When Chest Pain Strikes: My Ongoing Journey With Costochondritis

In June 2025, I began experiencing a strange pain in my chest that caused me a lot of worry because I didn’t know what it was. At the time, I was in Wyoming and didn’t have access to my primary doctor.

By July, I finally saw my physician. I explained my symptoms, and he asked me about my physical activities that summer. I told him I had been biking about 20 miles three days a week and kayaking on the lake. Based on this, he suggested it might be costochondritis, but wanted to investigate further, so he sent me for an X-ray. The results came back normal. After that, he ruled out the need for an abdominal ultrasound and recommended rest.

By August, the pain had almost disappeared. I was feeling well again, and during that month I also started using the Backpod, which gave me noticeable improvement. Feeling stronger, I decided to return to my workouts ,deadlifts, squats, and shoulder raises. Everything seemed fine for a while.

By early September, however, the symptoms came back. This time, the pain feels more like a deep ache on the lower left side, sometimes radiating upward with a warm sensation. Interestingly, while I sleep it doesn’t feel too bad, but when I sit at my desk, the discomfort worsens. It feels as if something is pressing from the inside on that lower left side, combined with heat.

Now I’m unsure should I continue treating this as costochondritis, or should I go back to my doctor for further tests?

Has anyone else experienced something similar? Hearing your stories and advice would help me so much. I’m doing my best to deal with this, but the uncertainty brings a lot of anxiety.