Those who get Costochondritis flare-ups, what exercises ect. usually bring yours on?

[Inchworm]

HI,
I am getting over a bout of it as a result of coughing non-stop for 2 weeks and then doing twisting kickboxing and abdominal exercises. I also sometimes get a flare up if I do any chest presses or lift heavy weights, which I no longer do. I love body weight work and today I did some push-ups and side planks ( i know I shouldn't but I love them) and some squeeze flat abs from custom menu and now I'm feeling a twingey feeling again in my left lower ribcage. It's soooo frustrating because it really pisses me off when I can't do the things I love. If it's not my costo acting up, it's my wrists from bodyweight work or my hip gets locked up from certain possible ballet barre moves (which I also love dearly) or my back/butt gets wonky if I even dare do kettlebells, which I loved but won't do anymore.

Damn it stinks getting older!

Kelly

[Sarah-lara]

Hi Kelly,
As you know I had a really bad case after a fall that took me 4 months to get over. Once I figured out that it was a joint injury and not a heart/lung problem, I really rested it and I think that is why this hasn't plagued me continually for years (can't say the same for my back, LOL). Only rarely do I have a slight flare up and it is 1/10th as intense and usually only a day or two. At that point, I might rest, ice, use Advil. No biggee.

The two things I can think of off the top of my head that caused the worst flare ups after my recovery were (1) doing deep pushups between two steps and (2) wearing a heavy one-shoulder backpack while walking an ultra-marathon. I've since walked the same event but with a regular 2-strap backpack, and that was just fine, so obviously my chest didn't like the way the other pack twisted or pulled. I know others here say it is a range of motion thing for them, so that is something for you to think about. And when you do start back, start with shallow/light work.

It's really not something I worry about much after kicking the worst of it (the part you are now in, unfortunately). You know, it was so bad for me that afterward I kind of had a new lease on life for a year or so. I tried new things, ran races, etc. because I felt like I'd already survived something worse than anything I was likely to encounter for a long, long time.

[Sophie]

that's a really hard question. I actually think mine flares up more from viral infection, and in fact that's probably how it started, the first time I had it. So now when it flares up, it's often during a time when I'm fighting off a cold, or my family has been sick.
Upper body work *at that time* might aggravate it, but otherwise, isn't an issue. So for me I think it's more those other conditions than the activity itself.

Overall my experience has been like Sarah-La's - I've only really had a bad case twice, maybe. The other times I can feel it coming and can head it off at the pass by avoiding known triggers - like upper body work. And it's not as intense in those cases.

I also use a lot of yoga type stuff - restorative yoga, ball work, trigger point massage, etc - when I suspect it's about to flare up and that seems to lessen the intensity considerably. It's just that with your first bad case, you're so worried about other things - heart, lungs, etc - that you're hesitant to do anything at all. Once they're ruled out, you at least have the ability to experiment with what self-treatments will help.

re-reading Sarah's post I remembered another thing - wearing heavy backpacks, even the regular kind. It seems to pull back on the shoulders in a way that strains my ribcage. I think a sternum strap would relieve this. But I've avoided carrying too much weight since.