Hi. I am a new masters swimmer and I am wondering if something I am experiencing happens to a lot of others. Soon after I started swimming regularly with a masters team I started feeling this occasional tightness in my chest. I didn't even think it would have anything to do with swimming, so even though I am only 26, I was worried about my heart and went to a doctor. She said it was probably just stress and did an EKG which turned out fine and told me not to worry. A couple months later, I still feel it once in a while, and I think it might happen more often after hard FLY/*** workouts. I was thinking about going back to the doctor to see if it is a muscular thing, so I was just wondering if it was something common. Anyone had this?
Laurie
Parents
Former Member
And here my mystery unravels a bit further.
I experienced that popping fifteen years ago after a particularly brutal karate match left me bruised and stiff for several days. As everything started loosening up, my sternum would pop like that whenever I would stretch a certain way. Over the years it popped less and less often, and I haven't really had a good crack out of it in several years.
The spasm I described earlier could be alternately described as a minor, but sudden, stabbing pain, in the vicinity of where it once would crack. It lasts three to five seconds, then disappears as abruptly as it arrived. When it first started happening I would jump and catch my breath from the surprise of it. Now I just say hi to it and let it pass.
I wondered if perhaps they were related, but the period of time that has elapsed between that problem and this one made it seem improbable. The feeling of tightness I feel now IS very similar to when I got my butt kicked.
Jeff, does your cartilage problem ever seem to interfere with your breathing in any way? I don't mean during a workout, but just during normal daily activity?
And here my mystery unravels a bit further.
I experienced that popping fifteen years ago after a particularly brutal karate match left me bruised and stiff for several days. As everything started loosening up, my sternum would pop like that whenever I would stretch a certain way. Over the years it popped less and less often, and I haven't really had a good crack out of it in several years.
The spasm I described earlier could be alternately described as a minor, but sudden, stabbing pain, in the vicinity of where it once would crack. It lasts three to five seconds, then disappears as abruptly as it arrived. When it first started happening I would jump and catch my breath from the surprise of it. Now I just say hi to it and let it pass.
I wondered if perhaps they were related, but the period of time that has elapsed between that problem and this one made it seem improbable. The feeling of tightness I feel now IS very similar to when I got my butt kicked.
Jeff, does your cartilage problem ever seem to interfere with your breathing in any way? I don't mean during a workout, but just during normal daily activity?
