Read about the journey that ended my 20 years of suffering with Tietze's Syndrome »Tietze’s Syndrome is not Costochondritis
Filed under: Tietze's Syndrome Facts | 16 Comments »Many sources of information will tell you that Tietze’s Syndrome is the same as costochondritis. This is simply not true, and is a case of a person not fully understanding the difference between the two conditions.
Why Tietze’s Syndrome is not Costochondritis
Tietze’s syndrome is where the costochondral (rib) cartilage is inflamed and swells, causing mild to intense pain that can mimic a heart attack. Costochondritis and Tietze’s syndrome affects the same region of the chest–the cartilage that connects the ribs to the breast bone–but unlike costochondritis, Tietze’s syndrome has several differences:
- Tietze’s syndrome causes inflammation, tenderness, and swelling. According to the Mayo clinic, swelling is absent with costochondritis.
- Tietze’s syndrome affects men and women equally, but according to this radiology manual usually occurs in the 20-40 year-old age range bracket. Costochondritis tends to affect women over the age of 40.
- According to Harrison’s Rheumatology, costochondritis affects the third, fourth, and fifth joints down in between the breast bone and ribs (you can feel these joints with your fingers). Tietze’s syndrome tends to affect only one joint, although the pain may radiate out, making it near-impossible for a sufferer to tell which rib is causing the pain.
- Costochondritis is usually short-lived, whereas Tietze’s syndrome can last for years, turning into a chronic condition.
It used to be thought that not much could be done for sufferers of Tietze’s Syndrome apart from pain management. This is no longer true: see my article on Treatments for a full discussion of the many options available.
Costochondritis might also be referred to as:
Costalgia
Costal Chrondritis
Costal Chondritis
Costal Condritus
Or many other variations on the name. I’ve ever seen it referred to (mistakenly) as tsetse syndrome or tsetse disease. There are also other conditions that can mimic costochondritis or Tietze’s syndrome. For a run down on common conditions, see this article.
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[...] With Tietze’s syndrome, the cartilage in between the ribs and breastbone (the costal cartilage) is inflamed and swells, causing mild to intense pain that can mimic a heart attack. Tietze’s syndrome is not costochondritis; you can ready why not here. [...]
[...] with other disorders of the chest–even by physicians. These include costochondritis (see this article for the difference between costochondritis and Tietze’s) and slipping rib syndrome—which [...]
[...] A lot of research backs up my finding that a vegan diet (rich in fruits, vegetables and soy–NO sugar, High Fructose Corn Syrup or other artificial additives) can help with the arthritic-like pain of Tietze’s Syndrome. Arthritis literally means “inflammation of the joints”; Tietze’s Syndrome usually involves the inflammation of one joint (for more information on the specific area affected by Tietze’s Syndrome, see this article). [...]
Hello Amora,
First of all thank you for your comment on my blog. Last week I got a new diagnose as the pain has been spreading over my entire body and I feel like a old man. Fybromyalgia is what I have and my Tietze is treated with painblocks, and also my diet was drasticly changed. The tens did only work for a short period.
Oh, wow. I’m sorry to hear you have FM. I might have it as well–I’m going to see a rheumatologist on Aug 8th to find out for sure. Best of luck with your pain management.
[...] article in the Journal of Rheumatology on the management of costochondritis. You can read about the differences between Tietze’s Syndrome and costochondritis in this article, but for treatment purposes they can be treated similarly. That’s why reading about a [...]
Hi i have just been diagnose with Tietze’s Syndrome and advice on pain management would be very helpful. Thanks
Helene Meese
Helene, Have you check out the treatments for Tietze’s syndrome page? It has several ways to manage the pain from rest to ice packs to physical therapy. Best, Stephanie
i have just been diagnosed and discovered my brother was diagnosed last year but i didn’t know.
i have ordered the diet book you recommend – any further advice as there is very little on cure or alternaive treatments on the web.
many thanks for your blog
Sally, I’m always looking for the most up to date info. As I find it, I’ll post it. But unfortunately there’s not a whole lot out there, as you say, because it is a rare disorder.
hi there i started having chest pains back in August 09 firstly i was told its a chest infection so i flew to florida for a family holiday and found it difficult to breath with the heat when i came home it just got worse and worse in the end i couldnt breath in deep i was shallow breathing and the worst kind of stabbing pain anything made it worse for me blowing my nose snezzing coughing its slowly got worse my left breast and arm hurts and i have a swelling just above my left breast which is extremly painful to touch im on lots of medication naproxen, tylex and pregabilin for night i find i cant lay flat or sleep without pain its worse for me at night time and sitting up first thing in the morning i was told its tietze syndrome and im now seeing a rheumatologist on monday but im finding it very had to see any light at the end of the tunnel i was told it can last for 12 weeks but i see lots of people have it for years its not fair on my family im only 31 and feel im always complaiing to them im trying to carry on as normal but its so hard when im in so much pain its good to read that im not the only person in the world with this heres hoping that thr rheumatologist can help me thanks again for the site claire
Claire,
Thanks! I’m glad you found the site useful. I hope your trip to the rheum went well.
Stephanie
Just found this site, when I went for accupuncture, she had looked it up on the Internet. I never thought of it, can you believe that??
This is going to upset a lot of people, but I have had this for almost 14 years, with it gradually progressing until I am in constant pain, get regular cortisone/anesthetic injections, and just got out of the hospital because the pain masked many blood clots to my lungs. I have gotten some good ideas here, we just moved, and I’m going to a new pain doc and will go prepared this time.
My pain is in several joints along my sternum, but there is swelling along the sternum, the accupuncturist commented on it.
I am grateful for the company.
I will be here frequently.
Glad you found the site. I know what you mean–I wish I had other people around to talk to when I was diagnosed with this almost 20 years ago…
I was diagnosed as a cornary artery disease after an episode of pain which did not respond to nitrate tablets.I took chelation and EECP treatments and i did not have any problem afterwards.After one year i started getting severe pain in my throat,upper left ribs and the sternum after walking a certain distance.I touched my pectoralis muscle while walking and found that it made a rubbing sound while walking.The pain stopped after i stop walikng.I want to make sure as to weather this is a Tietze syndrome or a heart problem. I am 64 years old..After an acupuncture session i did not have too much pain like earlier pain. What it can be?
Kiran,
It could be one or the other…or a combination of both. There are cases of “heart attacks” that turned out to be Tietze’s, and cases of Tietze’s that turned out to be heart attacks. It sounds like you have already seen a cardiologist…if I were you I would go to see a good rheumatologist.
Best,
Stephanie