Why does my chest hurt more when it's colder?

Breast pain is a common symptom and a problem that exists in many women. There are many diseases that can cause chest pain, such as chest wall muscle spasm, pleurisy, intercostal neuralgia, etc. Therefore, if you want to completely cure chest pain, you need to first determine the cause and then carry out reasonable treatment. Below, we will introduce the common causes of chest pain in detail.

1. Chest wall muscle spasm

Chest pain symptoms occur and worsen when the body position changes, such as turning over, which is mostly caused by chest wall muscle spasm.

If you cannot turn around when you have chest pain, it means that the pain is located in the chest wall. The change in body position causes chest wall muscle spasm and severe pain. Lumbar sprains and stitches in the side also belong to this category.

Chest pain caused by chest wall muscle spasm is very common, mostly due to prolonged incorrect posture, bending over, leaning on a desk, strenuous exercise, continuous coughing, and local cold. It is very common for computer workers to suffer from chest pain due to incorrect posture.

2. Pleurisy

Pleurisy refers to inflammation of the pleura caused by pathogenic factors (usually viruses or bacteria) irritating the pleura, also known as "pleurisy". There may be fluid accumulation in the chest cavity (exudative pleurisy) or no fluid accumulation (dry pleurisy). After the inflammation is controlled, the pleura may return to normal, or the two layers of pleura may adhere to each other. The main clinical manifestations are chest pain, cough, chest tightness, shortness of breath, and even difficulty breathing. It is more common in young people and children.

3. Intercostal neuralgia

Intercostal neuralgia is a subjective symptom of the patient. The intercostal nerves extend from the thoracic spinal cord to both sides through the intercostals to the anterior chest wall, innervating the muscles of the back and chest wall beside the corresponding thoracic vertebrae and the sensory branches running along the intercostals. Therefore, intercostal neuralgia is pain in a band-like area that extends from the chest and back along the intercostals diagonally forward and downward to the midline of the anterior wall of the chest and abdomen.

Degenerative protrusion of the thoracic intervertebral disc, thickening and ossification of the joint capsule and ligaments often lead to narrowing and deformation of the nerve channels, which can cause inflammation of the intercostal nerves and produce pain. Other lesions that may affect the intercostal nerves include thoracic tuberculosis, thoracic fracture or dislocation, spinal or spinal cord tumors, ankylosing spondylitis, and rib, mediastinal, and pleural lesions. The pain of herpes zoster intercostal neuralgia is often severe.