Hi,

Thanks for the information.

Are you able to say precisely what the different therapists said?

You have what sounds to me like a thorax problem (a fav of mine - i think people are probably sick of me saying it is the thorax!). It is either that or muscular problems.

It is very hard to say what is wrong without seeing you.

Can you upload an image of the area from something like gray's anatomy and colur in some areas where your pains are?

A common problem i find in women are trigger points in the levator scapula. If you shoulder blades "poke out", you might have a lot of poor muscular control of the shoulder leading to the lev scap overworking. It can then be made worse by training the rhomboids which essentially help the lev scap to rotate your scapula downwards.

Your upper traps doesn't actually attach the to scapula but to the clavicle (collar bone) so it pulls your collar bone into your sternum and helps hold the shoulder up. The serratus anterior muscle helps hold the shoulder blade to the rib cage. I would guess these muscles are not working properly.

Since you are female, i am going to guess that you might have a sway back (where your chest is behind your pelvis in standing) and thus you might have rounded shoulders. it is a very common posture in women. My personal opinion is that when girls develop breasts, sticking them out is not "proper" lest you be called a tart so you round your shoulders to conceal them a little. This can cause the pec minor to become tight and so tilt the scapula off the rib cage.

If you can, try to find a physio who isn't just going to give you exercises (even though this is a major thing you need). You need someone who will assess the ribs and how they are working.

Also, some phrases you should hear from the physio are
- "scapulohumeral rhythm" - you might need to just ask them how that is!
- "scapula winging"
- "pec minor tightness"
- "upper traps function/activity comapred to levator scap function/activity"

Lastly, have a poke around your ribs on the side and sround the front near the centre of your sternum (into the cleavage line). If any of the joints there are tender or any muscles there particularly sore, you will notice a difference from one side to the next. It will not feel like breast tissue but deeper than that. It is also not like breast tenderness around different times of the month.

If you have a particularly tender spot, more than other spots, it might be worth getting it released to see if that helps.

Hopefully you can find a physio who is good at "motor control of the thorax".

Good luck!