u/Lonely_Statement_739

I’m 22F and I’m on day 9 of what my GP thinks is an intercostal/chest-wall strain. The pain is unusually low and anterior, right at the inner corner/end of my lower LEFT ribs rather than the usual side/back location.

Day 1 was sudden, very sharp pain and deep breathing hurt. I was assessed by NHS 111/GP, had an examination, oxygen/BP checked and a chest X-ray, all reassuring/clear. The deep-breathing pain settled quickly.

I’m now around **95% pain-free most of the time**. Normal breathing is fine. My remaining problem is that certain stretches/twists/repositioning can cause a **VERY sharp pain**, which settles within minutes but can leave the area sensitive for a few hours. I’ve also had occasional spasms/twinges and some local puffiness.

I’m taking prescribed naproxen and have recently started amitriptyline; occasional co-codamol for breakthrough pain.

**The issue:** I’m hosting my engagement party on August 28th, which will be around day 19. I’ll need to be on my feet, walking around, talking to people and generally functioning for several hours.

I’m completely fine with still having some aching/tenderness by then. What I’m really desperate to know is whether anyone has experienced the **sharp/stabbing mechanical pain disappearing within 2–3 weeks**, even if they weren’t completely healed yet.
If you’ve had an intercostal strain, **what did your actual recovery look like day-by-day?** How much did you rest? When could you walk/stand normally? When did the sharp pain stop? Did accidentally aggravating it set you back days/weeks or just cause a temporary flare?

I’m particularly interested in people who recovered **quickly**, rather than the generic “6 weeks” answer.

I’m 22F and I’m on day 9 of what my GP thinks is an intercostal/chest-wall strain. The pain is unusually low and anterior, right at the inner corner/end of my lower LEFT ribs rather than the usual side/back location.

Day 1 was sudden, very sharp pain and deep breathing hurt. I was assessed by NHS 111/GP, had an examination, oxygen/BP checked and a chest X-ray, all reassuring/clear. The deep-breathing pain settled quickly.

I’m now around 95% pain-free most of the time. Normal breathing is fine. My remaining problem is that certain stretches/twists/repositioning can cause a VERY sharp pain, which settles within minutes but can leave the area sensitive for a few hours. I’ve also had occasional spasms/twinges and some local puffiness.

I’m taking prescribed naproxen and have recently started amitriptyline; occasional co-codamol for breakthrough pain.

The issue: I’m hosting my engagement party on August 28th, which will be around day 19. I’ll need to be on my feet, walking around, talking to people and generally functioning for several hours.

I’m completely fine with still having some aching/tenderness by then. What I’m really desperate to know is whether anyone has experienced the sharp/stabbing mechanical pain disappearing within 2–3 weeks, even if they weren’t completely healed yet.
If you’ve had an intercostal strain, what did your actual recovery look like day-by-day? How much did you rest? When could you walk/stand normally? When did the sharp pain stop? Did accidentally aggravating it set you back days/weeks or just cause a temporary flare?

I’m particularly interested in people who recovered quickly, rather than the generic “6 weeks” answer.

Hi everyone, I’m hoping to hear from people who have had something similar because I’m getting really frustrated with this.

About a week ago, on a Sunday, I was lying on my left side when I suddenly got a really sharp pain in the lower front left corner of my ribcage. It actually felt a bit like what I’ve read about precordial catch syndrome, except it lasted for around 12 hours, rather than a few seconds/minutes.

I ended up getting checked at A&E. They did an ECG, chest X-ray, oxygen checks and examination, and everything was apparently fine. I was told there was nothing obvious going on with my lungs/heart.
On the Monday and Tuesday I basically stayed in bed because I was scared to move it. It was actually pretty okay when I was resting and I only really got up to use the toilet.

Then on Wednesday I felt much better, so I went into town and walked around for about 2 hours. While I was out it was mostly fine, but when I got home the pain came back and flared up again.

I’ve since been given naproxen 500mg, but honestly it hasn’t really done much for the pain. I went back to my GP and she properly examined the area and found a very localised painful spot right around the bottom/front corner of my left rib. She thinks it is likely musculoskeletal and I’ve now been given co-codamol for the pain.

The weird thing is that most of the time I’m actually fairly okay. Then I’ll move awkwardly, reach behind me, twist or do something that seems completely insignificant and suddenly it really bloody hurts. Sometimes the pain spreads across that lower left rib area, and I’ve also had weird little bubbling/popping/spasm/twitching sensations around the painful spot.

When it hurts, it REALLY hurts, especially when breathing in because obviously the ribcage moves. But then it can settle again and I’m left thinking, “maybe it’s finally going away,” only for another movement to trigger it.

I’m basically trying to figure out what the hell this thing is and how long I’m likely to be dealing with it.
I’d really love to hear from anyone who’s had something similar:
Did you have pain specifically around the lower/front corner of the ribs?
Did yours come on suddenly?
Did it hurt when breathing in?
Did you get weird spasms, twitching, bubbling or popping sensations?
Did it keep getting better and then flaring up again after certain movements?
What did your doctor think it was? Intercostal muscle strain, costochondritis, chest-wall pain, something else?
What actually helped you? Heat, ice, medication, stretching, physio, rest, movement, anything?
How long did it take before you could move completely normally again?
And if yours was a relatively mild MSK problem, how quickly did you recover completely?

I’m especially interested in hearing from people who were back to normal within days or a couple of weeks, because I keep finding stories from people who’ve had it for months and it’s making me panic that I’m going to be stuck with this forever 😭
I’m not looking for a diagnosis from Reddit, just people’s experiences because I really want to know whether this pattern sounds familiar to anyone and what helped them get back to normal.