Pulled muscle between the ribs: what to know

The muscles between the ribs help move and stabilise the chest wall during breathing. Repeated coughing, lifting, forceful rotation or a blow can irritate them. The discomfort is often felt in one spot and may be tender when touched or when you change position. It can feel sharp during a deep breath but usually eases when the chest is still. Chest pain has many possible causes, so a muscle explanation should not be assumed from location alone.

A healthcare professional may check your breathing, heart and chest wall, then decide whether further testing is needed. Tell them about injury, fever, cough, breathlessness and any medical conditions that affect your heart or lungs.

Avoid heavy lifting and movements that reproduce the pain, but continue calm breathing rather than holding your breath. Support the sore area with your hand or a pillow during a cough, and use a wrapped cold pack for short periods soon after a strain. Later, gentle shoulder and trunk movement can prevent stiffness if it remains comfortable. Use medicines only as directed and check with a pharmacist or clinician if you have stomach, kidney, bleeding or other health concerns.

Get emergency help for chest pressure, pain spreading to the arm, jaw or back, severe breathlessness, fainting, blue lips, sweating with nausea, or coughing blood. Seek prompt assessment after significant trauma, or if pain comes with fever or worsening cough. Arrange a review when pain is persistent, limits breathing or is not gradually easing.

Ask whether the pain fits a chest wall strain, how to keep breathing comfortably, which activities to pause, and what symptoms should send you to urgent care.