I feel pain in my left ribs with breathing difficulty after improper sleeping posture. Why?

Question

Hi doctor,

As of now, I am suffering pain in my left rib which results in difficulty in breathing. I suspect this happens when I fall asleep on the sofa in an awkward position and when I woke up, my throat has a little pain but it did not persist but but it started to ache on the left rib part. I feel the pain towards my shoulder. It is almost about two days since I am suffering from this ache.

I got breathing difficulty especially when I am lying in bed. But while standing or sitting, I just felt mild difficulty in breathing. Maybe there is an artery that has been damaged or had been under the bone. I am 24 years old.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I can understand your concern. According to your statement, you have been suffering from difficulty in breathing due to aching of the left rib part that radiates toward shoulder which may occur when you fall asleep on sofa in an awkward position. You think your ribs may hurt from sleeping wrong and aching of the rib may radiate towards its intercostal muscle.

You may feel a sharp pain after intercostal muscle strain or sprain due to sleeping in the wrong position. The pain will become worse when you stretch, breathe in deeply, cough, or sneeze. The area of the strain between your ribs may be painful to touch.

Again this pain can radiate to shoulders or sometimes side sleeping can cause damage to the rotator cuff and create a lot of pressure in this group of tendons and eventually produce pain.

You can take Tramadol as a painkiller, Domperidone, Lansoprazole, and Diazepam as a muscle relaxant with a sleeping pill.

I feel pain in my left ribs with breathing difficulty after improper sleeping posture. Why?

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