Question
Hello Dr. Gillman,
I wanted to ask your opinion about what is happening to me and what I should do about something.  I am 18 and recently, or at least for the past 4 or 5 months, my sternum is popping.  I have determined that it is close to my manubrium and it is actually like 3 or 4 pops simultaneously.  At first it popped when when I was stretching my back doing a bridge (You lay on your back, put your hands by your ears, push off the ground so that both your hands and feet are touching the ground your stomach is up in the air) in gymnastics class in it popped.  In the beginning, it did not hurt from what I remember, however it did feel good to do.   
More recently, as in the past month or two, pressure build up in my sternum and the only way I can relieve the pain is by doing a handstand and arching over as much as possible until my chest pops.  Doing this was rather painful, and when it popped it was even worse but the pain subsided a minute afterwards.  Even more recently, I have not been able to pop my chest and the pressure keeps on building; there is always a dull pain in my sternum now.  When I try to pop it while in the handstand, it will not pop anymore; plus when I attempt to the pain increases ten-fold and it is almost unbearable; I have to sit or lay down for a good half hour before I can do anything because it hurts too much.  I have gone to my physician and he looked at me very puzzled when I said my sternum popped, he had never heard of that happening before.  He said that he did not know why it happened and he did not give advice for what I can do to help it; he just wrote on his clip board and that was it.  I was wondering if you could give me advice on what is happening to me and what I can do to help with it or possibly even fix it.
Ben

P.S.   Any advice you could give would be very helpful.

Answer
Ben,

First, I'm assuming that you are gymnast.  Possibly limber and even born loose-jointed.  'Just guessing given the information I have.  Popping at the sternum is not uncommon.  In my practice I've seen this in athletes and non-athletes.  Some find that it is transient, others find that it goes away with spinal joint manipulation (ribs connect to the spine and to the sternum).  If you had a previous injury, it will predispose you to this "crepitation" or popping of the joint, especially if you ever dislocated a shoulder or clavicle, or had an axial spine injury such as diving onto your head or with a spearheading-type of impact in a contact sport.  The fact that you get relief when you self-mobilize and pop the joint area is a sign that there likely is a mechanical problem going on.  Another possibility is costochondritis, or an inflammatory condition at the cartilage that is thought to be either viral in origin or "idiopathic," meaning that we don't know why.   This is more common in the middle of the sternum and not close to the manubrium, and there often would not be such alleviation with mobilization.   You would do well to find a good chiropractor that can assess your condition.   If you can locate one via cross-referencing these sites, you'll increase the odds of finding a better skilled doctor:
www.acbsp.com   www.grastontechnique.com    
I also have a "how to find a good DC" tab on my web site.  Don't blame your MD.  He's not well trained to evaluate or treat these conditions.

'Hope this was helpful,

Dr. G
www.drgillman.com