Abstract
Chest pain is a common complaint of athletes in all age groups. In athletes, chest pain is often attributed to “chest tightness,” and treatment for bronchospasm is considered. However, the causes of the pain are wide and varied, and the pain is referable to the many organ systems that localize to the thorax. Therefore, when treatment with bronchodilators fails, it becomes important to consider other nonasthmatic causes of the pain. These causes can be organized by system and are explained in this article. Cardiac causes are the most feared and, fortunately, are very rare in the adolescent setting. With a thorough knowledge of etiologies of chest pain, the physician can often make a diagnosis with only a history and a physical exam.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Perron, A. D. (2003), Clin. Sports Med. 22, 37–50.
Owens, T. R. (2001), Adolesc. Med. 12, 95–104.
Cava, J. R. and Sayger, P. L. (2004), Pediatr. Clin. North Am. 51, 1553–1568, viii.
Wise, C. M., Semble, E. L., and Dalton, C. B. (1992), Arch. Phys. Med. Rehabil. 73, 147–149.
Eathorne, S. W. (1994), Med. Clin. North Am. 78, 479–502.
Karlson, K. A. (2004), Curr. Sports Med. Rep. 3, 53–57.
Warden, S. J., Gutschlag, F. R., Wajswelner, H., and Crossley, K. M. (2002), Sports Med. 32, 819–836.
Groskin, S. (1987), Clin. Sports Med. 6, 845–871.
Matsumoto, T., Fujita, K., Fujioka, H., et al. (2003), J. Shoulder Elbow Surg. 12, 197–199.
Mamanee, P., Weinberg, J., Curl, L. A., and McFarland, E. G. (1999), Clin. J. Sport Med. 9, 177–183.
Thomas, P. L. (1988), Br. J. Sports Med. 22, 81.
Truwit, J. (2003), Clin. Sports Med. 22, 161–180.
Chapman, S. J. and Davies, R. J. (2004), Clin. Med. 4, 207–210.
Parmelee-Peters, K. and Moeller, J. L. (2004), Curr. Sports Med. Rep. 3, 107–111.
Yazaki, E., Shawdon, A., Beasley, I., and Evans, D. F. (1996), Aust. J. Sci. Med. Sport 28, 93–96.
Moses, F. M. (1990), Sports Med. 9, 159–172.
Brouns, F. and Beckers, E. (1993), Sports Med. 15, 242–257.
Collings, K. L., Pierce Pratt, F., Rodriguez-Stanley, S., Bemben, M., and Miner, P. B. (2003), Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 35, 730–735.
Rehrer, N. J., Beckers, E. J., Brouns, F., ten Hoor, F., and Saris, W. H. (1990), Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 22, 790–795.
Peters, H. P., Wiersma, J. W., Koerselman, J., et al. (2000), Int. J. Sports Med. 21, 65–70.
Harding, S. M., Guzzo, M. R., and Richter, J. E. (2000), Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med. 162, 34–39.
Wright, R. A., Sagatelian, M. A., Simons, M. E., McClave, S. A., and Roy, T. M. (1996), Dig. Dis. Sci. 41, 921–925.
Crowell, M. D., Zayat, E. N., Lacy, B. E., Schettler-Duncan, A., and Liu, M. C. (2001), Chest 120, 1184–1189.
Peters, H. P., De Kort, A. F., Van Krevelen, H., et al. (1999), Aliment Pharmacol. Ther. 13, 1015–1022.
Asnes, R. S., Santulli, R., and Bemporad, J. R. (1981), Clin. Pediatr. (Phila) 20, 788–791.
Pantell, R. H. and Goodman, B. W., Jr. (1983), Pediatrics 71, 881–887.
Luckstead, E. F., Sr. (2002), Pediatr. Clin. North Am. 49, 681–707, v.
Basso, C., Maron, B. J., Corrado, D., and Thiene, G. (2000), J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. 35, 1493–1501.
Burns, J. C., Shike, H., Gordon, J. B., Malhotra, A., Schoenwetter, M., and Kawasaki, T. (1996), J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. 28, 253–257.
Cava, J. R., Danduran, M. J., Fedderly, R. T., and Sayger, P. L., (2004), Pediatr. Clin. North Am. 51, 1401–1420.
Alpert, M. A., Mukerji, V., Sabeti, M., Russell, J. L., and Beitman, B. D. (1991), Med. Clin. North Am. 75, 1119–1133.
Naik, S. D. and Freudenberger, R. S. (2004), Ann. Pharmacother. 38, 400–403.
Neinstein, L. S. (2002), Adolescent Health Care: A Practical Guide, 4th ed., Hagerstown, MD: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Singh, A.M., McGregor, R.S. Differential diagnosis of chest symptoms in the athlete. Clinic Rev Allerg Immunol 29, 87–96 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1385/CRIAI:29:2:087
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1385/CRIAI:29:2:087