The key difference between costochondritis and fibromyalgia is that costochondritis is a painful condition that causes musculoskeletal chest pain, while fibromyalgia is a painful condition that causes chronic muscle and bone pain, fatigue, sleep, memory, and mood problems.
Musculoskeletal pain can affect bones, joints, ligaments, tendons, or muscles. Musculoskeletal conditions comprise more than 150 conditions affecting approximately 1.71 billion people around the world. The causes of musculoskeletal pain are varied. An injury like a fracture can cause sudden severe pain. Moreover, chronic conditions such as arthritis may also cause pain. Some conditions that can increase the risk of musculoskeletal pain include arthritis, costochondritis and fibromyalgia, and tunnels syndromes.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Costochondritis
3. What is Fibromyalgia
4. Similarities – Costochondritis and Fibromyalgia
5. Costochondritis vs Fibromyalgia in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Costochondritis vs Fibromyalgia
What is Costochondritis?
Costochondritis is a painful condition that causes musculoskeletal chest pain. It is a condition due to an inflammation of the cartilage that connects the upper ribs to the breastbone (sternum). These areas are called costochondral junctions. The chest pain caused by costochondritis typically mimics that of a heart attack or another heart condition. This condition is sometimes known as chest wall pain, costeosternal syndrome, or costosternal chondrodynia. If this chest pain is accompanied by swelling, it is called Tietze syndrome. Costochondritis may be caused by injuries (blow to chest), physical strain, arthritis, joint infection, or tumors. Moreover, women over 40 years of age have a higher risk of contracting costochondritis.
Figure 01: Chest Pain
The symptoms that are associated with this condition usually include sharp, aching pain in the front of the chest, pain when taking a deep breath or coughing, and tenderness when pressing on the rib joints. If it occurs due to infection after surgery, redness, swelling, or pus discharge at the site of the surgery can be seen. This condition can be diagnosed through a physical examination, X-ray, CT-scan, or an MRI. Furthermore, the treatment options may include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (ibuprofen), narcotics (hydrocodene/acetaminophen), antidepressants (amiptriptyline), antiseizure drugs (gabapentin), stretching exercises, nerve stimulation, and surgery.
What is Fibromyalgia?
Fibromyalgia is a painful condition that causes chronic muscle and bone pain, fatigue, sleep, memory and mood problems. It is believed that fibromyalgia amplifies painful sensation by affecting the way the brain and spinal cord process painful and non-painful signals. There are a few likely factors that may cause fibromyalgia: genetics, infection, and physical or emotional events. Moreover, the symptoms of this condition may include widespread pain (constant dull ache lasting for at least three months), fatigue, sleeping for long periods of time, sleep often disrupted by pain, restless legs syndrome, sleep apnea, and cognitive difficulties (difficulty to pay attention and concentrate on mental tasks).
Figure 02: Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia can be diagnosed through physical examination, blood tests (complete blood count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, cyclic citrullinated test, rheumatoid factor, thyroid function test, anti-nuclear antibody test, celiac serology, vitamin D test), and overnight sleep study. Furthermore, the treatment options may include pain relievers (acetaminophen), antidepressants (duloxetine), antiseizure drugs (pregabalin), physical therapy, occupational therapy, counseling and lifestyle, and home remedies (stress management, sleep hygiene, exercise regularly, pacing oneself, maintaining healthy lifestyle).
What are the Similarities Between Costochondritis and Fibromyalgia?
- Costochondritis and fibromyalgia are two conditions that can increase the risk of musculoskeletal pain.
- They can be chronic.
- Both are not severe conditions.
- These conditions can be caused due to infection.
- They can trigger psychological distress or problems.
- They are treatable conditions.
What is the Difference Between Costochondritis and Fibromyalgia?
Costochondritis is a painful condition that causes musculoskeletal chest pain, while fibromyalgia is a painful condition that causes chronic muscle and bone pain, fatigue, sleep, memory and mood problems. Thus, this is the key difference between costochondritis and fibromyalgia. Furthermore, costochondritis can occur due to injuries, physical strain, arthritis, joint infection, or tumors. On the other hand, fibromyalgia can occur due to genetics, infection, and physical or emotional events.
The below infographic presents the differences between costochondritis and fibromyalgia in tabular form for side by side comparison.
Summary – Costochondritis vs Fibromyalgia
Costochondritis and fibromyalgia are two medical conditions that can increase the risk of musculoskeletal pain. Costochondritis is a painful condition that causes musculoskeletal chest pain, while fibromyalgia is a painful condition that causes chronic muscle and bone pain, fatigue, sleep, memory and mood problems. So, this is the key difference between costochondritis and fibromyalgia.
Reference:
1. “Costochondritis.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 22 Apr. 2020.
2. Bruce, Debra Fulghum. “Fibromyalgia: Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment.” WebMD.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Depiction of a person suffering from chest pain” By Myupchar (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Fibromyalgia” By Hang Pham – Montereybayholistic (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia