Many do not take the pain that has arisen in the chest area seriously, often attributing it to intercostal neuralgia. And very much in vain. A seemingly harmless symptom can hide a wide variety of and sometimes serious health problems.. Yes, and intercostal neuralgia is not as simple as it seems.

The floor goes to our expert, angioneurologist, author of books on a healthy lifestyle, doctor of medical sciences Evgeny Shirokov.

Every one of us experiences chest pain from time to time.. However, to find out what caused them,? - not an easy task. These pains have many causes.. It can be:.

Lung diseases also often give pain in the chest area.. Most often, these are pleurisy (inflammation of the pleura - the membrane lining the chest cavity from the inside and covering the lungs). Severe pain occurs with pneumothorax (penetration of air into the pleural cavity). This happens with infectious diseases of the lungs (tuberculosis). But with pneumonia, pain in the chest is rare: there are no pain receptors in the tissues of the lungs..

How it manifests: Sharp, paroxysmal pain in the right side of the chest, often accompanied by shortness of breath.

Who to contact: A general practitioner or a pulmonologist who will conduct an examination (pneumothorax is easy to recognize by characteristic signs when listening with a phonendoscope), and, if necessary, prescribe an x-ray of the lungs.

Thoracic sciatica associated with irritation or damage to the nerve root from which the intercostal nerve is formed,? - less common cause of chest pain. The impetus for their occurrence may be hypothermia, excessive physical exertion or injury..

How it manifests itself: Most often, such pains from the spine move to the anterior or lateral surface of the chest and are sharper, one-sided in nature (either on the right or on the left). Sometimes with such pain there is a violation of sensitivity in the corresponding area, which may be associated with nerve damage and requires urgent medical attention..

Who to contact: Neurologist, vertebroneurologist, neurosurgeon.

Intercostal neuralgia (not far-fetched, but the most real) can also be the cause of chest pain. Most often, it occurs as a result of herpetic ganglioneuritis, which is popularly called herpes zoster.. You can recognize it by itchy crusts or vesicles located along the lines of the ribs..

How it manifests itself: Affecting the nodes of the nerves, the virus causes quite strong pain.. With herpetic ganglioneuritis, pain is sharp, burning, sometimes occurs at the slightest touch to the skin and requires the use of painkillers, and sometimes novocaine blockades.

Who to contact: Neurologist.

Heart diseases. Pain in the chest area can be manifestations of cardiovascular problems. Primarily ischemic heart disease. The slightest violation of the blood supply to the heart muscle is enough, and the “hungry” heart begins to “scream”, announcing an oxygen deficiency with paroxysmal pain (angina pectoris), shortness of breath, arrhythmia (cardiac arrhythmias).

How it manifests itself: Most often, such pain occurs in the left side of the chest, is paroxysmal in nature and is associated with physical and / or emotional stress.. Although in the case of angina pectoris, it is sometimes difficult to conduct a differential (clarifying) diagnosis even in a hospital. Much more often with angina pectoris, there is a burning sensation, discomfort, tightness in the center of the chest, behind the sternum, and even in the esophagus.

Who to contact: A cardiologist who will prescribe a comprehensive examination of the heart.

Spinal diseases (spondylosis, scoliosis, etc.). ) Occur in 60-80% of adults and most often cause pain in the chest area. Congenital anomalies of the osteoarticular apparatus, injuries, sedentary work, carrying weights lead to a violation of the normal configuration of the spine. When the weather changes, the load on the intervertebral joints causes inflammation in them, and then pain.

How it manifests itself: Pain associated with diseases of the spine can be very long and, as a rule, do not have a clear localization - they give it to the arm, then to the shoulder girdle, then to the heart area - and depend not so much on movements as on positional load (.

Who to contact: Neurologist, vertebroneurologist, chiropractor.

Tatyana Gurianova nedug. en.