Pain in the lungs when running

Pain in the lungs when running or cycling should make the athlete stop training and make every effort to determine the cause of this pain, without panicking. Intensive loads often reveal serious diseases that a person had not previously suspected. It is not for nothing that stress tests are carried out in clinics (on an exercise bike or treadmill), allowing the doctor to identify hidden cardiac problems of the patient.

Lung pain during sports training, intense breathing or coughing may indicate a disease of the pleura, pericardial region or mediastinum. Attacks of pain can be both sharp and dull.

If during training you feel pain in the lung, first, conduct a preliminary independent external examination with your fingers - try to feel the sore spot using light pressure and careful movements. If you managed to determine the location of the disease, then the matter is most likely in a muscle spasm or in the pinching of nerve endings. This happens to untrained people with an unusual load: with intense breathing, the muscles contract more often, as a result of which a spasm occurs and the pinching of nerve endings occurs.

If you are suffering from pain inside the chest or dizziness, then the problem is probably more serious. In any case, you should immediately consult a doctor to determine the cause of the pain.

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The Main Causes of Lung Pain When Running

• Sometimes pain in the lungs when running occurs as a result of inflammation of the membrane that lines the chest cavity from the inside and covers the lungs. This disease is called dry pleurisy. Dry pleurisy can be caused by various diseases, but most often it is pneumonia. The disease is characterized by a decrease in pain in the patient if he is in a forced position - lying on the affected side. Body temperature, in this case, is most often subfebrile, sometimes there is chills, night sweats, increased weakness. During an external examination, it is possible to detect a weakening of the respiratory mobility of the affected side of the chest. When examining with a stethoscope - against the background of an unchanged percussion sound, pleural friction noise can be heard.

In this case, your general practitioner or family doctor will be able to establish a diagnosis and prescribe the correct treatment.

• Pain in the lungs when running, difficulty in free movement of the chest can be observed with functional disorders of the thoracic spine or rib cage. The cause may be thoracic osteochondrosis.

This disease can be detected by palpation and detection of local pain in the spinal nerve area. A neurologist will be able to give you the correct diagnosis in this case.

• With dry pericarditis (damage to the serous membrane of the heart), chest pain is observed during inhalation and movements, as a result, the depth of the patient's breathing decreases, and this worsens shortness of breath. Patients with pericarditis suffer from pain from minor to severe.

A cardiologist can help in this case.

• The cause of pain when running or doing other physical exercises may be a shortening of the interpleural ligament. In this case, the patient has a regular cough, which intensifies when talking, exercising, taking a deep breath, and also suffers from stabbing pains. The interpleural ligament is intended from the union of the visceral and parietal pleura in the area of the root of the lung. It, caudally descending along the medial edge of the lungs, branches out in the diaphragm and its legs. Its function is to provide spring resistance when the diaphragm is displaced. If an inflammatory process occurs in the chest, the interpleural ligaments shorten and thereby limit the caudal displacement.
• Often patients experiencing pain in the lung area confuse a pinched nerve (intercostal neuralgia) with pulmonary diseases. Intercostal neuralgia is characterized by "shooting" pain along the intercostal spaces, which sharply intensifies when inhaling.

Only a doctor can help make an accurate diagnosis in this case. The problem of intercostal neuralgia is treated by a neurologist.

• Renal colic can also cause pain in the lungs when running. With this disease, the pain is localized in the epigastric region and in the right hypochondrium, subsequently spreading throughout the abdomen. Attacks of pain radiate to the right shoulder, under the right shoulder blade and intensify when inhaling. Painful sensations are also observed when palpating the gallbladder area. Local pain appears as a result of pressing the thoracic vertebrae in the X-XII zone to the right of the spinous islands by 2-3 transverse fingers.
• Rib fractures also cause severe pain when breathing hard or coughing. A fracture can occur from a blow or strong compression of the chest. Treatment in case of a fracture can be prescribed by a traumatologist.