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Pain when breathing
Last reviewed: 06.07.2025
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In most cases, pain when breathing points to the mediastinum, pleura, or pericardial region as the suspected source of pain. Breathing movements can also affect chest wall pain and not be a symptom of heart disease. Usually, the source of pain is located on the right or left side, and its character can be either dull or sharp.
[ Dry pleurisy
The occurrence of pain when breathing in this case is caused by inflammation of the membrane covering the lungs and lining the chest cavity from the inside. Usually the disease develops against the background of other diseases, in most cases with pneumonia.
Characteristic signs are: limited breathing movements of the inflamed half of the chest, due to the patient's attempts to reduce the intensity of pain, as well as a decrease in pain when lying on the side affected by the disease; subfebrile temperature, chills, weakness, night sweats.
Shortening of the interpleural ligament
With this lesion, the patient experiences constant coughing, which increases in intensity during conversation and physical activity. The pain when breathing is of a stabbing nature.
The interpleural ligament is formed by the fusion of the parietal and visceral pleura at the root of the lung, then descends downwards and branches out in the tendinous part of the diaphragm. Due to the inflammation process, the ligament, shortening, limits the caudal displacement, which causes pain when breathing.
Pneumothorax
With pneumothorax, pain during breathing is acute, in most cases very intense. The pain increases with breathing movements. There are cases of spontaneous pneumothorax without any pain at all.
Lung cancer
In patients suffering from lung cancer, pain when breathing is of a different nature, usually it is encircling, increasing during breathing movements, sharp, stabbing pain. The pain can be localized not only throughout the chest, but also cover either half of it or a specific area, and irradiation of pain to neighboring areas of the body is also often observed. If the tumor grows into the spine and ribs, the pain when breathing becomes incredibly excruciating.
Other causes of pain when breathing
Pain can occur due to limited chest movements, due to injuries and inflammations, in case of a fracture a person feels very sharp pain when breathing. Also problems with the spine, for example, osteochondrosis, can cause pain.
The pain that occurs due to intercostal neuralgia is sharp, shooting in nature, and increases sharply with breathing movements. Pain during breathing can also be caused by various cardiac diseases.
Diagnosis and treatment
If you feel pain when breathing, you should urgently visit a doctor, since, in most cases, pain of this kind does not bode well. Self-medication is strictly prohibited, since due to the abundance of completely different causes of pain, you can only harm yourself. A disease diagnosed in time significantly increases the chances of success in its treatment.