Jeremy:
I am a 57 year old man with CF. In my opinion if the condition has gotten to the point of interfering with your life, I say get it xrayed and have a Doctor take a look. It is never a good idea to live with undiagnosed physical problems that interfer with your life.
I have had both muscle pulls and multiple pneumothorax (collapsed lung). Some things to look for... If you feel more comfortable laying down in a certain way, have shortness of breath, increased pain when you take a breath or you have more pain if you hold your body in certain ways, and can feel a sort of movement when bending over, in my opinion, you probably have a partial lung collapse.
On the other hand, if your pain is fairly consistant and you feel no movement sensations in your chest, you probably have a pulled muscle or some other ailment such as a lung infection. Twisting or turning your body, bending over or putting pressure on that area of your chest or just taking a deep breath can also cause localized pain if you have a muscle pull.
In my experience, a muscle pull can be quite painful and actually become more painful after the initial injury. I got my first chest muscle pull while I was dancing and showing off with a friend. I barely noticed anything when it first happened and the pain increased over time.
A lung collapse or partial lung collapse can happen for no apparent reason and can happen at any time of the day or night. You could experience a mild or sharp pain in your chest which is usually followed by shortness of breath. A complete lung collapse causes so much pain and physical distress and short windedness, you would not be able to stand it for very long. It is a frightening experience!
A partial collapse, depending on the percentage of the lung actually collapsed, could cause severe pain for extended periods of time, and if it is not a very large amount of the lung that is collapsed, the pain can be livable and the level of pain would probably change as you change your body position. Bending over for instance might produce a sensation of movement in your chest and may also create a change in the level of pain. If you feel movement I would have it checked out!
I had a complete lung collapse when I was 24 and I have had dozens of partial lung collapses during my adulthood, several of which were carefully folowed by my doctor. When it came to a minor collapse, the treatment was always the same. Go home, get plenty of rest, don't do anything to aggravate the situation by lifting anything heavy or creating other physical stress and take a mild pain killer if needed.
I hope this helps!!
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions!
Sincerely:
PeterC
Peter Campanale
campanale @ spire.com until 4/10/06
