Suggest Treatment For Pain In The Chest And Calf Inspite Of Having Crutches

Posted on Sun, 16 Mar 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sun, 16 Mar 2014 Answered on

Sat, 5 Apr 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : Hi am 3 weeks into right 5th metatarsal break. Am in a fibre glass cast to knee and am pwb. I am in crutches and have pain on the right hand side around my rib area. The pain is constant but is a lot worse when I move. Can crutches cause this and is it likely to be muscular? I just want to rule out clot issues - had a 1 hr flight and am on ocp and have been taking nurofen. I also had pain in calf yesterday of injured right leg but this has now mostly passed. I feel fine generally - if I take a deep breath in it hurts a little but not overly so Thanks for your help

Answered by Dr. Shailja Puri (1 hour later)

Brief Answer: Risk of clot, rib pain not due to crutch injury Detailed Answer: Hello, Thanks for posting your query on HealthCareMagic. Is there history of trauma? If yes then pain in the chest and calf could be due to effect of the trauma. The crutches can cause nerve injury due to pressure of the crutches in the armpit. However, the pain in chest is not usually associated with crutch injury. Since, you are on OCPs and there is immobilization due to application of cast, there are chances of deep vein thrombosis. Both OCP intake and immobilization are independent risk factors for deep vein thrombosis. When the two risk factor occur together the chances increase. You need to consult your treating doctor for clinical assessment and relevant investigations. Management can only be instituted once the diagnosis is made. If you have more queries, I will be glad to answer. Dr Shailja P Wahal

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T