Sternal stress fracture in a middle-aged woman.
A middle-aged premenopausal woman presented with 3 months of right chest wall pain after beginning a new weight training programme. Examination was significant only for mild-to-moderate tenderness to palpation over the right pectoral muscle and sternoclavicular joint. In-office musculoskeletal ultrasound scan, chest X-ray and shoulder X-rays were unremarkable. Subsequent MRI of the chest wall showed oedema in the sternum at the level of the sternoclavicular joint consistent with a sternal stress fracture. She was started on calcium and vitamin D supplementation and told to rest for 6 weeks. After this she began to gradually increase her activity and was pain free after 4 months.
Department of Family Medicine/Sports Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.
Justin
J
Lee
Department of Family and Sports Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA.
Karl Bertrand
KB
Fields
D002118:Calcium / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002637:Chest Pain / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D015775:Fractures, Stress / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D013247:Sternoclavicular Joint / Q000293:injuries*; D013249:Sternum; D013898:Thoracic Injuries; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000008:administration & dosage
D014807:Vitamin D; D002118:Calcium