Chest pain is always an alarming symptom, since it usually raises the fear of heart disease. And because chest pain may indeed be a sign of angina or of some other underlying heart problem, it is always a good idea to have it checked out. But heart disease is only one of the many conditions that can produce chest pain.
One of the more frequent causes of non-cardiac chest pain is chest wall pain, or musculoskeletal chest pain - that is, chest pain related to the muscles and bones of the chest wall.
Doctors diagnose some form of chest wall pain in at least 25% of patients who come to the emergency room for chest pain. There are several causes of chest wall pain, and fortunately, in the great majority of instances the underlying cause of chest wall pain is benign, and most often is self-limited. However, some types of chest wall pain may indicate a serious problem, and may require specific treatment.
Here are the most common causes of chest wall pain:
