What Triggers Costochondritis? Topic Guide

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a type of arthritis that involves the spine and pelvic joints that affects mostly young men. Medications don't cure AS, but can manage pain. Surgery is occasionally indicate.

Arthritis is inflammation of the joints. Arthritis causes include injury, abnormal metabolism (such as gout), inheritance (such as in osteoarthritis), infections (such as in the arthritis of Lyme disease), and an overactive immune system (such as rheumatoid arthritis [RA] and systemic lupus erythematosus). Symptoms of arthritis include pain and limited joint function. Treatment may include pain medications, pain-relieving creams, and dietary supplements.

Chest pain has a variety of noncardiac and cardiac causes, some of which can be very serious. Signs and symptoms of chest pain may include burning, squeezing, or heaviness in the chest. Atherosclerosis, angina, lung tumors, chest trauma, abdominal pain, and gastric reflux are just a few potential causes of chest pain. Chest pain is diagnosed by taking the patient history and performing a physical exam. Blood work, imaging tests, and an exercise stress test may be ordered. The treatment and prognosis of chest pain depends on the underlying cause.

Fibromyalgia is an illness with no known cause. Symptoms include chronic pain, fatigue, fibrofog (mental haziness), insomnia, headaches, nervousness, numbness, dizziness, and intestinal disturbances. Treatment may involve acupuncture, massage, biofeedback, antidepressants, Lyrica, Cymbalta, Savella, Flexeril, and Mirapex.

Signs that chest pain may be serious include severe chest pain or pressure; a crushing, squeezing feeling in the chest; chest pain lasts more than a few minutes; pain moving into the neck, jaw, left shoulder, or arm; worsening chest pain; chest pain that increases in intensity or frequency; unremitting chest pain; or being accompanied by breathlessness, lightheadedness or fainting, nausea, vomiting, and/or profuse sweating.

The effects of pain medication are different for each person. Pain also varies in tolerance as well from person to person. There are several different pain medications such as NSAIDS, acetaminophen, and narcotics. The most commonly prescribed narcotics are morphine (MS Contin, Avinza, Kadain, Oramorph), oxycodone (OxyContin, Roxicodone, M-oxy, ETH-Oxydose, Oxyfast, OxylR), fentanyl (Duragesic, Fentanyl Patch), oxymorphone (Opana), and methadone (Methadose) Narcotic pain medications can lead to physical addiction. Symptoms of physical addiction to narcotics include flu-like symptoms, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, bone aches, feeling like you are "crawling out of your skin," goose bumps, chills, tremor, and difficulty sleeping. These symptoms are all medical concerns and should be treated medically.

Pleurisy is an infection and inflammation of the fluid-filled sac that lines the outside of the lungs and chest cavity. The infection can resolve on its own, be treated with antibiotics, or in serious cases, result in draining of the essential pleural fluid and the subsequent development of adhesions, which can make it painful and difficult to breathe.

Psoriatic arthritis is a specific autoimmune condition in which a person has both psoriasis and arthritis. Some psoriatic arthritis symptoms and signs include scaly red skin on certain areas of the body, nail changes, eye inflammation, iritis, and inflammation of the muscles and tendons where they connect to the bone. There are a variety of psoriatic arthritis types. The goal of psoriatic arthritis treatment medications and lifestyle changes is to control inflammation.