What causes costochondritis?

What causes costochondritis?

It’s not completely clear what causes costochondritis, but experts note that this condition can be triggered if you:

• Cough too hard.
• Get a respiratory tract infection.
• Exercise too much.
• Exert yourself in a rare way, like moving furniture or reaching into a high cupboard.
• Injure your chest.
• Use your arms too much.
• Have a bacterial infection.
• Have a fungal infection.

Costochondritis is sometimes a sign of other conditions that affect your cartilage like:

• Osteoarthritis.
• Ankylosing spondylitis.
• Rheumatoid arthritis.

Rarely, there may be a tumor in your chest.