anyway (my bro & mum have a leaky heart valve so I had a letter to discuss with my GP if I should get referred for a scan) so discussed it with her and she was listening to my chest anyway (with everything sounding fine). She said the chest discomfort was probably nothing to worry about.

Now I'm back cycling again, and the discomfort has gone. It was also better the day after The Puffer.

Anybody know if there's any condition of this type related to reducing/stopping exercise after extension/regular exercise? It's all I can think of - unless it's completely coincidental.

Always seems a bit silly asking an internet forum but someone might know.

UndercoverElephant

Where abouts in the rib-cage?

rjsterry

Could just be that you strained your intercostal muscles doing something - more likely if you are a bit out of shape - but can't think why a long bike ride would make it suddenly disappear.

meanredspider

UndercoverElephant wrote:

Where abouts in the rib-cage?

Sides - about 4" below my armpits and front kinda top of each pec - both sides and fairly vague.

rjsterry wrote:

Could just be that you strained your intercostal muscles doing something - more likely if you are a bit out of shape - but can't think why a long bike ride would make it suddenly disappear.

Thing is, I'm not really that "out of shape" - 400-500 miles per month Sept-Oct-Nov. It seemed more like it appeared when I stopped cycling and has gone again now I'm back to 100+ miles a week.

UndercoverElephant

I would imagine that the pain is actually coming from the spine (I know, it sounds odd). Do you sit at a desk all day? If so it's probably that your spine is complaining, and cycling makes it happy.

Edit: And stop slouching!

phy2sll2

Did the pain hit when you took a deep breath, or was it there all of the time?

veronese68

Presumably you don't have any old injuries to your ribs that could be giving pain. My ribs can hurt if I sleep on my left side, but that's because I snapped 3 of them a couple of years ago.
Intercostal muscles relaxing and stiffening up? Then when you exercise they free up. I have no idea if this would actually happen, just a guess.

tgotb

Did you do anything over Xmas that you don't normally do, which might have exercised some muscles in that area? Shovelling snow, moving furniture around to accomodate an Xmas tree, anything like that?

Paulie W

TGOTB wrote:

Did you do anything over Xmas that you don't normally do, which might have exercised some muscles in that area? Shovelling snow, moving furniture around to accomodate an Xmas tree, anything like that?

Eat large amounts of rich idigestible food??

rjsterry

UndercoverElephant wrote:

I would imagine that the pain is actually coming from the spine (I know, it sounds odd). Do you sit at a desk all day? If so it's probably that your spine is complaining, and cycling makes it happy.

Edit: And stop slouching!

I've had a recurrent discomfort on my left side just below the point of my shoulder blade. Been checked out by the doctor a couple of times and had an x-ray just to be sure, but I've tracked it down to pulling away in too high a gear. I always push off with right foot, then big stroke with left foot and pull quite hard on the bars (keep twisting them up despite having them clamped to the right torque). I'm just repeatedly pulling the same muscle, and am too busy/lazy to do some core exercises to build up the strength and too stupid to change down a gear or two. :roll:

UndercoverElephant

rjsterry wrote:

UndercoverElephant wrote:

I would imagine that the pain is actually coming from the spine (I know, it sounds odd). Do you sit at a desk all day? If so it's probably that your spine is complaining, and cycling makes it happy.

Edit: And stop slouching!

I've had a recurrent discomfort on my left side just below the point of my shoulder blade. Been checked out by the doctor a couple of times and had an x-ray just to be sure, but I've tracked it down to pulling away in too high a gear. I always push off with right foot, then big stroke with left foot and pull quite hard on the bars (keep twisting them up despite having them clamped to the right torque). I'm just repeatedly pulling the same muscle, and am too busy/lazy to do some core exercises to build up the strength and too stupid to change down a gear or two. :roll:

And stop slouching!

meanredspider

UndercoverElephant wrote:

I would imagine that the pain is actually coming from the spine (I know, it sounds odd). Do you sit at a desk all day? If so it's probably that your spine is complaining, and cycling makes it happy.

Edit: And stop slouching!

I do sit at a desk though obviously wasn't much over Xmas. I might have been slouching on the sofa though :oops:

phy2sll2 wrote:

Did the pain hit when you took a deep breath, or was it there all of the time?

Occasionally on breathing but also on moving (which is why I though it might be rib-related rather than heart/lungs or any other internal bit - never had any of them hurt that I know of).

Veronese68 wrote:

Presumably you don't have any old injuries to your ribs that could be giving pain. .

Nope

TGOTB wrote:

Did you do anything over Xmas that you don't normally do, which might have exercised some muscles in that area? Shovelling snow, moving furniture around to accomodate an Xmas tree, anything like that?

No - not really - I'm always doing that sort of thing - work in the garage on my race car a lot for instance.

Paulie W wrote:

Eat large amounts of rich idigestible food??

Of course but actually nothing much out of the ordinary and my insides are pretty bullet-proof - they seem to deal with anything and everything I throw at them (haven't been sick since I was 18)

meanredspider

rjsterry wrote:

I've had a recurrent discomfort on my left side just below the point of my shoulder blade. Been checked out by the doctor a couple of times and had an x-ray just to be sure, but I've tracked it down to pulling away in too high a gear. I always push off with right foot, then big stroke with left foot and pull quite hard on the bars (keep twisting them up despite having them clamped to the right torque). I'm just repeatedly pulling the same muscle, and am too busy/lazy to do some core exercises to build up the strength and too stupid to change down a gear or two. :roll:

This is interesting in that, whilst I've been cycling, I've noticed that I've really developed my pecs. I know that this is all wrong (at least I was flamed on the roadie forum when I mentioned this). I'm a reasonably big guy (6' 93kg) and I do tend to "muscle" the bike a bit and I am conscious that I'm supporting my upper body quite a bit on the bike. I also tend to commute pretty much at "threshold" levels of effort (at least according to my average HR of 160-165-ish bpm)

rick_chasey

meanredspider wrote:

rjsterry wrote:

I've had a recurrent discomfort on my left side just below the point of my shoulder blade. Been checked out by the doctor a couple of times and had an x-ray just to be sure, but I've tracked it down to pulling away in too high a gear. I always push off with right foot, then big stroke with left foot and pull quite hard on the bars (keep twisting them up despite having them clamped to the right torque). I'm just repeatedly pulling the same muscle, and am too busy/lazy to do some core exercises to build up the strength and too stupid to change down a gear or two. :roll:

This is interesting in that, whilst I've been cycling, I've noticed that I've really developed my pecs. I know that this is all wrong (at least I was flamed on the roadie forum when I mentioned this). I'm a reasonably big guy (6' 93kg) and I do tend to "muscle" the bike a bit and I am conscious that I'm supporting my upper body quite a bit on the bike. I also tend to commute pretty much at "threshold" levels of effort (at least according to my average HR of 160-165-ish bpm)

Must admit, I've found cycling wastes away the little muscle I have left my chest.

rjsterry

meanredspider wrote:

rjsterry wrote:

I've had a recurrent discomfort on my left side just below the point of my shoulder blade. Been checked out by the doctor a couple of times and had an x-ray just to be sure, but I've tracked it down to pulling away in too high a gear. I always push off with right foot, then big stroke with left foot and pull quite hard on the bars (keep twisting them up despite having them clamped to the right torque). I'm just repeatedly pulling the same muscle, and am too busy/lazy to do some core exercises to build up the strength and too stupid to change down a gear or two. :roll:

This is interesting in that, whilst I've been cycling, I've noticed that I've really developed my pecs. I know that this is all wrong (at least I was flamed on the roadie forum when I mentioned this). I'm a reasonably big guy (6' 93kg) and I do tend to "muscle" the bike a bit and I am conscious that I'm supporting my upper body quite a bit on the bike. I also tend to commute pretty much at "threshold" levels of effort (at least according to my average HR of 160-165-ish bpm)

I take it you are a bit of a masher* too.

*as opposed to a spinner.

nich

And stop slouching!

I just sat up in my chair

veronese68

meanredspider wrote:

I'm a reasonably big guy (6' 93kg) and I do tend to "muscle" the bike a bit.

That's no way to treat your Volagi! Send it to me and I'll keep it in my nice warm southern garage. I'm a smidge taller than you but 15kgs lighter so I'll treat it with the respect it deserves.

meanredspider

rjsterry wrote:

I take it you are a bit of a masher* too.

*as opposed to a spinner.

I don't think I am - cadence averages 90rpm typically but I do have to work hard to haul my mass up the long hills I have on my commute so I'm engaging a lot of my body to maintain that RPM (if that makes sense) - hence the threshold effort. Not sure if that counts as "mashing". I also remain almost entirely seated except for short bumps.