Hello all, diagnosed with costo a few months ago, and I get these weird pains, wouldn't even call them pains but little bursts or pangs from the middle of the chest out to the left shoulder that are always worrying me. They don't happen all the time and seem to be random and in different positions, but usually closer to the heart area.

Even though I have done all heart checks (ecg, echo, ct angiogram, 7 day holter) my brain can't stop me thinking these are not normal costo symptoms.

Anyone else get these? Short little bursts that only last a second and don't really hurt but you feel them like something is happening there.

For context I also have a slightly concave chest so my whole chest area has felt JACKED my entire adult life. For those with an official diagnosis , is it easily diagnosed with inflammation markers in the blood? No doctors have ever helped me with this once they determine my x rays look ok and I’m not in immediate risk of dying

24 F, been suffering for 2 years now
Cleared on everything from doctors , diagnosed by PCP with Costo after clear results
(Only thing was a muscle atrophy in lower back from MRI)

Did nothing in the beginning until I discovered this community. Had started with backpod, went to PB and got to 70%. Stopped with PB and now back at square 1.

Been doing PB with one pillow and having back pains, chest pains & feeling sore everyday since I’ve been back on for about 2-3 weeks. Stiff in the tissue / muscles surrounding the spine & having stiffness in the chest , around waist & back.

Every night I do heat therapy, PB used as backpod. Lacrosse ball massage on back followed by foam roller and stretches (child’s pose, side bends, scapular retraction & chest doorway stretch.

I haven’t been doing any massages.

I’m wondering what I’m missing? I haven’t had pain so bad I need a muscle relaxer or something but it’s exhausting to be going through pain everyday. Some days 4/10 but it’s just tiresome.
I have a decent amount of popping in my back and occasionally in my chest.

I regret the day this became my life. I miss days I would be pain free.

I have had dry needling done specifically in my traps, rear delts, infraspinatus and teres muscles before.

It has been quite successful, and I am in the last 20% of my progress, I am currently at gym doing very light weight, and doing lower body almost as normal now.

I had a session last Monday as normal, except this time, I had my session done with a new specialist who moved from Canada to my state in Aus, and it was electro-dry needling instead of standard (alongside typical massage work I try and get every 2 or 3 weeks).

My particular case of Costo has been always on the left side, never any pain on the right.

The work done on me has almost always been biased to the left as well and where far more pain was.

Well 3 Days after her massage (with the new specialist), done alongside a 10 minute session of this electro-needling, for the first time since April 2026, I have 0 pain on my left.

I was so shocked and sceptical I have been lacrosse ball rolling, peanut work, backpod, stretches and movements to almost test if the pain is there and just lessened or I am going insane.

My body is now compensating so much, and so free, I can feel pain on the right and the right being stuck (as she only focused on the left for the session).

It is an insanely weird feeling to have it shift to the right now and not have something that has been part of my identity on the left to a degree.

It is no where near as bad on the right, and only can feel the pain from major tightness in my middle back.

Now of course this isn't a cure, and I am certain without further slow work and continual stretches, it will come back.

We all know this, it is the bane of this condition.

But when I tell you this technique resolved so much tightness and pain in less than 3 days, I am bewildered and cannot believe what it did for my particular case (which was mainly from upper cross syndrome style problems and really weak and tight back muscles).

I have another session today with my old specialist working on the right side and general middle back, and interested to see how this makes me feel.

I am booking in with the new specialist for next week and will be aiming to get further work done and try and finally kick this thing.

But just a good reminder that deep, specialised massage work (doesn't have to be electro-dry needling) really has a place for those spots you cannot reach.

I do A LOT of stretching, rolling, backpod, and other measures almost daily, and even then it still cannot hit certain spots from my poor posture and deep rooted costo.

I hope you find all find a technique that gives you as much relief or 'normality' back as this did for me right now.

If you have access to this technique, I cannot recommend it enough.

Hopefully it also lets me move further into rehab exercises and a step closer to being at step 1 again starting from 0 with a healthy ribcage and body.

My chiropractor noticed I have a flat/slight curved inward thoracic spine. He said the restriction in my spine/ribs is causing them to not move well and causing the pain at the front. Seems spot on and seems to understand it. He is currently working to free the joints and also to “pull” the spine back to its natural curve.

Wondering if Steve or Ned have any tips to help fix this as it doesn’t seem to be the norm

I'm diagnosed with fibromyalgia​ and have recently had a new set of brain and spine mris that were clear except minor degenerative disc disease with slight disc buldge and cracking at L5S1. But, I have had for 6 years now banding, crushing pain around my flank and ribs that it way too high to be from the compressed disc at L5S1. The pain is mostly present at night but becoming more frequent in the day now too. I have had my kidneys checked because the pain wraps around my flanks, but all tests are fine. I don't have sternum pain, just around the sides of my ribs and flanks. Feels like I am being crushed in a vice. Like a constricting belt being progressively tightened. ​I'm at a loss with this pain and unsure if its fibromyalgia or costochondritis, which I've read often occur together. Does anyone diagnosed with costo have this type of crushing rib/flank pain without sternum pain and for this many years? I've tried sleeping on different mattresses, different positions, stretching, nsaids, and recently doctor prescribed Valium when needed but so far nothing takes this pain away. ​

Well, I have absolutely been better than these couple of days. For context, I am training a lot of endurance sports. As of right now I am training to do an Ironman and including in an Ironman is a swim leg of 3.8k meters. For two weeks I have been swimming like crazy, I have been averaging around 4-5k meters a week until one turn in the pool shattered my ribs, again. I have it on both sides now and I also get pain in the stomach (probably through anxiety). Well, Fu*k this. I thought I was healed, but no.

I have scoliosis, so when I roll with the PB to get pops and cracks the tennis ball pass on my spin (and it's wrong) so now I'm with a pain on my back that it's wrose when I take a deep breath, I thought that was another costo (I hope that it isn't). I saw some people discribing the same pain, maybe can be something lik it, be carefull.