What causes pain under the ribs when coughing?

If you find that you feel pain in your ribs when you cough, you should be careful, because the pain may be caused by a disease in your ribs, so you need to make relevant diagnostic methods. There are several reasons why coughing can cause pain under the ribs, such as infection of the perichondrium, spread of infection, formation of pus, etc. These are diseases that need to be confirmed through examination.

1. Infection of perichondrium: Cartilage becomes necrotic due to lack of blood supply, which causes the infection to persist and can penetrate the skin to form sinus tracts. Infectious pain below the ribs is caused by infection of the costal perichondrium, leading to ischemic necrosis of the cartilage, and is related to insensitivity to antibiotics.

2. Expansion of infection scope: Due to anatomical characteristics, the 1st to 4th costal cartilages exist independently, and generally do not spread to adjacent costal cartilages after infection. The 5th to 10th costal cartilages are connected to each other because adjacent cartilages are connected to each other and to the opposite side through the xiphoid process of the sternum. After infection, inflammation can spread to each other, affecting multiple costal cartilages on the same side, and can spread to the opposite side through the xiphoid process, expanding the scope of infection.

3. Formation of pus and granulation tissue: Pus and granulation tissue are formed around the infected costal cartilage. The surface of the ischemic and necrotic costal cartilage is not smooth and has a worm-eaten appearance. Some become thinner and resemble rat tails, while others can be completely absorbed.

4. Emphasize the prevention of costal cartilage injuries: Infectious pain below the ribs is mostly secondary, and currently the most common pain below the ribs is caused by infection after chest surgery. The pathogens are mainly pyogenic bacteria. This requires emphasis on prevention, strict aseptic operation, and avoiding or reducing damage to the costal perichondrium as much as possible to reduce its occurrence.

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that pain below the ribs that spreads to the chest, flanks, and upper arms is due to qi stagnation; local bulge, obvious tenderness, and fixed pain points are due to blood stasis. Stagnation of Qi and blood stasis, wind-heat invading the meridians, toxic heat and inflammation, Qi and blood obstruction, pain. The treatment is mainly focused on promoting qi and blood circulation to relieve pain, clearing away heat, cooling blood and nourishing the body. In traditional Chinese medicine, Shu.lie.xiao.zhong ointment is a secret method for treating pain below the ribs. According to the pathogenesis of pain below the ribs, Shu.lie.xiao.zhong ointment can dispel wind and dredge meridians, soothe the liver and regulate qi, promote qi and activate blood circulation, so as to dispel external evils, strengthen the positive energy, treat both inside and outside, quickly reduce swelling and relieve pain, and thus completely cure pain below the ribs.

Symptoms

1. Local swelling and pain in the chest and flanks

The patient initially feels chest pain, and soon thereafter a swelling and tenderness develops at the affected cartilage. The pain worsens with deep breathing, coughing, and moving the affected upper limb, and sometimes radiates to the shoulder or back.

2. No changes on the skin surface

The affected area is swollen, with clear and fixed edges, no adhesion to the skin, and a smooth skin surface without redness or heat.

3. The duration of the disease varies

The pain symptoms of this disease usually gradually ease or disappear within 3 to 4 weeks.

In some cases, symptoms vary in severity and may recur repeatedly or last for months or even years. After the affected costal cartilage swells to a certain extent, some will gradually shrink; but in some cases, even though the pain has subsided, the costal cartilage continues to swell and does not shrink.