What causes pain under the ribs?

The ribs are an important part of the human body. Many people don’t know what’s going on when they have rib pain. There are many reasons for pain under the ribs, and Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine have different understandings of rib pain. Pain under the ribs may be caused by an infection.

1. Infection of perichondrium: Cartilage necrotizes due to lack of blood supply, causing the infection to persist and penetrate the skin to form sinus tracts. Infectious pain below the ribs is caused by infection of the costal perichondrium, leading to ischemic necrosis of the cartilage, and is related to insensitivity to antibiotics.

2. Expansion of infection scope: Due to anatomical characteristics, the 1st to 4th costal cartilages exist independently, and generally do not spread to adjacent costal cartilages after infection. The 5th to 10th costal cartilages are connected to each other because adjacent cartilages are connected to each other and to the opposite side through the xiphoid process of the sternum. After infection, inflammation can spread to each other, affecting multiple costal cartilages on the same side, and can spread to the opposite side through the xiphoid process, expanding the scope of infection.

3. Formation of pus and granulation tissue: Pus and granulation tissue are formed around the infected costal cartilage. The surface of the ischemic and necrotic costal cartilage is not smooth and has a worm-eaten appearance. Some become thinner and resemble rat tails, while others can be completely absorbed.

4. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that pain below the ribs that spreads to the chest, flanks, and upper arms is due to qi stagnation; local bulges, obvious tenderness, and fixed pain points are due to blood stasis. Stagnation of Qi and blood stasis, wind-heat invading the meridians, toxic heat and inflammation, Qi and blood obstruction, pain. The treatment is mainly focused on promoting qi and blood circulation to relieve pain, clearing away heat, cooling blood and nourishing the body. In traditional Chinese medicine, Shu.lie.xiao.zhong ointment is a secret method for treating pain below the ribs. According to the pathogenesis of pain below the ribs, Shu.lie.xiao.zhong ointment can dispel wind and dredge meridians, soothe the liver and regulate qi, promote qi and activate blood circulation, so as to dispel external evils, strengthen the positive energy, treat both inside and outside, quickly reduce swelling and relieve pain, and thus completely cure pain below the ribs.