What causes persistent pain near collar bone?
Patient: recently my collarbone felt dislocated (after being painful for 6 years following an ac resection, but it suddenly became worse). this was accompanied by trouble breathing/swallowing/getting enough air to talk. does this suggest the sc joint is involved and the cause? or could another existing condition have upset the sc joint? breathing is bretter now, mdi negative for sc dislocation, waiting for CT scan results. but anything touching or pushing down my collarbone causes pain and this has happened for 6 years. i need to know the cause to figure out the treatment. Doctor: hi,thank-you for providing the brief history of you.a thorough musculoskeletal assessment is advised.As mentioned you had a dislocation of AC joint the muscles of the respiration becomes weaker which needs an attention to workout. Also, the SC joint gets a change in the biomechanics due to the AC joint dislocation which may lead to pain in the SC joint. If the pain is close down under the SC joint it can be costochindritis, as it is a common case to face but recovery is also sooner if taken proper assistance.I can advice you to first wait for the CT scan reports, if any pathology related to lungs is there will be examined as well in CT.The next I can recommend is to perform slow breathing exercises and there are types of it.* Deep breathing exercises* Costal breathing exercises* Pursed lip breathing exercises* Abdominal breathing exercises* Diaphragmatic breathing exercises.NOTE - kindly place the hand over the painful area to provide the support.Also, the SC joint is close to the origin of the pectoralis muscle and the sternocleidomastoid muscle, which are muscles of respiration and needs an attention to strengthen.in my clinical practice, we deal with such pain with Therapeutic ultrasound therapy , gradual kneeding massage, Myofascial release, exercises. usually in 2-3 weeks of time we find changes in symptoms. Also, if any lung pathology is present has to be treated separately.RegardsJay Indravadan Patel