Chest wall pain

Chest wall pain is a type of muscle pain. Bruised chest muscles — from excessive coughing, straining or minor injury can cause harmless chest pain.

One type of chest wall pain is costochondritis. Costochondritis causes pain and tenderness in and around the cartilage that connects your ribs to your breastbone (sternum).

If you have costochondritis, pressing on a few points along the edge of your breastbone often triggers considerable tenderness. If gently touching the area with your fingers causes chest pain, it's unlikely that a serious condition, such as a heart attack, is the cause of your chest pain.