Hello and thankyou for approaching DoctorSpring with your query.
Your chest pain can be musculoskeletal, it could be due to acidity, or a lung or cardiac cause.
In order to give a more informed opinion please can you give me more information about your condition.
1) You have described your chest pain as cramping, do you feel its a muscle cramp you are experiencing?
2) Does it become in certain positions or movements?
3) Since how many days have you started exercising? Have you increased or changed the type of exercise in the last few days?
4) Do you have a cough which is either dry or with sputum?
5)Do you feel the chest pain as a heaviness or tightness in your chest, or a vague discomfort or is it a burning pain?
6) Do you feel the pain radiates to your neck, chin, left shoulder or left hand?
7) Any nausea, vomiting, increased sweating , loss of consciousness ?
Please reply as a follow up so that I can help you accordingly.
Thankyou.
Patient replied :
1: I'm not sure. I don't know how I could have pulled a muscle in my chest, as I don't do any heavy lifting. Cramping is just the only way I could think of to describe the pain. It kind of feels like period cramps, but in my chest.
2: Not that I've noticed. It doesn't hurt if I move my arms or anything.
3: I'm doing pretty much the same exercise as usual. Nothing too heavy or strenuous.
4: I don't have a cough.
5: I would more describe it as a vague discomfort, rather than burning or heaviness.
6: A few twinges, but not severe enough that I think they're related.
7: I have been feeling nauseous today. I have also experienced increased sweating. However, I have not vomited and I have not lost consciousness at any time.
Thank you for your reply
Hello and thankyou for your reply.
From what you have explained there is nothing to worry. The type of pain you have described rules out a cardiac cause and you are young too which makes it even more less likely.
As you have no cough or any other symptoms it rules out a respiratory cause too.
The sweating that you are having is most probably linked to the fact that you smoke. Smoking does cause easy fatiguability due to the constricting effect it has on blood vessels. Hence you tend to get tired more easily.
The nausea too could be related to smoking as smoking does make acid reflux worse.
I would advise you to take the OTC drug Prilosec one per day for 5 days before before a meal.
This should help relief the nausea and pain.
I strongly advise you to stop smoking.
You are young and will have a good long term outcome if you stop smoking now. Smoking reduces the life span by atleast 10 years and causes many major health issues. The earlier you stop smoking the higher the chances of reversal of all the adverse effects caused by nicotine.
If however you feel that your chest pain does not improve or worsens, there is tightening feeling in your chest, which radiates to your neck, jaw, shoulder or arm or breathlessness, please get yourself examined at the medical center immediately. You will have to get the following tests 1) ECG 2) Cardiac biomarkers 3) Chest X Ray
As of now you need not worry, stop smoking and take Prilosec as mentioned.
I hope this has helped.
Thankyou