The 'costo' of costochondritis means 'ribs', the 'chondr' means 'cartilage' and the 'itsis' means 'inflammation'. Costochondritis is inflammation of the cartilage attaching the ribs to the breastbone. Costochondritis causes shortness of breath, chest tenderness and is especially painful when taking a breath or twisting the chest.
The acute pain of costochondritis is sometimes mistaken (by a patient) as a heart attack, the condition will not cause any damage to the internal organs, but the chest tenderness and pain sometimes takes up to 2 months to completely dissipate. .
No one is certain what cause costochondritis, possibly from a minor chest injury, repeated coughing or vomiting, and the standard treatment for costochondritis is anti-inflammatory medication like Ibuprofen.
A heating pad placed on the chest helps relieve the chest pain for some people. Others with costochondritis find that a cold compress works better at relieving the soreness and pain.
If the chest pain and shortness of breath due to costochondritis lasts longer than 5 days, your doctor may inject the area of inflamed rib cartilage with cortisone to relieve the pain and inflammation.