Most common causes are; sternum fracture, dislocated sternoclavicular joint, damage to clavicle, joint diseases, cardiac diseases, lung diseases, bone cancers, overstraining of pectoral muscles and after thoracic surgeries.
Sternum pain could be caused by several things. There is one thing that sticks out - if you push on the sternum and area surrounding it and can duplicate the pain, it may be chostochondritis. This is inflammation of the cartilage around the sternum and rib cage.
It is possile to bruise your sternum. This is common in car accidents and physical altercations. Stress can cause the esophagus, which runs behind the sternum to spasm, which can even make someone think it is a heart attack! If sternum pain doesn't resolve quickly, see your physician.
Pain is more commonly caused by injury or inflammation to the sternum, the SC joint, the collarbone, or fractures to the sternum. Other less common causes may be due to bone cancer or breast cancer.
