@@Sjj827 Hi Sophia. Yep - good idea. There's nothing else out there that will do a really effective stretch on the tight rib machinery round the back which causes the costo strain and pain at the front. To get one, you're best to go to the Buy page on the Backpod's website and look through the options there - these are all legitimate and our ONLY official sellers. Link is www.bodystance.co.nz/buy-now Do watch out for rip-off artists out there on Amazon, eBay, etc. who are selling the Backpod for many times our official sellers' price in the hope they'll suck someone into buying it. It's nothing to do with us whatsoever. Don't buy one. Until the Backpod arrives, you can use some tightly rolled up socks taped up into a ball about 90mm across. Use that as we'd use the Backpod. The instructions are in the user guide - there's a pdf of it near the bottom of the Costochondritis page on the Backpod's website - www.bodystance.co.nz/en/costochondritis/ That'll start you stretching the tight ribs. Yes, the Backpod is hugely better - it's got much more specific leverage because of its unyielding core, and usually the joints need that oomph. But the socks will start you off okay. Cheers, Steve August.
I want to add how helpful this has been. One major point. FIX YOUR POSTURE. Put a pillow in the back of your chair, adjust your car seat, etc. Don't let it be a back and forth game because you continue poor posture making it harder to heal. Be diligent about that.
Exercises mentioned in this video begin at 12:00, 13:16 and 14:10 for those who do not want to watch the whole video, but if you have the time, I would strongly suggest to watch it. This certainly helped me a lot.
Hi. Thanks - that's useful. I know the whole video's wordy. There's a lot of explanation around the specific exercises given because when I was presenting it the concept that costochondritis is a simple enough mechanical problem and not a mysterious inflammation was quite new. Trying to find the time to do some more focused videos on costo. Cheers, Steve August.
@@stevenzphysio4203 hello and thank you for your video. Can you please tell me, if I do all the exercises you have recommended and it works for me, will I be able to get back to running and lifting weights? It is depressing me not being able to do it now. I cannot imagine never being able to do it again. Thank you in advance.
JESUS is The Lamb of God, Who Taketh Away The SIN of The World. FAR ABOVE a G O A T! All "Knowledge" is HIS. This Man is a Conduit . I thank him for being kind and generous with his GOD SENT "Gift."
So i commented on this video 1 year ago after suffering with costochondritis for almost 2 years, I followed every step in this video and I’m now costo free and haven’t had any pain in months. Thank you so much Steve. 🥺 I did get frustrated a lot but please you guys don’t give up, keep stretching and using the back pod. From what I remember having costochondritis were the most miserable years of my life and I was in constant pain, feeling that pain at only 19 was scary 😕 I’m going to be 22 next week. For those who are going through this I wish you nothing but love, a fast recovery and healing. Costochondritis is not forever I promise hang in there it gets better! ❤️
Hi Lexie. Thank you so much for coming back with that feedback. You do get so much doom and gloom about costo, especially on the costo groups. The people who fix it usually just get on with their lives, so you do get a bias towards the despairing comments from people who never did. Really nice to hear from you. Well done! Thanks for gambling I might know what I was talking about, and sticking with what was needed until you were fixed. Congratulations - you earned it. Best wishes, Steve August.
Did you still eat regular foods? How long did it take you to get use to backpod without no pillows? Did you just use the backpod or you went to a chiropractor?
@@stephaniehamlet2474 yes I ate regular foods and never changed what I ate, from what I remember about 3 or 4 weeks I was able to use the backpod without pillows. I took it very slow and didn’t rush it, you want to start off gentle so you don’t end up making your chest pain any worse. Also no I’ve never been to a chiropractor I’ve only used the backpod
@lexie Guarnieri thankyou so much for you reply it is the worse time I'm going through it now only had it for while 3 months very frustrating going through the pain trying work and all back and forth to the doctors office very scary stuff thinking it's your heart but it's your costochondritis I'm a take my time like you said been using my backpod for 2 weeks now just have to get the pectorals to stretch out more really appreciate your comment thankyou so much!!!
Notes: 1. Use Backpod. This is the main thing. 2. Stretch your ribs vertically 12:00. Do this 30 seconds for both sides 10 times, multiple times a day. 3. Stretch your ribs horizontally 13:15. Do it 10 times to both sides multiple times a day. Stretch and hold for 30 seconds after this. 4. Put some anti-inflammatory gel on that bitch couple times a day 14:58 Check out better notes made by Steve August in the description.
You are a godsend. THANK YOU. 3 years of pain and no doctor ever knew what was going on. Two emergency room visits later and I stumbled upon your video. They always said it was "normal', in the words of my chiropractor, "it is not normal, it is common." I am so happy to finally understand what this is instead of assuming the worst. If you are ever in California I owe you a beer or two or three. Keep up the good work. You will forever be a legend in my life. THANK YOU
Heh. Thanks very much, Justin - glad what I've been saying made sense. Some days I feel like the one-eyed man in the Country of the Blind. I'm just passing on the standard New Zealand manual physio view of costo - I'm still pretty bemused that it doesn't much seem to be outside my little country. I so nearly didn't put up the first costo video because I didn't think there'd be much interest in what we'd regard as a straightforward hinge movement problem. Of course it's not a mystery and of course it's fixable. Good luck with the work. Cheers, Steve August.
Hi Justin. How are you doing at the moment? I've been using the backpod for 2 weeks now. Doing better nuw nowhere near 100%. Did you use the backpod, if so are you still using it daily?
@@urchillzone over a year now with it severly bad, cannot talk or lift anything sleeping is very hard and rely on alcohol for pain relief my life is ruined.. found this. i really hope a chiro can do this munipulation.
I'm 26 years old suffering from this apparently. Really wanting that inflammation to go away. This is the most comprehensive video and explanation on it I've ever seen. I'm going to try my best to follow this for 30 days and pray it goes away.
@@user-hj8vc2ix7p Better. I've only had one major flare up of pain since I've started using it, which is much better than what I was experiencing before. Apart from that I've only had mild pain now and then. It's slowly working for me. I did over strech too much in the beginning, rather than taking it slow, and this caused it to flare up. I also over massaged the area and gave myself some bruising. I also visited a chiropractor about it as well and had some adjustment done, which may have also assisted the process (I was having some neck pains too, which encouraged me to go and get some advice). My main cause of my issues is my posture and the fact I sleep on my stomach (I think) so lying on the backpod everyday does always make my neck and chest feel better, so it must be doing something. I definitely feel in a better place than I was a month ago! I'm going to keep at it and hopefully I can say goodbye to this forever!
@@Elennpto I'm a lot better than I was 4 months ago. I never have pains like I used to. I still use the backpod 2-3 times a week, it helps me feel stretched out and refreshed. I now sleep only on my side, with a pillow underneath supporting my ribs. This helps prevent me from getting the pain. I also exercise more often. After my visit to a Chiro and an Ostheopath, I got a nice massage and had some adjustments done. I had lots of tightness in my lower back and ribs area. This, combined with using the backpod, combined with becoming more active (my main problem was bad posture) I haven't had a major flare up of costo. I very occasionally get a minor costo pain when I lie on my front for too long in bed, but I pop some gel on and it subsides much easier than it used to. I used to have this pain for days and weeks before it would calm down, and then the cycle would just repeat, and I'd have to take loads of painkillers. I rarely take ibuprofen now. Keep fighting it, find out what works for you and makes you feel better, and you'll get there. I also use a lacross ball, and there's good streches you can do with that as well that will really help. I also bought a memory foam pillow that supports my head and neck better, as my old pillows had basically become flat. I had fixed my posture but I was still finding myself getting it, so I knew that my sleeping patterns were the cause.
@@ivenousername thanks for replying :) glad you got yours fixed ! Im not sure about mine. My sternum / rips dont really hurt. Its more the tightness and it feels like sometimes my rips to the sternum „move out of their place“ so i get the tightness feeling in my sternum and the urge to pop it. My Sternum also always pops the first time i sneeze and what bothers me the most is idk if it is from my costo my heart is sometimes randomly beating so fast and i get anxiety & dizzy. Like a panic attack. Im a really skinny guy and want to go to the gym so badly. I lost 20kg because i didnt go (last time was 2020). Im scared that training my chest is making it worse. Back when i did chest exercises my rips always popped while doing the exercise. Was not so good :D the biggest mistake was doing dips - i think i got it from that. Never again im doing this. Anyways i wanted to share it with you. I will stick to the backpod everyday and see how it goes. My sternum got wayy better. Still sometimes tight & stiff but not like it was 2-3 weeks ago. Im curious if it can fix my popping when i have to sneeze. Greetings from a 25 yo german guy :)
I’ve lived with these symptoms on and off all my life only to be rectified by a relatively inexpensive and simple solution. Thank you Steve, you’re a wonder.
Thank you, Andronikos. I'm afraid your story is a common one. As a New Zealand hands-on physiotherapist, I was staggered to find that most of the rest of the world simply understands costo wrongly, and therefore doesn't fix it. Where I work, it's just not a big deal - easier to sort out than the usual low back or neck problem. I would recommend the Backpod - it's about the only thing around that will do an effective stretch on the frozen rib machinery round the back which causes the strain and pain of the rib joints at your sternum. They're available in the EU from our German partners at www.bodystance.eu Stick with it - it’s very tough stuff you’re stretching and it takes time. Do please READ THE INSTRUCTIONS and the 'Warnings and precautions' section in the 31-page user guide. If for some reason you haven’t got one, there is also a pdf copy of the full user guide near the bottom of the iHunch and Costochondritis pages on the Backpod’s website - www.bodystance.co.nz/assets/Uploads/backpod-full-user-guide-feb-2020.pdf. These are the best detailed instructions on how to use the Backpod. We start people off really gently because often they just do too much initially and get sore. You are starting to stretch joints that haven’t moved for months or years and you can get a bit of normal treatment tenderness for a few days. It’s a lot like stretching hamstring muscles that are so tight you can’t touch your knees - takes a while before you can reach your toes. When you no longer need a pillow under your head when you’re lying on the Backpod, get some more oomph out of it by lifting your buttocks off the ground, using the Backpod crosswise across the upper back (gives more leverage) as well as lengthwise and out to the sides a little (to get the ribs), and/or linking your fingers together and slowly moving your arms up over your head and down to your waist repeatedly; try that with just one arm as well. Chase the tightest bits and spend 1-3 minutes on each. Also, when you get to that point, start doing the sitting twist exercise I showed 12.54 minutes into the ‘How to Fix most Costo and Tietze’s , Part (2)’ UA-cam video - ua-cam.com/video/r7ve6nNVdWc/v-deo.html This is to work the joints now they’re reasonably unlocked - like working a rusty hinge back and forth after you put some oil on it. Also, ideally, shout yourself a sports massage - preferably two, with a week off in between. When you've had costo for more than a few months, the muscles between and overlying the tight ribs around your back and sides, plus the pec muscles on your chest, also get tight and scarred. Massage is ideal for loosening them up. However NOT until it’s safe with COVID-19. At a minimum, you should both wear masks, hand sanitise, and when you get home take all your clothes off and put them straight into the washing machine and you straight into the shower, including washing your hair. As well, if possible, talk, bargain or bribe someone into doing the two massages in the Backpod’s user guide, about once a week for at least a few weeks. Get them to go hard down between your shoulder blades. You’re probably tight on your pecs as part of it all, so best to stretch them as well. There’s a good pec stretching video on UA-cam - link is ua-cam.com/video/EfVKRXhYVEA/v-deo.html I’m guessing this next bit, but the commonest reason these days for costo starting is if you’re getting a bit hunched, usually from much bending over computers, phones, patients or whatever - we call it the iHunch. As part of the spine getting a bit hunched and tight, the rib joints attaching to your spine also stiffen and seize. When they can’t move, then the joints at the other ends of the same ribs MUST work excessively just to let you keep breathing. So they strain, ‘give’, irritate, get locally inflamed - and welcome to costo. It’s not a “mysterious inflammation” arriving for no reason. Have a look at the iHunch page on the Backpod’s website - www.bodystance.co.nz/en/ihunch/ If that looks like a fit with you, then do all the bits in the Backpod’s home program - we designed it specifically to counter the iHunch and pull you back towards perfect posture. It’s worth looking at the Perfect Posture page also. Good luck with the work. Cheers, Steve August (B.A.,Dip.Physio.).
Thank you, Amy. Well done on thinking for yourself. I so nearly didn't put up the first costo video - didn't think there'd be much interest in a condition we regard as straightforward and easy to fix. Sigh. Cheers, Steve August.
You're right. It's SCARY! Just spent 24 hours of excruciating pain that came out of NOWHERE. I am a gardener, and I've injured myself in numerous ways. I figured that had something to do with it. Now I'm going to stretch. Thanks, doc!♡
All I can say is: thank you from the bottom of my heart. I didn’t know what to do to get rid of the pain that’s been bothering me for so long, then I’ve watched your video. While I was doing the exact exercises I saw in this video, the pain faded away with each move. Thank you so much!
@@stephaniehamlet2474 Not quite fixed as once every 2-3 months my chest gets kind off stuck and it's a little hard to pop it, but yes, so much better. These exercises helped me a lot
Wow! How absolutely refreshing to have come across this. Someone who is actually talking sense and giving some practical advice. Doctors tell you nothing. They say they don't know what it is and that it will go through time. So glad to have found this video. Thank you!
Thanks, Shelaghna. Well done on thinking for yourself. Of COURSE costo isn't a mysterious inflammation that nobody understands. The only mystery where I am in New Zealand is why the rest of the world apparently thinks it is. Sigh. Cheers, Steve August.
This backpod is magical. It fixed my rib tightening issue. I have been using it for a month now and I must say it helped with my spasms and overall tightness issue. I highly recommend this to people with discomfort in the rib area. Exercises along with a minute of backpod placed under your back will solve your back and rib issue. Thank you for designing this Steve.
Hey, how are u today? Im on my 4rd day of the backpod and it feels already way better, my sternum was almost tight 24/7 and now its only sometimes. After i sneeze my sternum popps but not as painful as it was before.
Thank you so much. The exercises are helping me breathe better and I have ordered the backpod. It is very generous of you to talk about this so much and you are humble and caring in your delivery.
It is so.depressing. it goes away for a couple months and as soon as I think it's gone it creeps in and then it can be a month of ever increasing pain.
This video was posted 8 years ago and you've provided me with the most relief I've found! Thank you so much! Ive had the back pod for a couple of weeks and after using it in conjunction with these stretches in your video, just starting them over the last 3 days I feel so much better. I was having the sharp pains with twisting of my upper body, as well as nearly constant chest tightness and sometimes burning during a bad flare up. The anxiety caused by my symptoms was exhausting and only added to my whole situation. My chest finally feels opened up and not heavy anymore, especially while standing and being upright. I am going to continue the back pod and these stretches several times a day and hopefully I'll be able to slowly start incorporating strength training again soon. Thanks again! Also I do see a chiropractor and talked about costo today. He recommended to continue with the stretches, his manipulation of my upper back helps too. He also recommended trying a Turmeric supplement which helps with musculoskeletal pain and inflammation so I am going to try that as well because I want this to be gone for good!
Jeff from North Carolina just left my cardiologist and told him the success I had with this awesome knowledge and using the back pod. Amazin results but with all the chiropractor that I watch, I have learned many patients are having success to many parts of their bodies because they get decompression and basically, I believe that is what we do at home using the back pod go put pressure on the back to give it a nudge to unlock. I swear by this. Good Luck
Excellent that you're doing well - well done. Manipulation is an effective way of banging a tight joint free. (That's all it is - it doesn't put anything "back in" anywhere.) But they can't stay free unless you also stretch the very tough ligaments, etc. around the joints so they can stay moving okay, and not just freeze up again fast. That's what we built the Backpod to do. It's an ideal combination. Well done!
Steve - you seriously deserve an award. My costo is 99% gone by just following your exercises and Back Pod. I have to admit I was suspect at first but decided to give it a try and like others am amazed that it actually works. Thanks for improving my quality of life and hope this feedback helps others.
Hi Mike. Thanks so much for that - I really appreciate it. Well done for giving it a go. I'm very pleased the Backpod's helped so much - that is what we built it for. I'm a New Zealander - I was pretty unprepared for how much crap and hype there is on the net with products claiming to fix anything; especially from the US. I do quite see that healthy scepticism, not to say cynicism, is a sane response! What really should be suspect is the standard medical offering of costo as a mysterious inflammation. There is no evidence whatsoever for this, and clear published medical papers showing no difference in blood markers for inflammation between people with costo and people without costo. It's just nuts, and also doesn't work. Well done on thinking for yourself and giving the Backpod a go. The very last bit can linger awhile. A sports massage for the the muscles between and overlying the ribs at the back and sides, plus the pecs, would be a good addition - there's likely to be some muscle scarring as part of the rib cage tightness. Cheers, Steve August.
@@stephaniehamlet2474 It took 3-4 weeks but started noticing improvement after a week. Amazingly, doctor's offered me no good solutions other than take ibuprofen to manage the discomfort. In the 4 years since, I have used the backpod again (for a few weeks) after a bad cough that maybe exacerbated things. Curious if it works for you and best wishes. Life changer and the maker deserves an award.
Hail Cesar! That's great! Thanks for letting me know and you're very welcome. Well done for having a go and doing the work. The logical view of costochondritis I've been explaining just seems to be rather madly not outside New Zealand at all. If you'd like to help others with the problem, maybe you could find time to say something on some of the other costochondritis sites and videos? There are so many hurting and confused people on them with ongoing problems that haven't settled with time or medicines. Do you know that one surgical treatment is actually to cut the ends off the ribs where they join onto the breastbone? Crazy! Best wishes, Steve August.
+SteveNZ Physio Hi Steve, I sure can leave comments. Yeah I heard of that surgery when I was looking for answers. Every time I heard loud bass sounds it felt like I was having a heart attack so I could understand the desperation. It is very sad. I couldn't even drive because the vibration caused flare ups. Thanks for your immense help, Cesar
Where can i buy this device i'm from india... Plzz help.. I have the pain now for 7-8months... I think i got it from lifting weights.. I'm 21.. Plzz help
naman rana it's called the Backpod. You should be able to find different vendors doing a Google search but here is one link. www.nzhealth.delivery/products/backpod
UPDATE :) This pod really works ! I've been using it for 1 month approximately now, every night 5 to 10 mins, sometimes twice a day, did only 3 massages at first, it helped a bit, but i think the cherry on the sunday was going to the gym swiming pool, also twice a week, doing long swim lengths for 20 mins, combining with hot spas, saunas, vapor baths and cold bath + of course, The POD !!! Man, i feel like brand new guys ! I highly recommend this BackPod ! Thanks Steve, you've healed my 7 month long lasting terrible pain and saved my mental depression ! Words can't express my gratitude towards you...! Big Hug ! :)
Hi Frank. I'm very pleased indeed to hear that. Well done - in thinking for yourself and having a go at what I suggested, and then sticking with the approach sensibly until it worked. Very well done indeed. Cheers, Steve August.
Hey Frank. How are you doing at the moment regarding your costo? I'm on week 2 now with the backpod and feeling better but the mental thing regarding this condition is terrible. Are you still using it daily?
Hello Dr. Steve and others, I'm also in big pain on my right side of the chest, I was diagnosed with costochondritis last year and still up today, the terrible pain comes and goes. I purchased the backpod but I haven't noticed any improvements yet... I am considering a cortisone injection into the cartilage as my last resource to end this horrible pain. Any thoughts on the cortisone shot?
Eddy Santos yo bro I have pain on my left side, I don’t have a backpod yet (wish I did) but in the video he says it can take 1-2+ weeks before you notice improvements, if I were you I wouldn’t discourage and keep going for another month on the backpod twice a day before getting injections
@@nathanquintero936 Hello Nathan, thank you for the support. I will start using it everyday for 30 days and see if that helps. I hope it works out for you too. Keep me posted. Buena suerte!
My goodness I just went to the doctor thinking I was having a heart attack, I never got any help, after $500 he said I had nothing, I came home and surfed the web this is how I got here’ thank you so much I have peace of mind now knowing I can self treat myself at home’ you are awesome! I did all your techniques and within 7 days I’m fine now ! 🙏 😊 💕
I went to the ER thinking the same thing and instead of a heart attack they said it's probably just constipation LOL. Yeah, right, 2 years of constipation. This backpod has changed my life!
@Tiffany Ringwood You won't regret it. I am back to normal for all intents and purposes. I really need to get into the chiro though to make sure my ribs are where they should be, but the backpod has made things 99% better. I still have a lingering pain point that is the size of a dime between my shoulder blades that won't seem to go away. It's better than having the sensation of a knife under my ribcage and in my shoulder with every breath though. I just feel like 1 rib needs a little tweek and I'll be all set as long as I continue with the backpod. I hope you find relief like I did!!!
@Tiffany Ringwood Just know that you'll probably have a hard time lying on the backpod and raising your arms over your head when you first start. I was so stiff that it took nearly 3 days of using the backpod 3x per day (10 minutes at a time) to be able to do it. After 3 days I had noticeable improvement. After a week I was really feeling excited with the progress. Now it's been about a month or so and I'm already starting to take this pain-free life for granted again. All in all, it was about 3 weeks of 3x per day usage until I finally reversed the last 2 years of pain. Just be patient with it, and I hope you get better. Give us an update in a few weeks!
@@chloedo6006 Day to day, yes. 100%. I will start to get a small amount of the same pain when running if I forget to use the back pod or a foam roller on my upper back for a few days or so, but it's minor compared to what it used to be. I typically try to use the back pod or a foam roller for only 2 minutes 2x per day at this point and just make it part of my morning and evening routine. I'll also do a foam roller for 60 seconds before going out for a run. The back pod fixed me, and I find that a foam roller does great at helping to maintain my overall flexibility in my spine (which I believe is keeping me pain free going forward). If you don't have a foam roller, you could use a medicine ball or even a WNBA sized basketball as well.
Watched this video about 2 months ago after dealing with this for about 3-4 months prior. Everyone else said to rest and anti-inflammatories. While I'm sure this did something it really didn't seem to do much in the long term. As soon as I would go back and try to lift weights or pick up anything it would flare right back up. The back pod is LIFE CHANGING. I would do the back pod stretch with hands behind my head and just lay there starting with 3 pillows below my head. The tightness is UNREAL. from there I would gradually take a pillow away every couple of days. From this stretch alone in about 2 weeks I was 70-80% pain-free. After incorporating foam rolling my back and hitting tight spots within about 3 weeks it would shift to I would get a pain in my chest but if I would stretch it would pop and release and the pain would go away. Now I still do the pod daily for maintenance and am able to lift pain-free and have 0 problems. This is 1000000000% worth getting if you're dealing with the frustrating condition. Rest to me was a negligible course of action. This area is tight your back is locked up and the ribs need to be released.
Did you rest with going to the gym while using the backpod? I got the same experience as you with the resting and going back to the gym. Not sure if I would stop working out while using the backpod
Mr. August, I'd just like to take a few minutes to thank you for the work you've put out on costochondritis. I am a lifelong distance runner who hasn't run in more than 2 years due to intense sternal/rib pain that only occurs when I run. The pain would start within 2 minutes of running -- every time and only get worse. It felt like knives in my right ribs and shoulder. ER visit told me it wasn't my heart or organs. I have just avoided all exercise for over 2 years, gained 20lbs, and have really felt quite depressed. I stumbled on your videos after hearing about your work from Bob & Brad's physical therapy channel. I have used the Backpod every day for 3 weeks now, multiple times a day, and for probably 30 minutes total per day. I didn't run at all for the first 3 days after starting it. On my first run, I was able to go about 20 minutes without pain. Progress! I took a few days off and kept using the backpod. On my next run I was able to do nearly 40 minutes before the pain crept in. As time has gone by, I am now running nearly every day for 45 minutes, I've lost 9 lbs, and the sharp pain has almost all been replaced by a bruised feeling instead of sharp pain. I'm sure that's still just the inflammation, and I can easily run through a bruised feeling. You have truly changed my life and have allowed me to start reclaiming my identity as a runner once again. I cannot wait to run a road race again! I will keep using this every day and hopefully see a chiropractor soon who can make sure everything else is in alignment. Best wishes to you, good sir!
Hi Joe. Well done! So, it wasn't a "mysterious inflammation" after all, then? Sorry - being facetious. It still staggers me - in the manual physiotherapy area in New Zealand where I work, costo is a straightforward mechanical problem, and I'd expect it to sort out as rapidly as yours is doing - even after two years. We were flabbergasted to discover that most of the rest of the world regards it as this "mysterious inflammation." Well done on doing the work. Here's what you may need to get the last bit clear. Just checking - do please READ THE INSTRUCTIONS and the 'Warnings and precautions' section in the 31-page user guide. If for some reason you haven’t got one, there is also a pdf copy of the full user guide near the bottom of the iHunch and Costochondritis pages on the Backpod’s website - www.bodystance.co.nz/assets/Uploads/backpod-full-user-guide-feb-2020.pdf. These are the best detailed instructions on how to use the Backpod. We start people off really gently because often they just do too much initially and get sore. You are starting to stretch joints that haven’t moved for months or years and you can get a bit of normal treatment tenderness for a few days. It’s a lot like stretching hamstring muscles that are so tight you can’t touch your knees - takes a while before you can reach your toes. When you no longer need a pillow under your head when you’re lying on the Backpod, get some more oomph out of it by lifting your buttocks off the ground, using the Backpod crosswise across the upper back (gives more leverage) as well as lengthwise and out to the sides a little (to get the ribs), and/or linking your fingers together and slowly moving your arms up over your head and down to your waist repeatedly; try that with just one arm as well. Chase the tightest bits and spend 1-3 minutes on each. Also, when you get to that point, start doing the sitting twist exercise I showed 12.54 minutes into the ‘How to Fix most Costo and Tietze’s , Part (2)’ UA-cam video - ua-cam.com/video/r7ve6nNVdWc/v-deo.html This is to work the joints now they’re reasonably unlocked - like working a rusty hinge back and forth after you put some oil on it. Also, ideally, shout yourself a sports massage - preferably two, with a week off in between. When you've had costo for more than a few months, the muscles between and overlying the tight ribs around your back and sides, plus the pec muscles on your chest, also get tight and scarred. Massage is ideal for loosening them up. However NOT until it’s safe with COVID-19. At a minimum, you should both wear masks, hand sanitise, and when you get home take all your clothes off and put them straight into the washing machine and you straight into the shower, including washing your hair. As well, if possible, talk, bargain or bribe someone into doing the two massages in the Backpod’s user guide, about once a week for at least a few weeks. Get them to go hard down between your shoulder blades. You’re probably tight on your pecs as part of it all, so best to stretch them as well. There’s a good pec stretching video on UA-cam - link is ua-cam.com/video/EfVKRXhYVEA/v-deo.html I’m guessing this next bit, but the commonest reason these days for costo starting is if you’re getting a bit hunched, usually from much bending over computers, phones, patients or whatever - we call it the iHunch. As part of the spine getting a bit hunched and tight, the rib joints attaching to your spine also stiffen and seize. When they can’t move, then the joints at the other ends of the same ribs MUST work excessively just to let you keep breathing. So they strain, ‘give’, irritate, get locally inflamed - and welcome to costo. It’s not a “mysterious inflammation” arriving for no reason. Have a look at the iHunch page on the Backpod’s website - www.bodystance.co.nz/en/ihunch/ If that looks like a fit with you, then do all the bits in the Backpod’s home program - we designed it specifically to counter the iHunch and pull you back towards perfect posture. It’s worth looking at the Perfect Posture page also. Good luck with the work. But you're way most of the way there already. Thanks for the thanks, and well done. Cheers, Steve August (B.A.,Dip.Physio.).
@@stevenzphysio4203 Thanks for the reply, Doc. Believe it or not, the ER visit blamed the "mysterious inflammation" on constipation because they had no other theories. 😂 Yes, 2 years worth of sharp knives in my chest has been because I'm backed up. Despite how receptive the rest of your industry has been about your work, it hasn't gone unnoticed by those who need it most!
Hi doc, Thanks a lot for all are doing,I had constant chest pains for last 4years and the doctors couldn’t tell me what was really wrong with me. Thanks for Backpod am now one month free of chest pains. Thanks a lot
Well done! Essentially costo is a physiotherapy-type problem - but the docs don't realise this. When you see it correctly, then it becomes logical and fixable. Here's a long wordy PDF on what costochondritis actually is and what we find works best to fix it. It is more easily read on a computer, not a phone. The PDF covers using the Backpod for costo, and also the other bits that often need dealing to as well. Cheeringly, these can nearly all be done by yourself at home. It takes a bit of time and effort, but it's not that difficult. Good luck with the work! www.bodystance.co.nz/assets/Uploads/Costo-treatment-plan-incl-Costo-and-iHunch-PDFs-19-July-2022.pdf
Steve, if this device gets rid of this debilitating pain and ruining my life condition, i will be forever grateful to you!!!! I am about to get it shipped to my house tonight!
I’ve just found your video through a link in a forum. I went to ER in pain, ecg’s, blood and x rays all good. I even got a covid test!. Been off work 8 wks, diagnosed as Costo and to rest. Rest has done nothing. I feel better after 20 mins of your exercises, I hope I can work through this like the rest of the people in the comments. I’ve never felt as useless as I have in the last few months absolutely debilitating. Thank you so much, I will look for the back pod. 🙏
STEVE U CURED MY COSTO. I’ve had cracking ribs/popping sternum joints/cartilage since 2018-2019 from laying on my side reading stuff. and have had a tight chest ever since. The backpod is insanely good at opening everything up and releasing the collagen. Your exercises work, and you are a genius. Life saver.
@@stephaniehamlet2474 np buddy. U get relief as soon as u start using it if you’re consistent. Having costochondritis is such a disgusting thing. Having a physio will streamline things too
It is I been using the backpod for about a month and three weeks now it's been very helpful and my physical therapy has been helping to. When do you feel your ribs on the breastbone easing off? How long did it take for yours to heal back to normal?
@@Ram-rm2gz Nope. I think it is most likely a scam unfortunately. What helped me was gradually building up in *horizontal* press (e.g. push ups, floor press etc.) + upper back (face pulls, "T-pulls", rows etc.). Also generally avoiding overhead press and pull. There are no guarantees since it is only anecdotal and I can't verify causation, just what I think helped. Good luck. Also working on my posture and ergonomics in everyday life.
This video was exactly what I needed. I've been suffering from costochondritis for a few months now after a somewhat nasty accident, and I've been trying to treat it from the wrong direction. Getting the right "pop" in the mid-back loosened all the tensions instantly, and I was able to do it entirely by hand. Understanding the mechanical realities of how the ribs work was the key. Thanks very much!
Good thinking, Steve. Glad I made sense. There's a joke: "How do you get down off a tiger?" Answer: "You don't. Get down off a duck instead - it's safer." Costo is like that. "How do you fix the pain on the breastbone?" Answer: "You don't. You fix the tight rib machinery around the back causing the pain on the breastbone - it's MUCH easier." Well done on thinking for yourself. Cheers, Steve August.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! i m dealing with this for over 5 years now!! I have been to so many doctors and nothing changed. As a sports scientist i tried to treat it with yoga and daily stretches but i just felt a bit better, never could to eliminate it entirely! You are the first person to name this syndrome, wasnt even able to search for it, first person to give so detailed and percise information!!! I LL DEFINETELY try what you propose! Totally appreciate it! THANK YOU 365x5!
Hi Kostas. Thank you! It's a matter of sufficient specific leverage. You don't fix costo by gym work and exercises. I know there are some PT, yoga and other videos out there that say you do, but they don't understand the problem. Costo is different. The core of the problem is that the rib joints round the back can't move at all, so the joints at the other end of the same ribs where they hinge onto your breastbone HAVE to move excessively - every breath you take. So they strain, 'give', get irritated, get locally inflamed - and welcome to costo. So, this means that any general exercise you do, whether in the gym, yoga, stretches, etc. just further strains the already strained rib joints on your breastbone - way before you get a benefit to the tight rib joints round the back. You can't fix costo by just stretching. Anyone who thinks you can doesn't understand it. Sure, general muscle support, especially the muscles around the back, and stretching, etc. are helpful, but only, repeat only, after you've freed up the rib machinery around the back first. That's why we use the Backpod. As far as I can tell, it's the only available that will give a really effective strong localised stretch to the frozen rib and spinal joints around the back causing the problem - for definite technical reasons which are discussed on the Backpod's website www.bodystance.co.nz/en/backpod/. It really is a very precise problem, with a very accurate answer. Cheers, Steve August.
@@stevenzphysio4203 Thank you once again for your reply! I ordered the Backpod and until i recieve it i have already started the treatment with the usage of medicine balls. The pain is unbearable to be honest but i feel an unexplained relief after it. I trully believe that the Backpod will be way more effective and with dedication and consistency i will tackle the problem for good! Definitly i will write back to you when the results starting to take place!! Thank you for your help and your time!
Getting there! Just finishing the text to go with this video. Will put it up shortly. Got a little side-tracked as I've just been interviewed for Good Morning America on the iHunch; definitely a strange start to my day.. Cheers, Steve August.
Thank you very much! I’m a certified personal trainer and have been healthy my entire life. Your video has helped me in recovery from chronic neuro-muscular inner costal pain.
Hi Eric. Good. You still are healthy. Costochondritis is like a car with the handbrake jammed on - nothing wrong with the vehicle; just have to release the frozen bit of machinery. (Actually, to extend the metaphor, you could say that the "mysterious inflammation" idea of costo is then like the mechanic informing you that the problem is the fuel. It's not.) Pleased it helped. Cheers, Steve August.
Dr. Thank you for your nice reply! I can tell you genuinely care about other people and that means a lot. I enjoy your analogies and if I have clients with this issue, I have a much further understanding of what to look for and how to address it. You are awesome!
Ordering my back pod and about to set my adjustments and massages and do the exercises consistently praying my stuff comes and goes. I was doing the exercises months ago . I will now follow everything you said and give y’all a update I’m going follow everything you said
Thanks. This makes such good sense. I've had costo for 10 years now. U K docs think its not worth looking at. They've definitely never had it. Will follow all your steps and get backpod.
Hi Lynette. Good independent thinking - well done! No, they haven't. I have - I had it for seven years before fixing it. It does give you a different view! Cheers, Steve August.
From the 1st few minutes just listening and watching, you took away my discomfort I had for 2 weeks! You’re wonderful! A true god sent! A kindred soul 🥰
I hardly ever comment on videos but I’ve been suffering with this pain for quite some time. Thanks for the great videos. It’s been really helpful to explain the issues
Hi Eddie. Thanks. It's a horrible condition - usually compounded by treatment that doesn't work. Also, have a look at the Backpod's costochondritis page - lots more detailed info and videos on costo and how we fix it. Link is www.bodystance.co.nz/en/costochondritis/ Cheers, Steve August.
I've been suffering from intermittent costo for the past 2 years, with the pain increasingly getting worse. I've recently starting using the backpod. it took a couple of weeks to get use to it, but now it is providing incredible relief both to my chest pain, but also my neck and upper back tension. I'm so grateful for this!
Good! That's what we built it for. After two years, you may need other bits of the problem dealt to as well, e.g. massage for the tight muscles overlying the tight joints. Here's a long wordy PDF on what costochondritis actually is and what we find works best to fix it. It is more easily read on a computer, not a phone. The PDF covers using the Backpod for costo, and also the other bits that often need dealing to as well. Cheeringly, these can nearly all be done by yourself at home. It takes a bit of time and effort, but it's not that difficult. Good luck with the work! www.bodystance.co.nz/assets/Uploads/Costo-treatment-plan-incl-Costo-and-iHunch-PDFs-19-July-2022.pdf
@@stevenzphysio4203Do u have to have the symptom of it hurting when u breathe? i don’t think my sons hurts from breathing, it just constant dull pressure/tenderness ache and he cannot wear any kind of heavy jacket or sweatshirt or any kind of a rough textured shirt. He says it bothers his chest. Can you please help me
@@AASA76 Hi. Costo doesn't always hurt when you breathe in. It just depends how bad it is. When the rib joints on the breastbone are really strained, like a recent sprained ankle, say, then just breathing in deeply can be enough to hurt. But if it's not that bad then you can just get a tightness, dull sort of awareness/pain, and the inability to take a full breath in. The tight or frozen rib machinery around the back is like wearing a tight corset - you can't take a full breath in if you can't expand your rib cage fully, and you can't do that if some of the ribs can't move, Here's a long wordy PDF on what costochondritis actually is and what we find works best to fix it. It is more easily read on a computer, not a phone. The PDF covers using the Backpod for costo, and also the other bits that often need dealing to as well. Cheeringly, these can nearly all be done by yourself at home. It takes a bit of time and effort, but it's not that difficult. Good luck with the work! www.bodystance.co.nz/assets/Uploads/Costo-treatment-plan-incl-Costo-and-iHunch-PDFs-19-July-2022.pdf However - if he hasn't already, your son does need to see a doctor first. Anything like this, the first thing is always to check out the heart, lungs, etc. in case it's a problem from there. The docs are really good at this. They're just not usually very good at costo - you do usually need to treat and fix that mostly by yourself.
I've had this issue for many years and no Dr has ever mentioned this. One Dr ended up adjusting my ribs and that made it feel better, but it would just pop back out again and the adjustments have been hit or miss. I'm so tired of dealing with this issue. Thanks so much for posting this, at least now I know what's going on and have a path to try to fix it. 1000 times, thanks.
Hi Anthony. Good oh - pleased it makes sense to you. See my comments to Julia above. There's an old joke: How do you get down off a tiger? Answer: You don't. Get down off a duck instead - it's safer. It's like that with costo. How do you heal a mysterious inflammation of no apparent cause? Answer: You don't. Just realise that it's simply a mechanical irritation caused because the rib joints at the back are frozen and free them up. It's MUCH easier. Good luck with the work. Cheers, Steve August.
Hi Red. How arw you doing today? Do you still have pain or are you fully recovered? I'm on week 2 using the backpod. Doing better but no where near 100%.
Steve August is A LEGEND. I have repeated it everywhere. Please, please listen to him!!!! You will not fix your costo otherwise. Each person is different!! As Steve says, it depends how long you have been frozen for. Might even take a few good weeks. And the pain will be there. But keep on going. You can see by breathing in and out that the capacity of you chest is expanding. This is a good sign. Good health people.
I just ordered the Backpod yesterday. It'll be here tomorrow. I'm hoping it works because having these pains is so nerve-wracking. If it works, I'd love to come to your small country amd personally thank you. Because my wife and 4 year old keep asking me if I'm okay and keep getting scared for me. I've been to the ER, and this is what they diagnosed me with. I will post an update after i use it for a few days.
@@rebeccatumilty7271 Yes, but I keep stopping cause I feel like I'm fixed. Go a week or so without doing it, and then it comes back. If I was to keep up on doing it daily for a good 3-6 months, it would most likely be fixed 100%. It takes time for the inside body stuff to correct itself and heal, and since I keep stopping after a week or so of using it, it doesn't give it the time it needs to fully heal.
Costochondritis ruined my senior year of college. I was constantly in severe pain in my sternum, chest, side, back, etc. The pain caused serious anxiety and I had panic attacks walking to class every day because wearing a bookbag makes the pain so much worse. I eventually went to the doctor and was prescribed anti inflammatories and took that for about a week, and the pain pretty much cleared up, but it came back, though not as bad. I got the backpod three weeks ago and have been using it twice a day and have not had any pain since I started. This product really does work!
@@stephaniehamlet2474 Update: my costo is basically completely gone...consistent icing of my rib area helped to clear it up. have not felt this good in almost a year
Steve, you are a life saver! I’ve had CC for 11 months with very little relief. Doctors had no answers and chiropractic care only helped mildly. My husband was doing research to find a solution and found this video. He ordered the back pod and I immediately started feeling relief upon using it. I cannot thank you enough for this product and information! I finally have my life back. THANK YOU!
Thanks so much, Karinne. I really appreciate the feedback. We did put the video and developed the Backpod to help - very pleased they've done so. Also, shout yourself a sports massage - preferably two, with a week off in between. When you've had costo for more than a few months, the muscles between and overlying the tight ribs around your back and sides, plus the pec muscles on your chest, also get tight and scarred. Massage is ideal for loosening them up. Best wishes, Steve August.
First off, let me say that this is the only online video that makes sense to me. After reading many forums and viewing multiple posts that state that there is no cure for Costochondritis and Tietze Syndrome, I began to lose any hope of feeling better. I have had costochondritis for approximately 8 months. I have seen a chiropractor once every few weeks for the last couple months. At certain times, it appeared to be gone, but would return like a thief in the night. I have been taking Omega 3 fish oils, vitamin D2 supplements, as well as a supplement called "Collagenics", but it keeps returning. I just ordered the Backpod. I swear that if this works for me, I will spread the news like wildfire and recommend it to anyone with pain like many individuals suffering from costochondritis. Thank you Steve for your information and knowledge on this condition! Cheers from Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
+Chevellion19 Hi. Did you get your backpod and if yes, are you seeing any results yet? I received mine yesterday and did my first session today. A bit painful and sore...but will persevere
+Sturan 2016 Hi. If it's sore, you're doing too much. It's just a stretch, like stretching a hamstring. Use enough pillows under your head so that it's just a bit uncomfortable when you're doing the stretch - that discomfort will go over a minute or so as the collagen stretches out a bit. Think of a hamstring that's been so tight for years that you can't reach past your knees - you can't crash down to the floor in one go. But you can get there by working at it daily, probably for a few weeks. This is the real world - collagen is tough stuff and takes time to loosen. Cheers, Steve August.
Thank you Steve for saving me with this stuff. It was a mentally draining time for me, suffering with costo and finding little relief. It's thanks to the backpod and a change in my routine I finally recovered completely from the nightmare of costo. It took 3 months to finally stop having flare ups and working away at it. It felt like hell, and I can finally live my life again, thank you so much
Thank you very much, well done, and you're most welcome. Well done on thinking for yourself. I had costochondritis for seven years myself before completely fixing it - so I do know what people are going through. We were flabbergasted to discover that most of the rest of the world sees it wrongly as a "mysterious inflammation." I'm just passing back my New Zealand physiotherapy understanding of what it actually is and how to fix it and get on with your life. Best wishes! Cheers, Steve August.
Steve August, you have got me back to my normal self in the course of a day and a half. The last two weeks, I couldn't see a world in which I wasn't going through this strange debilitating pain. I still have work to do but I have a plan now. The days are almost pain free, now still just having trouble at nighttime. I ordered the Backpod and it will arrive tomorrow! Anyway, I can't thank you enough for your calm instruction video!!!!!
@Vape Girl it was a great helper in my recovery from that whole thing! Fully recommend trying one. I used it while sitting back on the couch for just a minute twice a day. It helped me fix my posture to get thru that awful time in my life. I found out I had a wicked mono infection which seemed to cause that awful costochondritis. That was in February and I don't have any issues anymore!
@Vape Girl I'm not sure exactly, my doctor just said I had a super high antibody for Mono which means that I had it and could have been a carrier of it. I have to basically work on my immune system and up my antioxidants. I hope you get through this soon, it's terrible!
I just wanted to Thankyou so very much. We all know how utterly debilitating this chronic condition is. It personally made me want to end it all as no one would help me. You saved a life! From the other side of the world. That is quite remarkable. Thankyou :)
Thank you, Holly! How nice - I really appreciate it. The Backpod's obviously worked, which is great - it's what we built it for. I'm still somewhat flabbergasted that the sensible, logical New Zealand understanding of costochondritis that I've been describing really doesn't seem to be around outside my country. Very pleased you spotted it, and that it's worked. Best wishes, Steve August.
Hi 33 33. Thanks for your nice comments! Glad what I was saying makes sense, and that it's helped. Yes, I've read so many comments on the costo sites and patient blogs from sufferers who've had no help. I so almost didn't do my first costo video - we just don't see it as a difficult problem to fix, and I didn't really think there'd be that much interest. I'm really dismayed at the lack of understanding about it outside the New Zealand manual physio area in which I work. If you'd like to help, would you consider putting some of your own experience on a few of the costo patient sites and blogs? I do really think the NZ view I'm passing on should be there. The one I'd like to get something on is Patient.info who won't allow me to make a comment as they think I'm just a car salesman for the Backpod. A little irritating, given that I've just been lecturing on costo to the biggest medical conference in New Zealand. Sigh. Anyway, thanks, and best wishes. Cheers, Steve August.
Hello Steve , it's Shannon and I too have mentioned the backpod on patient .com however , I had to privately email . The site does not allow as you said even the memeverd to post Anything concerning products nor websites. Thousands are suffering ! On Facebook there is a forum called Healing Costo and tietze syndrome . Some members have used the pod successfully . People need help !
Hi Shannon. Thanks for your comments. I have to admit it's a little irritating. The New Zealand manual physio view of costo I've presented is the only, repeat only, sensible explanation for such specific pain solely at the rib hinges on the breastbone and nowhere else in the body. And I'm not allowed to even present it as a concept on some of the costo patient sites because I actually invented something that was effective in fixing it - which now makes me a colonial snake oil salesman. Sigh. Oh well, if the Backpod's helped you, and you'd like to help other people, anything about your own experience with costo you can manage to get accepted on the patient sites and blogs would be very much appreciated. And I think worthwhile doing. Best wishes, Steve August.
Hi Holly. How are you doing at the moment? Are you 100% cured from costo? I'm on week 2 with the backpod and doing better but no where near full recovery. Are you still using the backpod?
Hi steve, Ive had costo for a little over 2 years now. Im 23 years old and got it getting kneed in the chest during jiu-jitsu. It wasn't very bad at first, however i did not take care of it and it progressively got worse to the point where i couldn't even lift a small cup of water without experiencing extremely sharp pain. I had to quit my job and was no longer able to drive. My life fell apart and I was severely depressed for a while.... until you came along!!! The back pod is the only thing that has legitimately helped my condition. Ive spent well over 5,000 dollars on various quack doctors/chiropractors/ physical therapists that all thought they knew how to fix me (im sure a lot of you reading this can relate). From PRP injections and Prolotherapy to multiple chest adjustments, nothing worked. Anyyyyways I just wanted to thank you so very much for giving me part of my life back. I have been using the back pod at least once a day for 5-10 min. without failure and my condition has improved about 15%. 15% might not seem like a lot' but compared to the amount of pain i was experiencing, it is like night and day. That being said i have not been doing the stretching or manipulation religiously yet. I also have not gotten my spine adjusted or gotten a deep tissue massage and haven't used the Voltaren or gone on the antidepressants. This might be a silly question but how much improvement should i expect to have within the next couple weeks/months if i do exactly everything specified in the video including continual use of the back bod? Also thanks again for making my life suck that much less!
Hi. Sorry about the delay in replying - just back from a lecturing trip. Thanks for the nice comments! I sympathise re the jiu-jitsu hit - I used to do judo myself. It'll get a lot better than 15%. See Karen Forrest's comments - 90% better after a few weeks and she'd had her costo for five years. I'd add in a good sports medicine massage now - after your two years, there will be muscle scarring and tightness between and around the frozen rib joints at the back. The one bit I'm keeping my fingers crossed about is that yours was an anterior chest impact. Is that the case? Where did you get kneed? That could mean the fairly delicate anterior rib hinges on the breastbone have been significantly strained, beyond 'normal' overuse straining because the back hinges are stuck. You still get the same treatment answer though - get the back rib hinges moving 100% so they're taking as much load as possible off the front hinges. You may simply also have old anterior scarring from where the knee hit - this acts like a glue in the tissues. Get the massage person to check around this area gently also - if they're any good, they'll be able to tell. You could try getting some anti-inflammatory gel and just working it in to the sternum/rib joint area twice daily, and work gently around any hard stuff you can feel where the knee hit. It's a bit like working around hard dry putty in your fingers until it starts to free up. Cheers, Steve August.
Thanks for the reply Steve! I really appreciate it. Going to set up an appointment today for a sports medicine massage. It was an anterior chest impact. It wasn't necessarily a fast blow to the ribs but it was 2 instances of prolonged, concentrated pressure on the front right side of my chest wall. Then about 30 seconds later it was similarly a knee in the side of my rib on the left side for about 20 seconds. Basically a really heavy guy put all of his weight into his knee onto my rib-cage. My pain is mostly on the left side on the 3rd and 4th rib down but can radiate to the right as well as the joint in the middle of my sternum. I've had an MRI, X-ray and a CT scan and nothing showed up as abnormal to them. I dont know if this information is irrelevant or not but ill tell you anyways. About a year and a half ago when i had only had costo for about 6 months i went to a physio that told me to do push ups. This actually helped a ton at first but then i went overboard and re strained it and it got worse. I also used to "crack" my sternum in highschool by leaning back and popping my sternum to release pressure, like cracking your knuckles. One time i did this and stretched too far to the point where i was sore for months. This eventually got better but the pain im experiencing now in the MIDDLE of my sternum is very similar to when that happened. I dont know if that means anything but i figured i should tell you. Ill keep you posted about my condition after the massage. Thanks again Steve! You are doing a great thing! Cheers.
Hi. You've reminded me of what it was like. Having been on the receiving end of enough O goshis, osotogaris, etc. myself, I'd be surprised if you DIDN'T have rib cage problems. Actually, that's a serious observation. Are they a common problem with jiu-jitsu and judo exponents? I haven't though of it before, but I'd be surprised if they're not. I can't actually think of anything else with quite so much impact on the rib cage. Sure, you're bound to have old impact scarring in the muscles between and around the ribs. I'd definitely have a session or two with massage for that, and also start doing the rib stretch I've shown in the video with the two bucket handles. Less worried about the strained breastbone/rib hinges now - there'll be so much restriction in the tight rib joints at the back plus the muscles between the ribs that the breastbone joints will be sore because they're about all that can move to let you breathe. Should settle fine when the other stuff is freed up. Cheers, Steve August.
Hey Steve! Sorry for the late reply, I literally just got home from the massage therapist 5 min. ago and I didnt want to come back to you empty handed per say. Yes, rib injuries are pretty common in jiu-jitsu. The most common injuries are for sure the fingers and then probably the knees. Its a pretty brutal sport on your body. Both of my knees are pretty much destroyed as well lol. So the massage was petty intense but felt really good at the same time. After I felt the most relief I have felt in my chest in a lonnnnnnng time, so that seems like a good sign. Im hoping for the best and will continue your regimen religiously. I will let you know when my condition improves! Thanks again Steve!
Hi. Good! You hear that all the time from patients - yes, the massage or whatever was a bit sore or intense, but it felt like the right thing. That's because it was - you can tell. Good oh - that'll help with the muscle component. Should be starting to feel a lot better in a couple of days. Cheers, Steve August.
Steve, I don't think I personally thank you for saving me from tremendous amounts of pain, I had costo from mid 2017 through 2020 and it was just awful, many tearful days but I began using your back pod around late 2018 and slowly the pain went away, plus my illness was contributed to overtraining and damaging my chest muscles but the Back Pod was essential in my recovery so thank you so much. Sean :)
The Lord be with you ,Steve !This is a message from Catherine , Luc,s wife... ,i am grateful for your informatiosn that give finely a solution to the chest pain i had for years and i will pass it on also to family and people around ..we are also in New Zealand ,Northtland .thank you for your work and help.
Hi Steve, First off I think it’s amazing how you’re still answering and replying to everyone here, so just wanted to say thank you!! About 3 weeks ago I started to get sharp pains in my chest/sternum area and after a lot of research I landed here, and am convinced that Costochondritis is my issue. I ordered the backpod (which comes in June) and have been using a lacrosse ball for the last week, as I wait. When first watching the video I did the mobility tests and my right side had way less range of motion then my left, which made sense as the pain is on the right side of my sternum. However, I did find it a little weird that I have always had restricted motion in my right back area, but only recently did it start causing chest pain. The only reason I can think of is that I have started a rigorous stretching/strengthening schedule, doing 6 hours of trap, shoulder, and neck stretches every day for the last 2 months (for a different injury), which may be responsible. I am happy to say that using the lacrosse ball has already had a major improvement on my mobility, and I am down to no pillows with the ball. While my chest pain is predominately gone, my concern is that I am still dealing with pain, discomfort and inflammation sensation that runs from my sternum, along my ribs, under my right pec, to my armpit. Is this something common that will resolve over time with the use of the backpod and the stretches recommended in this video? Or should I be targeting it in some other way? Last question, have you ever noticed a mental component to the pain in your patients? I feel as though it is hard not to focus on the different pains in my upper torso, and even though they are getting much better I am still feeling like I am overthinking it and somehow causing more pain. Thanks so much Steve! Kristian
Hi Kristian. Well done - you're doing fine. You've already loosened off the tight rib machinery around the back enough to stop the rib joints on your sternum straining to compensate. Keep going. Use the lacrosse ball as we'd use the Backpod - the instructions are in the user guide, and there's a pdf of that near the bottom of the Backpod's costochondritis page - www.bodystance.co.nz/en/costochondritis/ Yes, the Backpod is better again - all balls are unstable, so your muscles cannot relax on them, and this opposes the stretch on the joints. That's why the Backpod has a stable flat base. When you no longer need a pillow under your head when you’re lying on the ball or Backpod, get some more oomph out of it by lifting your buttocks off the ground, using the Backpod crosswise across the upper back (gives more leverage) as well as lengthwise and out to the sides a little (to get the ribs), and/or linking your fingers together and slowly moving your arms up over your head and down to your waist repeatedly; try that with just one arm as well. Chase the tightest bits and spend 1-3 minutes on each. Also, when you get to that point, start doing the sitting twist exercise I showed 12.54 minutes into the ‘How to Fix most Costo and Tietze’s , Part (2)’ UA-cam video - ua-cam.com/video/r7ve6nNVdWc/v-deo.html This is to work the joints now they’re reasonably unlocked - like working a rusty hinge back and forth after you put some oil on it. So, you're freeing up the rib machinery around the back fine. What you're now running into is some remaining specific scarring and tightness running through your right pec and around the ribs on your front and side. This is mostly muscle. So, ideally, shout yourself a sports massage - preferably two, with a week off in between. When you've had costo for more than a few months, the muscles between and overlying the tight ribs around your back and sides, plus the pec muscles on your chest, also get tight and scarred. Massage is ideal for loosening them up. However not until you're safely past lockdown and COVID-19. As well, if possible, talk, bargain or bribe someone into doing the two massages in the Backpod’s user guide, about once a week for at least a few weeks. You’re probably tight on your pecs as part of it all, so best to stretch them as well. There’s a good pec stretching video on UA-cam - link is ua-cam.com/video/EfVKRXhYVEA/v-deo.html Lastly, you could also have a bit of tightening in the nerves themselves that run through the tightened soft tissue and down your arms - they come out through your armpit which suggests that. You can start stretching the nerves and muscles gently. Lie on your back on a table, knees bent up, with your left shoulder just off the edge of the table. Hold your palm upwards, then bend your hand and fingers back, then drop the straight arm gently down towards the floor (arm out at 90˚ to your body) until you feel a good stretch and even some tingling down the arm. That’s stretching it all. Hold for several seconds, then lift up the arm to take the stretch off, then do again, several times gently. It’s just a stretch. It’ll all disappear when things are loose enough. That you have the discomfort around your right pec at all does tell me you were pretty tight to begin with. It’ll stretch (and massage) out fine. Doing good! Keep going. Cheers, Steve August.
Forgot to mention. Sure, you can focus on the pain. You often get hit with an "anxiety" diagnosis bludgeon if you do this. However I think it's perfectly sane and reasonable to be concerned about a mysterious and debilitating chest pain which the docs don't seem to understand or know how to fix, and which can hit out of a clear blue sky for no apparent reason. I mean, I'd be worried if you were HAPPY about it!
Thank you so much for this Steve, I've been using the backpod for just over a week now after 2.5 months of being bed-bound with chronic chest pain and the difference is incredible. I still have pain but it's taken the sharpness out of it and I feel a lot more able than I was before. It's crazy how clinicians in the UK have absolutely no idea how to fix this super common problem and just tell you to take painkillers and wait! If your costo doesn't seem to be shifting, I'd highly recommend taking the plunge and ordering this device, and also finding a physio/chiropractor who understands that this is a mechanical problem. Fingers crossed it will heal soon so I can feel like myself again!
Hi Lily. Well done, on thinking for yourself and getting a Backpod, and making it work. Yup - our sensible and effective New Zealand manual physiotherapy way to fix costo is based on the actual published medical research. The popular medical explanation of costo as a “mysterious inflammation" is not. Yes, this is nuts. I'm aware the UK has hierarchy in the water supply, so doubly well done on doing something useful on your own initiative. Stick with it - it’s very tough stuff you’re stretching and it takes time. Do please READ THE INSTRUCTIONS and the 'Warnings and precautions' section in the user guide. If for some reason you haven’t got one, there is also a pdf copy of the full user guide near the bottom of the iHunch and Costochondritis pages on the Backpod’s website - www.bodystance.co.nz/assets/Uploads/backpod-full-user-guide-feb-2020.pdf. We start people off really gently because often they just do too much initially and get sore. It’s a lot like stretching hamstring muscles that are so tight you can’t touch your knees - takes a while before you can reach your toes. You are starting to stretch joints that haven’t moved for months or years and you can get a bit of normal treatment tenderness for a few days. It’s a lot like stretching hamstring muscles that are so tight you can’t touch your knees - takes a while before you can reach your toes. When you no longer need a pillow under your head when you’re lying on the Backpod, get some more oomph out of it by lifting your buttocks off the ground, using the Backpod crosswise across the upper back (gives more leverage) as well as lengthwise and out to the sides a little (to get the ribs), and/or linking your fingers together and slowly moving your arms up over your head and down to your waist repeatedly; try that with just one arm as well. Chase the tightest bits and spend 1-3 minutes on each. Also, when you get to that point, start doing the sitting twist exercise I showed 12.54 minutes into the ‘How to Fix most Costo and Tietze’s , Part (2)’ UA-cam video - ua-cam.com/video/r7ve6nNVdWc/v-deo.html This is to work the joints now they’re reasonably unlocked - like working a rusty hinge back and forth after you put some oil on it. Also, ideally, shout yourself a sports massage - preferably two, with a week off in between. When you've had costo for more than a few months, the muscles between and overlying the tight ribs around your back and sides, plus the pec muscles on your chest, also get tight and scarred. Massage is ideal for loosening them up. However NOT until it’s safe with COVID-19. At a minimum, you should both wear masks, hand sanitise, and when you get home take all your clothes off and put them straight into the washing machine and you straight into the shower, including washing your hair. As well, if possible, talk, bargain or bribe someone into doing the two massages in the Backpod’s user guide, about once a week for at least a few weeks. You’re probably tight on your pecs as part of it all, so best to stretch them as well. There’s a good pec stretching video on UA-cam - link is ua-cam.com/video/EfVKRXhYVEA/v-deo.html I’m guessing this next bit, but the commonest reason these days for costo starting is if you’re getting a bit hunched, usually from much bending over computers, phones, patients or whatever - we call it the iHunch. As part of the spine getting a bit hunched and tight, the rib joints attaching to your spine also stiffen and seize. When they can’t move, then the joints at the other ends of the same ribs MUST work excessively just to let you keep breathing. So they strain, ‘give’, irritate, get locally inflamed - and welcome to costo. It’s not a “mysterious inflammation” arriving for no reason. Have a look at the iHunch page on the Backpod’s website - www.bodystance.co.nz/en/ihunch/ If that looks like a fit with you, then you’d better do all the bits in the Backpod’s home program - we designed it specifically to counter the iHunch and pull you back towards perfect posture. It’s worth looking at the Perfect Posture page also. Good luck with the work. Cheers, Steve August (B.A.,Dip.Physio.).
Hey Lily, I’m wondering how your experience went after buying the back pod and physio. I’ve had the same response from doctors here on the UK and for the last 18 months just living with it after it left me bed bound for nearly a month
@@abdihakimabdullahi6796 Hi, UK doctors and physiotherapiss just told me it was "idiopathic inflammation" , e.g. random inflammation with no obvious cause. I've tried osteopaths but they didn't know, so I bought the Bsckpod and did the exercises for. The best purchase I've made in years. My costo is about 80% better. When I place it either side of my spine, I get a satisfying clunk as my ribs move. Steve August seems to be the only physio who understands costo and how to fix it. Best of luck 💪
I had costochondritis for 15 years, but the pain was just at the nuisance level, and it didn’t seem anyone knew the cause of the inflammation, so I just let it be. But then a couple of weeks ago, the costo flared up to the point where every deep breath, every step I took, and every word I spoke, resulted in excruciating stabbing pains… I knew I couldn’t tolerate this for long, so I did a much deeper research dive, and found your work and the backpod. Two weeks later, I hardly feel any inflammation! I am extremely grateful, Steve - the backpod has been a lifesaver for me. One thing, though: now I seem to have chronic lower back pain. It’s not excruciating, but it does hurt. I’m guessing that somehow I’ve not only unfrozen the joints, but perhaps also the spine, and I’m now feeling in the lower back forces that were blocked or redirected before. Have you had an6 experience with this, or what to do about it? I’m doing certain basic things, like putting a roll behind my lower back when I’m sitting, breaking from sitting every 20 minutes and doing some stretches to help the lower back, etc. A half hour of brisk walking every day is also helping. But if there’s anything else I can do, I’d sure appreciate it. Thanks so much.
Hi Chris. Sorry - low backs are more complex than middle backs and rtibs; I can't tell what's going on over UA-cam so well. It may simply be that you've also been tight in the low back, and that now the middle back is moving better, that improved movement is requiring the low back to move more, and it's protesting. The other thing may be if you haven't kept you knees and hips well bent up when you're on the Backpod. If you're already tight in the low back, and especially if you're quite hollowed there too, that can pull on the tight bits. Just try this to loosen the low back. There’s a particular massage technique which is excellent for this, if you can talk someone into doing it on you. They’ll need something to let their fingers slide on your skin - massage wax is best but any sort of oil will do (although oil dribbles a bit). Kneel on the end of a firm bed, plinth, couch, etc. - feet shoulder width apart, and just off the edge of whatever it is you're kneeling on. Make sure you're stable - wriggle your feet up to the edge of it so they lock onto it a bit. Put a pillow behind your knees, and sit down on it. Then tuck another pillow into your waist and curl forward over it. This puts the strong muscles down your back onto stretch. Your massage buddy then works up and down the big erector spinae muscles along your back, and lower down onto your buttocks, for about 10 minutes. They can use their fingers, palms, fists or knuckles, working up and down the muscles - it’s like using a rolling pin on scone dough. It works really well to loosen up spasm and scarring, which allows the hollow in the low back to ease up a bit, which is what you want. It should help your low back a lot. Probably do it once a week for a few weeks.
@@stevenzphysio4203 Thanks so much (again), Steve! I am relieved to say that, after a week of fairly intense lower back pain, the pain has subsided (still there, but much, much less). I think you are exactly right: the improved movement in the middle back is indeed now requiring the lower back to move more. . . The lower back began by “protesting” (great word!), but it seems to have adapted to the greater movement after a week. But there’s still some lower back pain now and then, so this has sensitized me to needing to care for the lower back, as well as the mid-back - so I really appreciate your detailed suggestions for that! Thank you so much, Steve!
I have had tieze syndrom for 2 years now and non of my doctors and practitioners could come up with a solution let alone the right diagnose. I am so happy I could cry that I finally be able to cure this disease. I am very grateful I found your video.
thank God that i found something about costochondritis that realy makes sense. last Jan.15-19 2016 i was admitted my chief complaint was chest pain and difficulty of breathing. blood chems.ECG.Xray.the basic. my Cardiologist told me it was costochondritis.and i was discharged from the hospital. after a month this March.3-5 2016 i was re-admitted to the hospital..it was a "crushing" chest pain. this time around besides from the basic labs..i had my endocardiogram and a 24hr ambulatoty BP monitor. they found out i was hypertensive and that my heart is in a good condition.so they roll out any heart problems.. now its conclusive that i have COSTOCHONDRITIS...and it's KILLING me...I'm on NSAIDS now and it's working i guess... the pain..sharp pain is still there and i can't lay on either my left or right side like i use too..=( i hope this would go away eventually..but reading some comments madr me realize this would stay for awhile... even now..I'm sitting on our couch and leaning on my left...and i found it a bit annoying cause it's painful especially when I'm breathing.. please share your experience and how did you guys coup up with costochondritis....@xanderfox90 my Twitter. people who doesn't had or have COSTOCHONDRITIS won't understand the pain and discomfort we are in... most of them especially here in the Philippines would just say "your Malingering"... THANK YOU for posting this on youtube.for the rest of us.looking for answers about our predicament.
Hi Alex. Just spotted your comment - sorry, don't know why I missed it before this. Yes, difficulty with breathing is common in costo. You can't fill your lungs fully if you can't expand your rib cage fully, and you can't do that if the rib hinges around the back are jammed - and that's also what causes most costo. So the difficulty breathing fits completely with my New Zealand physio explanation of why you've go the costo chest pain - the rib hinges on the breastbone are working excessively just to let you breathe, because the rib hinges at the back aren't moving at all. Easy to sort out, and I hope you have done so by now. Cheers, Steve August.
Backpoa work 101%. In one week i am 101% fine . After trying everything .At last i try backpod . With the help of backpod am able to do chest exercises in gym now . Thanks alot steve 💯👍🏻
Hi Sandhu. Great! Well done. Keep using the Backpod for at least a few weeks more. The tight joints you've been freeing will still try to tighten up again for a while yet, even though they're good now. Also, avoid dips for another three months at least - they're the single worst exercise for costo in the gym. Cheers, Steve August.
Hello. I just purchased the back pod on amazon. I have been having issues with what seems like costochondritis for a year now. It comes and goes but recently I can't go a day without some level of pain. The pain resides throughout my left side. It always starts out in my left shoulder up into my neck and eventually makes its way to the middle of my chest causing me trouble breathing from the pain. (I have checked my heart and been to dr multiple times). The doctors are not doing anything other than prescribing tramadol. I constantly have cracking and popping going on in my back and sometimes my sternum. I have lupus and I'm wondering if this product will be helpful for me. I also have winged scapulas which I'm sure isn't helping the problem. I was really into lifting but now I can hardly get through a light workout. Your advice is appreciated. Really hoping this product helps.
Hi. Should do. Thanks for getting in contact. I saw your UA-cam video about your costo a little while back and made a comment on it. Good, you have a Backpod - start using it. It sounds like what's going on with you fits squarely into my New Zealand physio understanding of costo and what we built the Backpod for. Sure you have lupus - my sympathies - but a general condition like lupus will not cause the very specific pain you're getting where your ribs join onto your breastbone. Nothing says you can't have lupus and also sprain your ankle - the ankle sprain wasn't caused by the lupus. Same with costo. (People, including doctors, love having a diagnosis pigeonhole they can drop you into, and then explain everything that happens to you in terms of that pigeonhole. You may have noticed..) You probably DO have a worse case of costo than most people because the lupus means a greater background level of inflammation in your muscles and joints. So you're getting a double hit at the rib hinges on your breastbone - the local pain and inflammation plus the elevated background levels. Them's the breaks. Neither are fair. Cheeringly, you can fix the costo. What you've described all fits with my NZ physio explanation. You're tight or frozen on the rib hinges around your back where the ribs join onto your backbone. When this happens, the much more delicate joints where the other ends of the ribs hinge onto your breastbone HAVE to work excessively just to let you keep breathing. So they strain, irritate, inflame - and there's your costo. And they never get a rest as long as you keep breathing (Don't stop that - there's a better answer.), and yours are more irritable and ready to inflame anyway as part of your lupus. The cracking and popping in your back is from joints jolting and giving a bit as they move instead of sliding fully and silently - a lot like rusty hinges instead of smooth, well-oiled ones. The pops on your sternum are those rib joints 'giving' under their excessive load and strain - a lot like spraining your ankle. Your winging scapulae indicate that the support muscles for that part of your back are really weak - which ties in with the hinges there getting tight. (Your gym workouts probably emphasized your pecs, etc. and not so much these posterior stabilising muscles - I'm guessing.) So the driving force of the costo pain on your breastbone is clearly that patch of your rib hinges around the back mostly on your left side being tight or frozen. Probably frozen - it's been a year. The only, repeat only, logical treatment for this is to free them up. Every treatment aimed at just suppressing the pain and inflammation at the breastbone misses the point and is just dabbling. They may indeed help - if you take enough drugs you will get some pain suppression even if they turn you into a zombie - but none deal to the root cause of the problem. You probably got told by the docs that your costo would settle down in a matter of weeks. They were wrong about that, and they're wrong about most things with costo. It's not their fault - they're just passing on what they've been taught as medical students. Good luck with the Backpod. DO please read the instructions. Your joints will be more inflamed than those of someone without costo, so you may need to go more quietly. Feel free to make contact and I'll talk you through what's going on. Do use enough pillows under your head so it's not actually painful to lie on the Backpod. It should be initially somewhat uncomfortable - that eases off over a minute or so as things stretch. It's a real treatment device, not a magic gimmick - for it to be stretching, you do need to feel it doing it. It's been a year, and the rib hinges take at least few weeks to stretch mostly free. (Like stretching a hamstring that's so tight you can't reach your knees - it takes weeks of daily stretching before you can touch your toes. But you get there.) Just use the Backpod once a day, and do definitely use it out to your left side a bit, because that's where the tight left rib hinges will be. Chase the tightest stuff. Don't try and get to the gym. You can't train through costo. Any exercise or stretch you do will just strain further the already strained rib joints on the breastbone, long before it'll help the tight rib joints on your spine. It's just another of the frustrating things about costo. Good luck with the work. Cheers, Steve August.
Thank you for taking the time to reply! I receive the BackPod tomorrow and I'm looking forward to using it. Will update on how it goes. Also, you hit it right on the dot with costochondritis being the main problem but lupus worsening the pain. Thank you.
Lupus definitely causing this. Adopt a whole foods plant based diet and watch the symptoms minimise. And yes buy a back pod, its the only thing giving me a fighting chance
Hi Cookedburra. My sympathies. Does explain why the costo was improving but not clearing on the Backpod. Nothing says you can't have both, unfortunately. So the lupus will make everything more irritable and inflamed generally, then there's been the tight ribs driving the costo on top of that. So, a double hit at the breastbone rib joints. There is a really good series of UA-cam videos by Samatha Wayne who's been living with lupus for years, and with costo on top for more than a year. One link is ua-cam.com/video/MvrBQBa4RGw/v-deo.html Best wishes, Steve August.
Steve NZ Physio my bad, i worded that in a way that seemed like I had lupus, thankfully I'm in exceptional health. :) Strangely I wanted to ad, that since its my 2nd rib hurting, placing the back pod a bit further down and stretching out more over the back pod actually hit the sweet spot. Did that 2 weeks ago and improvement has accelerated since. I believe I was spinning my wheels with using it as I simply wasn't manipulating that joint properly. I know when I'm targetting it good because I feel it right on my 2nd rib, it feels like i'm stretching it out. When I first did this i thought "oh no! Ive just flared it up!" But then I got up and felt so much more mobile. The pain in my back also decreased very very significantly. I thought I was over-using the back pod but nope, I use it multiple times a day and get no back pain from it, thus giving ne an inclination to believe that the two circumstances were directly related. Only thing I'm wondering now is, will I always have to use the back pod? Ive come to a mutual agreement between mind and body that cardio and yoga is the way forward, bye bye dips! I just wonder if i'll get to the point where it stays in place. It clicks less now too since finding that sweet spot. Cheers Steve i literally owe you my life, I wasn't sure I wanted to suffer indefinitely the way I was 3 months ago.
OMG! I want to hug you even though I haven’t even done anything yet. I’m just so so glad I found this excellent video because today is the first day I found out what I have and after reading WebMD and MayoClinic and all the other websites, I was starting to get depressed thinking that there’s no preventive treatment or known causes for costochondritis. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. Cheers mate!
Thanks - and I sympathise. We think the Mayo, WebMD, etc. on costo are just nuts. There is NO research validation for their assertions. I do know - I've been back and over the research. Well done on thinking for yourself and good luck with the work. Cheers, Steve August.
Thank you Steve for your very helpful video. Waiting for my backpod to arrive to and will get the gel and do exercise. Really want to live normal again :(
Hi. It's just not a difficult problem, once you understand it correctly. We were astounded to discover that most of the rest of the world outside New Zealand manual physio doesn't. (Actually the Aussies are good at it too.) Here's a long wordy PDF on what costochondritis actually is and what we find works best to fix it. It is more easily read on a computer, not a phone. The PDF covers using the Backpod for costo, and also the other bits that often need dealing to as well. Cheeringly, these can nearly all be done by yourself at home. It takes a bit of time and effort, but it's not that difficult. Good luck with the work! www.bodystance.co.nz/assets/Uploads/Costo-treatment-plan-incl-Costo-and-iHunch-PDFs-19-July-2022.pdf
Update: Huge improvement in my costo. Thanks so much Steve for the backpod and your advice. Have mentioned the success of the backpod to my GP, physio and myotherapist/remedial masseuse. Thanks again Steve. (Husband it getting a lot of use out of the backpod too.)
@Vape Girl not 100% but very close. I only use it every so often now. Have very minor flare ups every now and then but nothing at all like it used to be. Good luck
@Vape Girl Hmm not really sure. I have other health issues and I never seem to be able to recover fully so maybe it is just that? It is such a big difference though. My flare ups are so minor in comparison to before. Yes I'd say I felt less and less pain. Progress was slow at first. Then actually it seemed like a breakthrough when there was no pain for a good amount of time. My first flare up after that was very minor and it was almost like a reminder to keep using the backpod. I got the backpod a couple of months after I got the costo diagnosis, then used it for I think around 3 months before it started to come good. My memory is a bit hazy, it might have been a big longer. I don't think I had the worst case of costo you can have though, it sounds like you might be a bit more limiting than mine was and therefore maybe will take a bit longer to come good? Just a guess though. Backpod, stretches, massages and Physio helped me. Just bizarre that many health professionals had little idea how to treat this. Hopefully you will be able to get closer to pain free and sleeping normally soon.
I have been suffering from costochondritis for six months. I ordered the Backpod and have been using it multiple times daily for almost a week, and already notice a dramatic improvement. Many thanks, Steve!! Your invention is brilliant, and for me, life-changing!!
Thanks - and well done on thinking for yourself, and getting a Backpod. We were flabbergasted to discover that our sensible research-supported New Zealand manual physio understanding of costo is not out there in the rest of the world - which is why it's so often not fixed. Stick with it - it’s very tough stuff you’re stretching and it takes time. Do please READ THE INSTRUCTIONS and the 'Warnings and precautions' section in the user guide. If for some reason you haven’t got one, there is also a pdf copy of the full user guide near the bottom of the iHunch and Costochondritis pages on the Backpod’s website - www.bodystance.co.nz/assets/Uploads/backpod-full-user-guide-feb-2020.pdf. We start people off really gently because often they just do too much initially and get sore. It’s a lot like stretching hamstring muscles that are so tight you can’t touch your knees - takes a while before you can reach your toes. You are starting to stretch joints that haven’t moved for months or years and you can get a bit of normal treatment tenderness for a few days. It’s a lot like stretching hamstring muscles that are so tight you can’t touch your knees - takes a while before you can reach your toes. When you no longer need a pillow under your head when you’re lying on the Backpod, get some more oomph out of it by lifting your buttocks off the ground, using the Backpod crosswise across the upper back (gives more leverage) as well as lengthwise and out to the sides a little (to get the ribs), and/or linking your fingers together and slowly moving your arms up over your head and down to your waist repeatedly; try that with just one arm as well. Chase the tightest bits and spend 1-3 minutes on each. Also, when you get to that point, start doing the sitting twist exercise I showed 12.54 minutes into the ‘How to Fix most Costo and Tietze’s , Part (2)’ UA-cam video - ua-cam.com/video/r7ve6nNVdWc/v-deo.html This is to work the joints now they’re reasonably unlocked - like working a rusty hinge back and forth after you put some oil on it. Also, ideally, shout yourself a sports massage - preferably two, with a week off in between. When you've had costo for more than a few months, the muscles between and overlying the tight ribs around your back and sides, plus the pec muscles on your chest, also get tight and scarred. Massage is ideal for loosening them up. However NOT until it’s safe with COVID-19. At a minimum, you should both wear masks, hand sanitise, and when you get home take all your clothes off and put them straight into the washing machine and you straight into the shower, including washing your hair. As well, if possible, talk, bargain or bribe someone into doing the two massages in the Backpod’s user guide, about once a week for at least a few weeks. You’re probably tight on your pecs as part of it all, so best to stretch them as well. There’s a good pec stretching video on UA-cam - link is ua-cam.com/video/EfVKRXhYVEA/v-deo.html I’m guessing this next bit, but the commonest reason these days for costo starting is if you’re getting a bit hunched, usually from much bending over computers, phones, patients or whatever - we call it the iHunch. As part of the spine getting a bit hunched and tight, the rib joints attaching to your spine also stiffen and seize. When they can’t move, then the joints at the other ends of the same ribs MUST work excessively just to let you keep breathing. So they strain, ‘give’, irritate, get locally inflamed - and welcome to costo. It’s not a “mysterious inflammation” arriving for no reason. Have a look at the iHunch page on the Backpod’s website - www.bodystance.co.nz/en/ihunch/ If that looks like a fit with you, then you’d better do all the bits in the Backpod’s home program - we designed it specifically to counter the iHunch and pull you back towards perfect posture. It’s worth looking at the Perfect Posture page also. Good luck with the work. Cheers, Steve August (B.A.,Dip.Physio.).
So, costo’s a mystery, they say, And, no, it won’t just go away; The New Zealand view’s clear - Free the ribs at the rear, Then their front joints will settle okay.
Steve NZ Physio hello, my pain is in the floating ribs, would I still benefit from the back pod the same, and use the same way? Also, It seems many articles claim the problem is loose cartilage that holds the rib in place. Is that untrue? If it is true, how does releasing the “back hinge” help with the condition?
Steve, I just watched your rather educational video, and am amazed I never saw it in the 20 months I have been Googling costo! I ordered the Backpod right away. It sounds like it should work! One question though: do you recommend any anti inflammatory foods as well to supplement the regime you recommend? Do you think inflammatory foods exacerbate the costo pain? It has been quite severe for me lately. Thank you!
It only pops because the rib joints around your back are getting tight. It is not an inflammation. If you free up the tight rib joints round the back, then the sternum popping will stop. The video tells you how to do that.
Hey Steve, thank you for this video. I have been suffering from costochondritis for about 3 months now. My chest rib cage is very very sore (especially left side). I just ordered the back pod so hoping it will take some pain away. I get a bit of anxiety with the pain which makes my pain worse and was wondering if I should go for the anti depressant meds? Does anxiety makes the pain worse? Also i am able to move both sides but the soreness is always there 😔😔😔 please advice
@@JIMMIX7 Hi James. have a look down the 'Buy' page on the Backpod's website - www.bodystance.co.nz/buy-now There are suppliers in lots of countries now. Cheers, Steve August.
Hi Kami. Usually costochondritis is easy enough to sort out - if you do the right things for it. Well done on thinking for yourself. Please do follow the Backpod's instructions in the user guide carefully. Re anxiety - I think it's perfectly sane and reasonable to be concerned about a mysterious chest pain that the docs don't seem to understand or fix. Sure, anxiety makes everything worse. I don't have any miracle cure for it - my feeling is just fix the costochondritis. Good luck with the work - sure, you can get a bit tender for the first few days as things start to move freely again. It usually takes three weeks or so to get everything mostly free. Also, shout yourself a sports massage - preferably two, with a week off in between. When you've had costo for more than a few months, the muscles between and overlying the tight ribs around your back and sides, plus the pec muscles on your chest, also get tight and scarred. Massage is ideal for loosening them up. Hang in there. Cheers, Steve August.
Thank you for all this and devoting so much of your life to chosto. Nobody else is an expert like you. I was in awful pain and no doctor knew what was wrong. I had to self diagnose. Bought the backpod and been using it 3 weeks. Within a day pain halved, and now its barely noticeable at all. Thank you sir!!
Well done on thinking for yourself. Very pleased the Backpod is helping. You may need other bits of treatment too. Here's a long wordy PDF on what costochondritis actually is and what we find works best to fix it. It is more easily read on a computer, not a phone. The PDF covers using the Backpod for costo, and also the other bits that often need dealing to as well. Cheeringly, these can nearly all be done by yourself at home. It takes a bit of time and effort, but it's not that difficult. Good luck with the work! www.bodystance.co.nz/assets/Uploads/Costo-treatment-plan-incl-Costo-and-iHunch-PDFs-19-July-2022.pdf
I was in despair, found these videos and rolled up a bath towel, put it on the floor, laid on top with the roll between my shoulder blades and felt all kinds of CRACKLES, then relaxation. And my costo was so much better the very moment I got up! Went and ordered the back pod. Thank you so much.
Good intelligent thinking - well done. Do note that your costo is therefore not, repeat not, repeat NOT a "mysterious inflammation." You couldn't get instant relief from an inflammation just by freeing up the tight ribs around your back like you did. The crackles were the frozen rib joints round the back freeing up a bit - like rusty hinges. So it's a mechanical problem - which is what I've been saying from my New Zealand physiortherapy experience. Which is supported by the medical research - the "mysterious inflammation" red herring isn't. Good. The towel started you off. That'll start you stretching the tight ribs. Yes, the Backpod is hugely better - it's got much more specific leverage because of its unyielding core, and usually the joints need that oomph. But the socks will start you off okay. Well done on thinking for yourself, deciding I might know what i’m talking about, and getting a Backpod. Stick with it - it’s very tough stuff you’re stretching and it takes time. Do please READ THE INSTRUCTIONS and the 'Warnings and precautions' section in the 31-page user guide. If for some reason you haven’t got one, there is also a pdf copy of the full user guide near the bottom of the iHunch and Costochondritis pages on the Backpod’s website - www.bodystance.co.nz/assets/Uploads/backpod-full-user-guide-feb-2020.pdf. These are the best detailed instructions on how to use the Backpod. We start people off really gently because often they just do too much initially and get sore. You are starting to stretch joints that haven’t moved for months or years and you can get a bit of normal treatment tenderness for a few days. It’s a lot like stretching hamstring muscles that are so tight you can’t touch your knees - takes a while before you can reach your toes. When you no longer need a pillow under your head when you’re lying on the Backpod, get some more oomph out of it by lifting your buttocks off the ground, using the Backpod crosswise across the upper back (gives more leverage) as well as lengthwise and out to the sides a little (to get the ribs), and/or linking your fingers together and slowly moving your arms up over your head and down to your waist repeatedly; try that with just one arm as well. Chase the tightest bits and spend 1-3 minutes on each. Also, when you get to that point, start doing the sitting twist exercise I showed 12.54 minutes into the ‘How to Fix most Costo and Tietze’s , Part (2)’ UA-cam video - ua-cam.com/video/r7ve6nNVdWc/v-deo.html This is to work the joints now they’re reasonably unlocked - like working a rusty hinge back and forth after you put some oil on it. Also, ideally, shout yourself a sports massage - preferably two, with a week off in between. When you've had costo for more than a few months, the muscles between and overlying the tight ribs around your back and sides, plus the pec muscles on your chest, also get tight and scarred. Massage is ideal for loosening them up. However NOT until it’s safe with COVID-19. At a minimum, you should both wear masks, hand sanitise, and when you get home take all your clothes off and put them straight into the washing machine and you straight into the shower, including washing your hair. As well, if possible, talk, bargain or bribe someone into doing the two massages in the Backpod’s user guide, about once a week for at least a few weeks. Get them to go hard down between your shoulder blades. You’re probably tight on your pecs as part of it all, so best to stretch them as well. There’s a good pec stretching video on UA-cam - link is ua-cam.com/video/EfVKRXhYVEA/v-deo.html I’m guessing this next bit, but the commonest reason these days for costo starting is if you’re getting a bit hunched, usually from much bending over computers, phones, patients or whatever - we call it the iHunch. As part of the spine getting a bit hunched and tight, the rib joints attaching to your spine also stiffen and seize. When they can’t move, then the joints at the other ends of the same ribs MUST work excessively just to let you keep breathing. So they strain, ‘give’, irritate, get locally inflamed - and welcome to costo. It’s not a “mysterious inflammation” arriving for no reason. Have a look at the iHunch page on the Backpod’s website - www.bodystance.co.nz/en/ihunch/ If that looks like a fit with you, then do all the bits in the Backpod’s home program - we designed it specifically to counter the iHunch and pull you back towards perfect posture. It’s worth looking at the Perfect Posture page also. Good luck with the work. Cheers, Steve August (B.A.,Dip.Physio.).
Please give this man a knighthood. Suffering from intense chostocondritis for over 2 years but already seeing improvements with the backpod and recommend stretching.
Hi Ruhul. Heh - thanks! Well done on thinking for yourself. Have a thorough look over this long wordy PDF on fixing costo. Should give you what you need, including the other bits usually needing dealing to as part of the whole costo problem. It's easier read on a computer, not a phone. www.bodystance.co.nz/assets/Uploads/Costo-treatment-plan-incl-Costo-and-iHunch-PDFs-19-July-2022.pdf
@@arvidschwartz3412 gosh, it was a lot man. Start by taking natural anti-inflammatory's daily. No ibuprofen. Only ginger and turmeric. Start doing things that stretch your chest. I know it sounds weird, but a lot of this stress is actually being held in your pectorals and your traps
@@scorcoz I’ve been dealing with this for a year and today it moved to the other side of my rib cage and j ended up in the Er for hours because breathing is excruciating. I am so tired of pain
@@kanbear4115 Do what he says. I believe him. I have LIVED with this and other musculoskeletal horrors since Childhood. No one can see how much I hurt, and I have remained active but in serious pain forever. I'm always looking FOR NON PHYSICIAN, NON PHARMACEUTICAL RELIEF. He is spot on I believe. Just RULE out other things before you lean into this hard. I won't...lol! BUT, that's my business...ha😋Lisa
Hi Steve! You are a wonderful man. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with the world, you are helping so many people! I originally commented on your first video for how to fix costochondritis, and this second video is just as helpful. Both my husband and I have watched is 3 or more times. I got costo from a BJJ injury. I went back to BJJ after 5 weeks off - that was a mistake. I went back and not even a week and a half later, I had to stop traiing again as I was in so much pain. So I took 6.5 months off, and have now been back training BJJ for 5 weeks...not without pain in my chest/sternum, that's for sure. But my husband is a qualified physio from Melb uni, and so after watching your videos, he has been freeing up the joints at the back and massaging the collagen, and this has helped a lot. On top of that, I've been stretching like mad for 7 months - hanging off bars at the gym to loosen up my spine, twisting stretches, doing bridges, lying back on the roller, etc. But I still can't have knocks or much pressure put on my chest, bc I feel pain and am afraid of having people on top of me (which is sometimes necessary for BJJ!) Most of my training partners understand, and work around it and that's great...however, it's getting to the point where I believe that having say, another 12 months off or another 24 months off wouldn't actually fully heal the injury, only movement can... I think that after years of studying at a desk and years of hunching over, breastfeeding, probably contributed to my spine and rib joints freezing up - so I lost mobility in my spine and rib cage. I've got that mobility back now - but pain is still there when I train BJJ. My quesion is - how long did it take for you to finally heal your own costo? Yours happened after a fall, you then had costo for 7 years...but how long did it take you to heal it with the physio work on it? Was the rehab a fast process for you? Wishing I could be like you and never feel a twinge again so I could train BJJ normally....but then again, someone double my weight sat on me for a prolonged period, so I did have an acute injury there initially to the chest! Maybe I'm just too small to be training with bigger people (I weight 52 kg, so small).
Hi. Good - your physio husband is going to be a great help! Say hi from me. Mm - it took me a couple of months to clear my own costo about 95% - but I didn't have the Backpod then, and it really is an advance. BJJ is pretty extreme on those rib joints on you sternum. Think of them like sprained ankles - even when you've freed off the tight machinery around the back, you've still got sprained joints that are vulnerable for some months after that. You may need this as well: What you can get with costo and especially Tietze’s Syndrome is swelling where the ribs join onto your breastbone. (Tietze's is just costo with enough swelling of the joints where the ribs join onto your breastbone to be noticeable.) All it is is intracellular fluid - the same sort of fresh fluid swelling that happens if you sprain your ankle. As with a sprained ankle, after a week the fluid swelling sets hard. This is just the normal inflammatory response of strained joints - there’s no auto-immune component. It’s a normal repair process, with fibrin in the fluid acting as a slow setting glue to hold everything together while the torn fibres and cells are repairing. With costo and Tietze’s, the irritation and strain can continue for months or years, so you can get a rock-like build-up of this stuff, often with a bit of fresh swelling on top. It’s a bit like running with tight boots causing a blister and NEVER STOPPING for years. As long as the rib hinges round the back can’t move, then the rib joints on your breastbone HAVE to keep straining - every breath you take. So you often get some hardened swelling there where the ribs join onto the breastbone. This doesn’t just interfere with the normal free glide of the rib hinges, it also binds down the free nerve endings and receptors, tethering them and making them hypersensitive. Break it down. This is like working hard putty or play dough or cold pastry dough until it becomes malleable. You can do this yourself. Use something to let your fingers slide. Massage wax is better than oil - oil dribbles. Better again is something that will also reduce the irritation of working these sensitive bits around, like Voltaren (diclofenac) anti-inflammatory gel or CBD cream like Penetrex. You won’t weaken the scarring round the joints or any surgical scar, just make it flexible and not pulling on the nerves. Spend about 10-15 minutes every three or four days working your fingers through the hardened bits in all directions. Start gently - it’ll get easier as you continue. It will be tender and probably sore - it gets easier as it frees up. The first time is the worst. Just do what it feels like it can handle, and expect to feel it tender, especially to touch, afterwards. It takes time - probably a few or several weeks. But it’s easy enough to do. It’s the main answer to this specific bit of the problem. But just done on its own it’ll keep coming back, unless you sort out the tight ribs round the back driving it. We use the Backpod for that but quite often you need to do the front bit as well. Cheers, Steve August (B.A.,Dip.Physio.).
@@stevenzphysio4203 Thanks very much for your response Steve, I will definitely start with the massage today. What you are describing totally makes sense, and it's really helpful for my situation. I always appreciate your advice and won't forget how much help you've been. - Renee.
i get this every few years from a car accident in 2012, i just got woken up by the pain that i could feel was coming before i went to bed. currently standing in a hot shower, doing these exercises and honestly can breathe without the massive amounts of pain. thanks!! adding these into my lifestyle in hopes i never have to go through this again
Hi Maria. Glad it's helped! It's common after a car crash when you hit the steering wheel airbag or the seatbelt. The impact can leave the rib joints round the back tight or frozen, so you get ongoing extra strain continuing to happen at the rib joints on the breastbone. These rib joints at the front will 'give' under a bit more load, with that sharp scary stabbing pain - it's NOT a "mysterious inflammation." The stretches will free things up somewhat. If it keeps happening, you may definitely need more leverage to stretch the rib joints round the back fully free. We use the backpod for that - see www.bodystance.co.nz/en/costochondritis/ Cheers, Steve August.
I’ve had epidurals n blocks over the past 6 yrs. I started myself researching about my pain. Internal medicine doctors just don’t know enough about this disease. I bought the back pod n having been using it n will start your exercises per this video. Your the answer to my prayers🙏
Well done on thinking for yourself. The thing is - epidural or other nerve blocks aren't a treatment. All they're doing is attempting to block the pain signals that the nerves are carrying. They are not treating the problem that is causing the pain in the first place. In the case of costo, this is the frozen movement of the rib joints around the back. So blocks don't last - even if they work to start with - because the problem is still there, keeping the ongoing sprain at the rib joints on your breastbone. Well done on thinking for yourself, deciding I might know what i’m talking about, and getting a Backpod. Stick with it - it’s very tough stuff you’re stretching and it takes time. Do please READ THE INSTRUCTIONS and the 'Warnings and precautions' section in the 31-page user guide. If for some reason you haven’t got one, there is also a pdf copy of the full user guide near the bottom of the iHunch and Costochondritis pages on the Backpod’s website - www.bodystance.co.nz/assets/Uploads/backpod-full-user-guide-feb-2020.pdf. These are the best detailed instructions on how to use the Backpod. We start people off really gently because often they just do too much initially and get sore. You are starting to stretch joints that haven’t moved for months or years and you can get a bit of normal treatment tenderness for a few days. It’s a lot like stretching hamstring muscles that are so tight you can’t touch your knees - takes a while before you can reach your toes. When you no longer need a pillow under your head when you’re lying on the Backpod, get some more oomph out of it by lifting your buttocks off the ground, using the Backpod crosswise across the upper back (gives more leverage) as well as lengthwise and out to the sides a little (to get the ribs), and/or linking your fingers together and slowly moving your arms up over your head and down to your waist repeatedly; try that with just one arm as well. Chase the tightest bits and spend 1-3 minutes on each. Also, when you get to that point, start doing the sitting twist exercise I showed 12.54 minutes into the ‘How to Fix most Costo and Tietze’s , Part (2)’ UA-cam video - ua-cam.com/video/r7ve6nNVdWc/v-deo.html This is to work the joints now they’re reasonably unlocked - like working a rusty hinge back and forth after you put some oil on it. Also, ideally, shout yourself a sports massage - preferably two, with a week off in between. When you've had costo for more than a few months, the muscles between and overlying the tight ribs around your back and sides, plus the pec muscles on your chest, also get tight and scarred. Massage is ideal for loosening them up. However do it safely with COVID-19 around. At a minimum, you should both wear masks and hand sanitise. As well, if possible, talk, bargain or bribe someone into doing the two massages in the Backpod’s user guide, about once a week for at least a few weeks. Get them to go hard down between your shoulder blades. You’re probably tight on your pecs as part of it all, so best to stretch them as well. There’s a good pec stretching video on UA-cam - link is ua-cam.com/video/EfVKRXhYVEA/v-deo.html I’m guessing this next bit, but the commonest reason these days for costo starting is if you’re getting a bit hunched, usually from much bending over computers, phones, patients or whatever - we call it the iHunch. As part of the spine getting a bit hunched and tight, the rib joints attaching to your spine also stiffen and seize. When they can’t move, then the joints at the other ends of the same ribs MUST work excessively just to let you keep breathing. So they strain, ‘give’, irritate, get locally inflamed - and welcome to costo. It’s not a “mysterious inflammation” arriving for no reason. Have a look at the iHunch page on the Backpod’s website - www.bodystance.co.nz/en/ihunch/ If that looks like a fit with you, then do all the bits in the Backpod’s home program - we designed it specifically to counter the iHunch and pull you back towards perfect posture. It’s worth looking at the Perfect Posture page also. Good luck with the work. Cheers, Steve August (B.A.,Dip.Physio.).
Thanks, Peggy. You are not alone. The confusion is almost as bad as the pain. Thoroughly read the costo page of the Backpod’s website, including watching the costo videos linked from it - www.bodystance.co.nz/en/costochondritis/ Understand what’s going on and what actually fixes costo. Our sensible and effective New Zealand manual physiotherapy way to fix costo is based on the actual published medical research. The popular medical explanation of costo as a “mysterious inflammation" is not. Yes, this is nuts. Good luck with the work. Cheers, Steve August (B.A.,Dip.Physio.).
I can’t thank you enough. You’ve changed my life. I’m not 100% but my pain is vastly improved. It started when I was pregnant so I assumed it was because of that. I lost so much sleep because of the pain. God bless you, my friend.
Thank you very much. It’s common for costochondritis to start over pregnancy. As the baby bulge gets bigger, the rib cage is forced apart a bit. If the rib joints round the back are too tight to move, then the ones on your breastbone get strained out more, often with popping and cracking and sharp stabbing pain - a lot like spraining your ankle slowly. That’s what the pain is - it’s not a “mysterious inflammation”, no matter what you may have been told. This can continue even after your baby is born, because the tight rib machinery around the back stays frozen, so the joints on your breastbone have to keep moving too much to compensate. So they click, pop, ‘give’, get sore - and welcome to costo. So, you would have been tight in your rib cage before your pregnancy. I’m guessing this next bit, but the commonest reason these days for costo starting is if you’re getting a bit hunched, usually from much bending over computers, phones, patients or whatever - we call it the iHunch. As part of the spine getting a bit hunched and tight, the rib joints attaching to your spine also stiffen and seize. When they can’t move, then the joints at the other ends of the same ribs MUST work excessively just to let you keep breathing. Pregnancy just puts that bit of extra loa on the joints like this. Have a look at the iHunch page on the Backpod’s website - www.bodystance.co.nz/en/ihunch/ If that looks like a fit with you, then you’d better do all the bits in the Backpod’s home program - we designed it specifically to counter the iHunch and pull you back towards perfect posture. It’s worth looking at the Perfect Posture page also. Good luck with the work. Cheers, Steve August (B.A.,Dip.Physio.).
Hey Molly mine happened 6 months post Partum and I really believe it must have started during my pregnancy because I had a lot of trouble breathing during my pregnancy, and it can take a bit for ribs and everything to go back to normal too so I feel like me lifting my baby not correctly and also bad posture definitely made this pain come on. I’ve been dealing with it for 3 months now. If you ever wanna talk to a fellow costo mom feel free to email me ckjones220@yahoo.com I hope you get better soon!
Thank good someone figured it out. Been suffering on and off for years with sternum pain, has been getting unbearable lately. All US doctors say it has no cause and no cure. Haven't tried the treatment suggested here but now I have hope.
Hi Alexei. The US doctors are wrong. I'm being accurate, not cranky. It's not their fault. Have a look at this video of mine on the actual medical research on costo - ua-cam.com/video/t8k2LCLeR24/v-deo.html Then have a thorough look over the Costo page on the Backpod's website, including the videos - www.bodystance.co.nz/en/costochondritis/ Then start fixing it. Cheers, Steve August.
I just ordered a backpod yesterday. I'm almost in tears while watching this video because everything you've said is me. I've been dealing with pain for 5+ years. I will come back to this video and update my progress.
Hi Janice. Well done on thinking for yourself and not giving up. Good luck with the work - please DO follow the instructions accurately; expect things to take a few weeks to stretch free mostly, and to get a bit tender over the first week as the rib joints round the back start moving again after five years of not. I do sympathise. It's just luck - I so nearly didn't put up the first costo video - didn't think there'd be much interest in what we in my area of physio in New Zealand regard as a simple readily fixable mechanical problem. We were gobsmacked to discover that most of the rest of the world sees costo as this "mysterious inflammation" nonsense - that's why they don't fix it. As well as the Backpod, shout yourself a sports massage - preferably two, with a week off in between. When you've had costo for more than a few months (let alone 5+ years!), the muscles between and overlying the tight ribs around your back and sides, plus the pec muscles on your chest, also get tight and scarred. Massage is ideal for loosening them up. Best wishes, Steve August.
I received the Backpod last week. I've used it several times already. I started with 2 pillows. It was intense. I no longer use pillows but I need to use a towel over the Backpod. I came back to review the stretches outlined in the video. The Back pod and stretches are WORKING! Now I need to schedule an appointment with massage therapist. Thank you.
@@janiceriedel8845 Hi Janice. Well done! Stick with it and give it time. You can feel a bit of treatment tenderness after you stretch stuff that hasn't moved for a long time. It's a measure of how tight you've been - when all the rib and spinal joints are moving fine, you just feel a satisfying stretch on the Backpod. It's only sore if it's tight - like trying to force down to the floor with really tight hamstrings. Well done on sticking with it, and it'll get easier all the time now. We do get a few people who don't read the instructions, hurl themselves on the Backpod, then complain it's too hard or sore. All they have to do is use pillows, etc. Sigh. It''l also be a lot easier after the massage. Cheers, Steve August.
It's been 3 years since I got the backpod. My costochondritis is gone. I do have a question for you. My ribs on the side hurt. They don't hurt where they hinged at the backbone or chest. They're inflamed. Can the backpod help with that? Do you have suggestions on how to use it.
So glad this was posted in one of my chronic pain groups. I went through all the steps, I felt painless slight pops, my arms immediately felt more relaxed and so does my entire body. I was told I also have Nerve Root Disorder/Disease, it was explained to me that the root of my nerves connect to my spinal cord are misfiring and causing crazy bouts of pain. This is the most relaxed my back and chest has felt in awhile. Thank you so much, I will be adding this to my daily schedule 6X a day. Thanks again, I never thought I could get an adjustment and help heal myself all from a UA-cam video. Ahhh, I love the positives the internet brings us. ❤
Hi JM. Great - glad it's helping. I'm assuming you're using a Backpod though you haven't actually said. Yes, you often get that diagnosis - that it's the nerves that are causing the pain, somehow. What you don't often get is a reason or even a question of WHY they are doing that. The commonest answer is that some of the moving parts of the spine and ribs are stuck solid - which can sort of nip the nerves where they exit from the spine. (This doesn't show on CAT or MRI scan or X-ray because these are still photos and can't show if joints are moving fine or concreted solid.) The Backpod, if that's what you're using, is quietly stretching free the frozen hinges. The cracks are them releasing - just like you'd get with a rusty hinge. Stick with it - it'll get a lot better yet. It takes time to stretch the tough stuff. Cheers, Steve August.
@@stevenzphysio4203 Thank you for responding. I have not purchased the pod yet, but it will be purchases after the 1st of the month. I also showed your video to my roommate, he too did the exercise with me, he too could not believe how much it helped. We both look forward to getting the Backpod, prior to viewing your video we were using 2 different types of rolling pins. I have even use the door jam, like a bear using a scratching tree. Definitely, looking forward to the Backpod. Thanks again, I am spreading the word to all my friends I met at the former Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. A lot of us use wheelchairs and back braces and you are the first one who made since to any of us what was causing our pain. We would refer to them as fat cramps, meaning we haven't been exercising enough. We finally now know what it is, and how to relieve it naturally without reaching for an opiate. 🙌
@@JM-fp9wk Hi JM. It's a matter of leverage. The small peaked shape of the Backpod can simply bring more stretch leverage to tight rib and spinal joints around the back. Any rolling pin or foam roller spreads the upper body weight more along its length, so can't exert as much stretch on a specific joint. Any general stretch also can't get as much leverage onto a joint. They're not wrong, and they are useful, but usually you're so tight on the hinges that they simply need more heft to stretch free fully - that's what we built the Backpod to do. Also, for someone in a wheelchair, they're probably limited further in what general stretches they can do anyway, So again the Backpod's going to be really helpful in getting enough leverage in to keep the thoracic spine and rib cage free. I didn't really think of that - my life's a bit like swimming in an avalanche anyway, but it makes complete sense. Thanks for drawing it to my attention. Is it really common with people in wheelchairs to get sore in their thoracic spine and rib joints - what you call the "fat cramps"? I'm a new Zealand physiotherapist, but it's a long time since I've worked in rehab with guys like you. I think I remember how muscly and bunched you get around the back muscles though, and how tight the joints got underneath that. Cheers, Steve August.
I'm glad that we have people like this on the internet
Thanks, Dan.
@@stevenzphysio4203 Hi Steve, I'm definitely getting the back pod but in the meantime do you think a tennis ball will work?
@@Sjj827 Hi Sophia. Yep - good idea. There's nothing else out there that will do a really effective stretch on the tight rib machinery round the back which causes the costo strain and pain at the front. To get one, you're best to go to the Buy page on the Backpod's website and look through the options there - these are all legitimate and our ONLY official sellers. Link is www.bodystance.co.nz/buy-now
Do watch out for rip-off artists out there on Amazon, eBay, etc. who are selling the Backpod for many times our official sellers' price in the hope they'll suck someone into buying it. It's nothing to do with us whatsoever. Don't buy one.
Until the Backpod arrives, you can use some tightly rolled up socks taped up into a ball about 90mm across. Use that as we'd use the Backpod. The instructions are in the user guide - there's a pdf of it near the bottom of the Costochondritis page on the Backpod's website - www.bodystance.co.nz/en/costochondritis/ That'll start you stretching the tight ribs. Yes, the Backpod is hugely better - it's got much more specific leverage because of its unyielding core, and usually the joints need that oomph. But the socks will start you off okay.
Cheers, Steve August.
Ik right dan
@Joel Emery i dont believe you. show proof. and why are you here?
I want to add how helpful this has been. One major point. FIX YOUR POSTURE. Put a pillow in the back of your chair, adjust your car seat, etc. Don't let it be a back and forth game because you continue poor posture making it harder to heal. Be diligent about that.
Exercises mentioned in this video begin at 12:00, 13:16 and 14:10 for those who do not want to watch the whole video, but if you have the time, I would strongly suggest to watch it. This certainly helped me a lot.
Hi. Thanks - that's useful. I know the whole video's wordy. There's a lot of explanation around the specific exercises given because when I was presenting it the concept that costochondritis is a simple enough mechanical problem and not a mysterious inflammation was quite new. Trying to find the time to do some more focused videos on costo. Cheers, Steve August.
Thank you!!!
Thank you, it’s also helpful for those of us that have already seen the full video, but come back to it for the exercises only.
@@stevenzphysio4203 hello and thank you for your video. Can you please tell me, if I do all the exercises you have recommended and it works for me, will I be able to get back to running and lifting weights? It is depressing me not being able to do it now. I cannot imagine never being able to do it again. Thank you in advance.
@@stevenzphysio4203 I ordered the backpod but it has not arrived. It was ordered in april and I am in uk. How can I sort this out?
This man is the GOAT. GREATEST OF ALL TIME.
JESUS is The Lamb of God, Who Taketh Away The SIN of The World. FAR ABOVE a G O A T! All "Knowledge" is HIS. This Man is a Conduit . I thank him for being kind and generous with his GOD SENT "Gift."
@@lisasmith516 Jesus Christ. 🤦🏼♂️
@@lisasmith516 nobody asked for this.
So i commented on this video 1 year ago after suffering with costochondritis for almost 2 years, I followed every step in this video and I’m now costo free and haven’t had any pain in months. Thank you so much Steve. 🥺 I did get frustrated a lot but please you guys don’t give up, keep stretching and using the back pod. From what I remember having costochondritis were the most miserable years of my life and I was in constant pain, feeling that pain at only 19 was scary 😕 I’m going to be 22 next week. For those who are going through this I wish you nothing but love, a fast recovery and healing. Costochondritis is not forever I promise hang in there it gets better! ❤️
Hi Lexie. Thank you so much for coming back with that feedback. You do get so much doom and gloom about costo, especially on the costo groups. The people who fix it usually just get on with their lives, so you do get a bias towards the despairing comments from people who never did. Really nice to hear from you. Well done! Thanks for gambling I might know what I was talking about, and sticking with what was needed until you were fixed. Congratulations - you earned it.
Best wishes, Steve August.
Did you still eat regular foods? How long did it take you to get use to backpod without no pillows? Did you just use the backpod or you went to a chiropractor?
@@stephaniehamlet2474 yes I ate regular foods and never changed what I ate, from what I remember about 3 or 4 weeks I was able to use the backpod without pillows. I took it very slow and didn’t rush it, you want to start off gentle so you don’t end up making your chest pain any worse. Also no I’ve never been to a chiropractor I’ve only used the backpod
@lexie Guarnieri thankyou so much for you reply it is the worse time I'm going through it now only had it for while 3 months very frustrating going through the pain trying work and all back and forth to the doctors office very scary stuff thinking it's your heart but it's your costochondritis I'm a take my time like you said been using my backpod for 2 weeks now just have to get the pectorals to stretch out more really appreciate your comment thankyou so much!!!
@@stephaniehamlet2474 You’re welcome & best of luck!! Costochondritis is not forever, the pain is temporary you’ll get through this!! 💕🙏
Notes:
1. Use Backpod. This is the main thing.
2. Stretch your ribs vertically 12:00. Do this 30 seconds for both sides 10 times, multiple times a day.
3. Stretch your ribs horizontally 13:15. Do it 10 times to both sides multiple times a day. Stretch and hold for 30 seconds after this.
4. Put some anti-inflammatory gel on that bitch couple times a day 14:58
Check out better notes made by Steve August in the description.
What kind of anti inflammatory gel?
@@KurdishPower53 try Voltaren - it works wonders for me!
@@patrickhandlovsky7665 I second this. Especially if you work it in like Steve says itll really relieve the pain for a bit.
Thanks you sir but you are not audible enough
The way you worded that last piece of advice has me in tears 🤣 I’ve been so stressed about my costo that this tiny bit made my day.
The world needs more people like you. First video that makes sense, I finally found some hope after all these months.
Thanks, Nick - I appreciate it. Cheers, Steve August.
These exercises reduced my pain by almost 95% in matter of days. Steve, you’re changing lives!
You are a godsend. THANK YOU. 3 years of pain and no doctor ever knew what was going on. Two emergency room visits later and I stumbled upon your video. They always said it was "normal', in the words of my chiropractor, "it is not normal, it is common." I am so happy to finally understand what this is instead of assuming the worst. If you are ever in California I owe you a beer or two or three. Keep up the good work. You will forever be a legend in my life. THANK YOU
Heh. Thanks very much, Justin - glad what I've been saying made sense. Some days I feel like the one-eyed man in the Country of the Blind. I'm just passing on the standard New Zealand manual physio view of costo - I'm still pretty bemused that it doesn't much seem to be outside my little country. I so nearly didn't put up the first costo video because I didn't think there'd be much interest in what we'd regard as a straightforward hinge movement problem. Of course it's not a mystery and of course it's fixable. Good luck with the work. Cheers, Steve August.
Hi Justin. How are you doing at the moment? I've been using the backpod for 2 weeks now. Doing better nuw nowhere near 100%. Did you use the backpod, if so are you still using it daily?
JP Du Toit did you cure your costo?
IFKR these doctors always say it's normal and hand out a bunch of pills to take
I've had this for 3 years too and I just found out what this is
@@urchillzone over a year now with it severly bad, cannot talk or lift anything sleeping is very hard and rely on alcohol for pain relief my life is ruined.. found this. i really hope a chiro can do this munipulation.
You’re legitimately restoring sanity to my life. I can’t thank you enough.
3rd week on the backpod! My costochondritis improved by 80 percent already. Steve thank you so much!
I'm 26 years old suffering from this apparently. Really wanting that inflammation to go away. This is the most comprehensive video and explanation on it I've ever seen.
I'm going to try my best to follow this for 30 days and pray it goes away.
How are you doing now
@@user-hj8vc2ix7p Better. I've only had one major flare up of pain since I've started using it, which is much better than what I was experiencing before.
Apart from that I've only had mild pain now and then. It's slowly working for me. I did over strech too much in the beginning, rather than taking it slow, and this caused it to flare up. I also over massaged the area and gave myself some bruising.
I also visited a chiropractor about it as well and had some adjustment done, which may have also assisted the process (I was having some neck pains too, which encouraged me to go and get some advice). My main cause of my issues is my posture and the fact I sleep on my stomach (I think) so lying on the backpod everyday does always make my neck and chest feel better, so it must be doing something.
I definitely feel in a better place than I was a month ago! I'm going to keep at it and hopefully I can say goodbye to this forever!
@@ivenousername how are u today ?:) did you fix it?
@@Elennpto I'm a lot better than I was 4 months ago. I never have pains like I used to.
I still use the backpod 2-3 times a week, it helps me feel stretched out and refreshed.
I now sleep only on my side, with a pillow underneath supporting my ribs. This helps prevent me from getting the pain. I also exercise more often. After my visit to a Chiro and an Ostheopath, I got a nice massage and had some adjustments done. I had lots of tightness in my lower back and ribs area. This, combined with using the backpod, combined with becoming more active (my main problem was bad posture) I haven't had a major flare up of costo.
I very occasionally get a minor costo pain when I lie on my front for too long in bed, but I pop some gel on and it subsides much easier than it used to. I used to have this pain for days and weeks before it would calm down, and then the cycle would just repeat, and I'd have to take loads of painkillers. I rarely take ibuprofen now.
Keep fighting it, find out what works for you and makes you feel better, and you'll get there. I also use a lacross ball, and there's good streches you can do with that as well that will really help. I also bought a memory foam pillow that supports my head and neck better, as my old pillows had basically become flat.
I had fixed my posture but I was still finding myself getting it, so I knew that my sleeping patterns were the cause.
@@ivenousername thanks for replying :) glad you got yours fixed ! Im not sure about mine. My sternum / rips dont really hurt. Its more the tightness and it feels like sometimes my rips to the sternum „move out of their place“ so i get the tightness feeling in my sternum and the urge to pop it. My Sternum also always pops the first time i sneeze and what bothers me the most is idk if it is from my costo my heart is sometimes randomly beating so fast and i get anxiety & dizzy. Like a panic attack. Im a really skinny guy and want to go to the gym so badly. I lost 20kg because i didnt go (last time was 2020). Im scared that training my chest is making it worse. Back when i did chest exercises my rips always popped while doing the exercise. Was not so good :D the biggest mistake was doing dips - i think i got it from that. Never again im doing this. Anyways i wanted to share it with you. I will stick to the backpod everyday and see how it goes. My sternum got wayy better. Still sometimes tight & stiff but not like it was 2-3 weeks ago. Im curious if it can fix my popping when i have to sneeze. Greetings from a 25 yo german guy :)
I’ve lived with these symptoms on and off all my life only to be rectified by a relatively inexpensive and simple solution. Thank you Steve, you’re a wonder.
Thank you, Andronikos. I'm afraid your story is a common one. As a New Zealand hands-on physiotherapist, I was staggered to find that most of the rest of the world simply understands costo wrongly, and therefore doesn't fix it. Where I work, it's just not a big deal - easier to sort out than the usual low back or neck problem.
I would recommend the Backpod - it's about the only thing around that will do an effective stretch on the frozen rib machinery round the back which causes the strain and pain of the rib joints at your sternum. They're available in the EU from our German partners at www.bodystance.eu Stick with it - it’s very tough stuff you’re stretching and it takes time. Do please READ THE INSTRUCTIONS and the 'Warnings and precautions' section in the 31-page user guide. If for some reason you haven’t got one, there is also a pdf copy of the full user guide near the bottom of the iHunch and Costochondritis pages on the Backpod’s website - www.bodystance.co.nz/assets/Uploads/backpod-full-user-guide-feb-2020.pdf. These are the best detailed instructions on how to use the Backpod.
We start people off really gently because often they just do too much initially and get sore. You are starting to stretch joints that haven’t moved for months or years and you can get a bit of normal treatment tenderness for a few days. It’s a lot like stretching hamstring muscles that are so tight you can’t touch your knees - takes a while before you can reach your toes.
When you no longer need a pillow under your head when you’re lying on the Backpod, get some more oomph out of it by lifting your buttocks off the ground, using the Backpod crosswise across the upper back (gives more leverage) as well as lengthwise and out to the sides a little (to get the ribs), and/or linking your fingers together and slowly moving your arms up over your head and down to your waist repeatedly; try that with just one arm as well. Chase the tightest bits and spend 1-3 minutes on each.
Also, when you get to that point, start doing the sitting twist exercise I showed 12.54 minutes into the ‘How to Fix most Costo and Tietze’s , Part (2)’ UA-cam video - ua-cam.com/video/r7ve6nNVdWc/v-deo.html This is to work the joints now they’re reasonably unlocked - like working a rusty hinge back and forth after you put some oil on it.
Also, ideally, shout yourself a sports massage - preferably two, with a week off in between. When you've had costo for more than a few months, the muscles between and overlying the tight ribs around your back and sides, plus the pec muscles on your chest, also get tight and scarred. Massage is ideal for loosening them up. However NOT until it’s safe with COVID-19. At a minimum, you should both wear masks, hand sanitise, and when you get home take all your clothes off and put them straight into the washing machine and you straight into the shower, including washing your hair.
As well, if possible, talk, bargain or bribe someone into doing the two massages in the Backpod’s user guide, about once a week for at least a few weeks. Get them to go hard down between your shoulder blades.
You’re probably tight on your pecs as part of it all, so best to stretch them as well. There’s a good pec stretching video on UA-cam - link is ua-cam.com/video/EfVKRXhYVEA/v-deo.html
I’m guessing this next bit, but the commonest reason these days for costo starting is if you’re getting a bit hunched, usually from much bending over computers, phones, patients or whatever - we call it the iHunch. As part of the spine getting a bit hunched and tight, the rib joints attaching to your spine also stiffen and seize. When they can’t move, then the joints at the other ends of the same ribs MUST work excessively just to let you keep breathing. So they strain, ‘give’, irritate, get locally inflamed - and welcome to costo. It’s not a “mysterious inflammation” arriving for no reason.
Have a look at the iHunch page on the Backpod’s website - www.bodystance.co.nz/en/ihunch/ If that looks like a fit with you, then do all the bits in the Backpod’s home program - we designed it specifically to counter the iHunch and pull you back towards perfect posture. It’s worth looking at the Perfect Posture page also.
Good luck with the work.
Cheers,
Steve August (B.A.,Dip.Physio.).
Thank you. Finally someone who can provide an answer to "fix" the issue instead of throwing drugs at the symptoms. Much respect!
Thank you, Amy. Well done on thinking for yourself. I so nearly didn't put up the first costo video - didn't think there'd be much interest in a condition we regard as straightforward and easy to fix. Sigh. Cheers, Steve August.
You're right. It's SCARY! Just spent 24 hours of excruciating pain that came out of NOWHERE. I am a gardener, and I've injured myself in numerous ways. I figured that had something to do with it. Now I'm going to stretch. Thanks, doc!♡
All I can say is: thank you from the bottom of my heart. I didn’t know what to do to get rid of the pain that’s been bothering me for so long, then I’ve watched your video. While I was doing the exact exercises I saw in this video, the pain faded away with each move. Thank you so much!
Did you ever get rid of your Costco?
Did you fix your Costochondritis?
@@stephaniehamlet2474 Not quite fixed as once every 2-3 months my chest gets kind off stuck and it's a little hard to pop it, but yes, so much better.
These exercises helped me a lot
Did you ever experienced air hunger while having flare ups
Wow! How absolutely refreshing to have come across this. Someone who is actually talking sense and giving some practical advice. Doctors tell you nothing. They say they don't know what it is and that it will go through time. So glad to have found this video. Thank you!
Thanks, Shelaghna. Well done on thinking for yourself. Of COURSE costo isn't a mysterious inflammation that nobody understands. The only mystery where I am in New Zealand is why the rest of the world apparently thinks it is. Sigh. Cheers, Steve August.
This backpod is magical. It fixed my rib tightening issue. I have been using it for a month now and I must say it helped with my spasms and overall tightness issue. I highly recommend this to people with discomfort in the rib area. Exercises along with a minute of backpod placed under your back will solve your back and rib issue. Thank you for designing this Steve.
Thank you very much, DB. Cheers, Steve August.
Hey, how are u today? Im on my 4rd day of the backpod and it feels already way better, my sternum was almost tight 24/7 and now its only sometimes. After i sneeze my sternum popps but not as painful as it was before.
Thank you so much. The exercises are helping me breathe better and I have ordered the backpod. It is very generous of you to talk about this so much and you are humble and caring in your delivery.
Did urs go away?
It is so.depressing. it goes away for a couple months and as soon as I think it's gone it creeps in and then it can be a month of ever increasing pain.
This video was posted 8 years ago and you've provided me with the most relief I've found! Thank you so much!
Ive had the back pod for a couple of weeks and after using it in conjunction with these stretches in your video, just starting them over the last 3 days I feel so much better.
I was having the sharp pains with twisting of my upper body, as well as nearly constant chest tightness and sometimes burning during a bad flare up. The anxiety caused by my symptoms was exhausting and only added to my whole situation.
My chest finally feels opened up and not heavy anymore, especially while standing and being upright. I am going to continue the back pod and these stretches several times a day and hopefully I'll be able to slowly start incorporating strength training again soon.
Thanks again!
Also I do see a chiropractor and talked about costo today. He recommended to continue with the stretches, his manipulation of my upper back helps too. He also recommended trying a Turmeric supplement which helps with musculoskeletal pain and inflammation so I am going to try that as well because I want this to be gone for good!
Jeff from North Carolina just left my cardiologist and told him the success I had with this awesome knowledge and using the back pod. Amazin results but with all the chiropractor that I watch, I have learned many patients are having success to many parts of their bodies because they get decompression and basically, I believe that is what we do at home using the back pod go put pressure on the back to give it a nudge to unlock. I swear by this. Good Luck
Excellent that you're doing well - well done. Manipulation is an effective way of banging a tight joint free. (That's all it is - it doesn't put anything "back in" anywhere.)
But they can't stay free unless you also stretch the very tough ligaments, etc. around the joints so they can stay moving okay, and not just freeze up again fast. That's what we built the Backpod to do. It's an ideal combination. Well done!
Steve - you seriously deserve an award. My costo is 99% gone by just following your exercises and Back Pod. I have to admit I was suspect at first but decided to give it a try and like others am amazed that it actually works. Thanks for improving my quality of life and hope this feedback helps others.
Hi Mike. Thanks so much for that - I really appreciate it. Well done for giving it a go. I'm very pleased the Backpod's helped so much - that is what we built it for.
I'm a New Zealander - I was pretty unprepared for how much crap and hype there is on the net with products claiming to fix anything; especially from the US. I do quite see that healthy scepticism, not to say cynicism, is a sane response!
What really should be suspect is the standard medical offering of costo as a mysterious inflammation. There is no evidence whatsoever for this, and clear published medical papers showing no difference in blood markers for inflammation between people with costo and people without costo. It's just nuts, and also doesn't work.
Well done on thinking for yourself and giving the Backpod a go. The very last bit can linger awhile. A sports massage for the the muscles between and overlying the ribs at the back and sides, plus the pecs, would be a good addition - there's likely to be some muscle scarring as part of the rib cage tightness.
Cheers, Steve August.
How long did it take u to heal completely with the backpod?
@@stephaniehamlet2474 It took 3-4 weeks but started noticing improvement after a week. Amazingly, doctor's offered me no good solutions other than take ibuprofen to manage the discomfort. In the 4 years since, I have used the backpod again (for a few weeks) after a bad cough that maybe exacerbated things. Curious if it works for you and best wishes. Life changer and the maker deserves an award.
How long did it take you to heal?
@@Bryan-nf8qz Within 2-3 weeks I noticed a difference. I'm still amazed to this day this device worked for me.
This device & video got rid of my costo symptoms. Thank you so much. The pain and limitations on my life were horrendous. Again thank you so much.
Hail Cesar! That's great! Thanks for letting me know and you're very welcome. Well done for having a go and doing the work. The logical view of costochondritis I've been explaining just seems to be rather madly not outside New Zealand at all. If you'd like to help others with the problem, maybe you could find time to say something on some of the other costochondritis sites and videos? There are so many hurting and confused people on them with ongoing problems that haven't settled with time or medicines. Do you know that one surgical treatment is actually to cut the ends off the ribs where they join onto the breastbone? Crazy! Best wishes, Steve August.
+SteveNZ Physio Hi Steve, I sure can leave comments. Yeah I heard of that surgery when I was looking for answers. Every time I heard loud bass sounds it felt like I was having a heart attack so I could understand the desperation. It is very sad. I couldn't even drive because the vibration caused flare ups. Thanks for your immense help, Cesar
Where can i buy this device i'm from india... Plzz help.. I have the pain now for 7-8months... I think i got it from lifting weights.. I'm 21.. Plzz help
naman rana it's called the Backpod. You should be able to find different vendors doing a Google search but here is one link.
www.nzhealth.delivery/products/backpod
naman rana this video helped show me how to use the Backpod.
ua-cam.com/video/qsi3uxSX4Q0/v-deo.html
UPDATE :) This pod really works ! I've been using it for 1 month approximately now, every night 5 to 10 mins, sometimes twice a day, did only 3 massages at first, it helped a bit, but i think the cherry on the sunday was going to the gym swiming pool, also twice a week, doing long swim lengths for 20 mins, combining with hot spas, saunas, vapor baths and cold bath + of course, The POD !!! Man, i feel like brand new guys ! I highly recommend this BackPod ! Thanks Steve, you've healed my 7 month long lasting terrible pain and saved my mental depression ! Words can't express my gratitude towards you...! Big Hug ! :)
Hi Frank. I'm very pleased indeed to hear that. Well done - in thinking for yourself and having a go at what I suggested, and then sticking with the approach sensibly until it worked. Very well done indeed. Cheers, Steve August.
Hey Frank. How are you doing at the moment regarding your costo? I'm on week 2 now with the backpod and feeling better but the mental thing regarding this condition is terrible. Are you still using it daily?
Hello Dr. Steve and others, I'm also in big pain on my right side of the chest, I was diagnosed with costochondritis last year and still up today, the terrible pain comes and goes. I purchased the backpod but I haven't noticed any improvements yet...
I am considering a cortisone injection into the cartilage as my last resource to end this horrible pain. Any thoughts on the cortisone shot?
Eddy Santos yo bro I have pain on my left side, I don’t have a backpod yet (wish I did) but in the video he says it can take 1-2+ weeks before you notice improvements, if I were you I wouldn’t discourage and keep going for another month on the backpod twice a day before getting injections
@@nathanquintero936 Hello Nathan, thank you for the support. I will start using it everyday for 30 days and see if that helps. I hope it works out for you too. Keep me posted. Buena suerte!
My goodness I just went to the doctor thinking I was having a heart attack, I never got any help, after $500 he said I had nothing, I came home and surfed the web this is how I got here’ thank you so much I have peace of mind now knowing I can self treat myself at home’ you are awesome! I did all your techniques and within 7 days I’m fine now ! 🙏 😊 💕
I went to the ER thinking the same thing and instead of a heart attack they said it's probably just constipation LOL. Yeah, right, 2 years of constipation. This backpod has changed my life!
@Tiffany Ringwood You won't regret it. I am back to normal for all intents and purposes. I really need to get into the chiro though to make sure my ribs are where they should be, but the backpod has made things 99% better. I still have a lingering pain point that is the size of a dime between my shoulder blades that won't seem to go away. It's better than having the sensation of a knife under my ribcage and in my shoulder with every breath though. I just feel like 1 rib needs a little tweek and I'll be all set as long as I continue with the backpod. I hope you find relief like I did!!!
@Tiffany Ringwood Just know that you'll probably have a hard time lying on the backpod and raising your arms over your head when you first start. I was so stiff that it took nearly 3 days of using the backpod 3x per day (10 minutes at a time) to be able to do it. After 3 days I had noticeable improvement. After a week I was really feeling excited with the progress. Now it's been about a month or so and I'm already starting to take this pain-free life for granted again. All in all, it was about 3 weeks of 3x per day usage until I finally reversed the last 2 years of pain. Just be patient with it, and I hope you get better. Give us an update in a few weeks!
@@JoeMac1983 hi, just want to see if u are completely pain free now?
@@chloedo6006 Day to day, yes. 100%. I will start to get a small amount of the same pain when running if I forget to use the back pod or a foam roller on my upper back for a few days or so, but it's minor compared to what it used to be. I typically try to use the back pod or a foam roller for only 2 minutes 2x per day at this point and just make it part of my morning and evening routine. I'll also do a foam roller for 60 seconds before going out for a run. The back pod fixed me, and I find that a foam roller does great at helping to maintain my overall flexibility in my spine (which I believe is keeping me pain free going forward). If you don't have a foam roller, you could use a medicine ball or even a WNBA sized basketball as well.
Watched this video about 2 months ago after dealing with this for about 3-4 months prior. Everyone else said to rest and anti-inflammatories. While I'm sure this did something it really didn't seem to do much in the long term. As soon as I would go back and try to lift weights or pick up anything it would flare right back up. The back pod is LIFE CHANGING. I would do the back pod stretch with hands behind my head and just lay there starting with 3 pillows below my head. The tightness is UNREAL. from there I would gradually take a pillow away every couple of days. From this stretch alone in about 2 weeks I was 70-80% pain-free. After incorporating foam rolling my back and hitting tight spots within about 3 weeks it would shift to I would get a pain in my chest but if I would stretch it would pop and release and the pain would go away. Now I still do the pod daily for maintenance and am able to lift pain-free and have 0 problems. This is 1000000000% worth getting if you're dealing with the frustrating condition. Rest to me was a negligible course of action. This area is tight your back is locked up and the ribs need to be released.
Did you rest with going to the gym while using the backpod? I got the same experience as you with the resting and going back to the gym. Not sure if I would stop working out while using the backpod
Are you able to do chest pains workouts with zero worries?
Mr. August, I'd just like to take a few minutes to thank you for the work you've put out on costochondritis. I am a lifelong distance runner who hasn't run in more than 2 years due to intense sternal/rib pain that only occurs when I run. The pain would start within 2 minutes of running -- every time and only get worse. It felt like knives in my right ribs and shoulder. ER visit told me it wasn't my heart or organs. I have just avoided all exercise for over 2 years, gained 20lbs, and have really felt quite depressed. I stumbled on your videos after hearing about your work from Bob & Brad's physical therapy channel. I have used the Backpod every day for 3 weeks now, multiple times a day, and for probably 30 minutes total per day. I didn't run at all for the first 3 days after starting it. On my first run, I was able to go about 20 minutes without pain. Progress! I took a few days off and kept using the backpod. On my next run I was able to do nearly 40 minutes before the pain crept in. As time has gone by, I am now running nearly every day for 45 minutes, I've lost 9 lbs, and the sharp pain has almost all been replaced by a bruised feeling instead of sharp pain. I'm sure that's still just the inflammation, and I can easily run through a bruised feeling. You have truly changed my life and have allowed me to start reclaiming my identity as a runner once again. I cannot wait to run a road race again! I will keep using this every day and hopefully see a chiropractor soon who can make sure everything else is in alignment. Best wishes to you, good sir!
Hi Joe. Well done! So, it wasn't a "mysterious inflammation" after all, then? Sorry - being facetious. It still staggers me - in the manual physiotherapy area in New Zealand where I work, costo is a straightforward mechanical problem, and I'd expect it to sort out as rapidly as yours is doing - even after two years. We were flabbergasted to discover that most of the rest of the world regards it as this "mysterious inflammation." Well done on doing the work.
Here's what you may need to get the last bit clear.
Just checking - do please READ THE INSTRUCTIONS and the 'Warnings and precautions' section in the 31-page user guide. If for some reason you haven’t got one, there is also a pdf copy of the full user guide near the bottom of the iHunch and Costochondritis pages on the Backpod’s website - www.bodystance.co.nz/assets/Uploads/backpod-full-user-guide-feb-2020.pdf. These are the best detailed instructions on how to use the Backpod.
We start people off really gently because often they just do too much initially and get sore. You are starting to stretch joints that haven’t moved for months or years and you can get a bit of normal treatment tenderness for a few days. It’s a lot like stretching hamstring muscles that are so tight you can’t touch your knees - takes a while before you can reach your toes.
When you no longer need a pillow under your head when you’re lying on the Backpod, get some more oomph out of it by lifting your buttocks off the ground, using the Backpod crosswise across the upper back (gives more leverage) as well as lengthwise and out to the sides a little (to get the ribs), and/or linking your fingers together and slowly moving your arms up over your head and down to your waist repeatedly; try that with just one arm as well. Chase the tightest bits and spend 1-3 minutes on each.
Also, when you get to that point, start doing the sitting twist exercise I showed 12.54 minutes into the ‘How to Fix most Costo and Tietze’s , Part (2)’ UA-cam video - ua-cam.com/video/r7ve6nNVdWc/v-deo.html This is to work the joints now they’re reasonably unlocked - like working a rusty hinge back and forth after you put some oil on it.
Also, ideally, shout yourself a sports massage - preferably two, with a week off in between. When you've had costo for more than a few months, the muscles between and overlying the tight ribs around your back and sides, plus the pec muscles on your chest, also get tight and scarred. Massage is ideal for loosening them up. However NOT until it’s safe with COVID-19. At a minimum, you should both wear masks, hand sanitise, and when you get home take all your clothes off and put them straight into the washing machine and you straight into the shower, including washing your hair.
As well, if possible, talk, bargain or bribe someone into doing the two massages in the Backpod’s user guide, about once a week for at least a few weeks. Get them to go hard down between your shoulder blades.
You’re probably tight on your pecs as part of it all, so best to stretch them as well. There’s a good pec stretching video on UA-cam - link is ua-cam.com/video/EfVKRXhYVEA/v-deo.html
I’m guessing this next bit, but the commonest reason these days for costo starting is if you’re getting a bit hunched, usually from much bending over computers, phones, patients or whatever - we call it the iHunch. As part of the spine getting a bit hunched and tight, the rib joints attaching to your spine also stiffen and seize. When they can’t move, then the joints at the other ends of the same ribs MUST work excessively just to let you keep breathing. So they strain, ‘give’, irritate, get locally inflamed - and welcome to costo. It’s not a “mysterious inflammation” arriving for no reason.
Have a look at the iHunch page on the Backpod’s website - www.bodystance.co.nz/en/ihunch/ If that looks like a fit with you, then do all the bits in the Backpod’s home program - we designed it specifically to counter the iHunch and pull you back towards perfect posture. It’s worth looking at the Perfect Posture page also.
Good luck with the work. But you're way most of the way there already. Thanks for the thanks, and well done.
Cheers,
Steve August (B.A.,Dip.Physio.).
@@stevenzphysio4203 Thanks for the reply, Doc. Believe it or not, the ER visit blamed the "mysterious inflammation" on constipation because they had no other theories. 😂 Yes, 2 years worth of sharp knives in my chest has been because I'm backed up. Despite how receptive the rest of your industry has been about your work, it hasn't gone unnoticed by those who need it most!
For how many days soarness in the back was there for you for you using it for first time?
hey man! i'm a runner too. how's your progress with costo? do you lift weights too? I'm on my 3rd day with the back pod
Hi doc,
Thanks a lot for all are doing,I had constant chest pains for last 4years and the doctors couldn’t tell me what was really wrong with me.
Thanks for Backpod am now one month free of chest pains.
Thanks a lot
Well done! Essentially costo is a physiotherapy-type problem - but the docs don't realise this. When you see it correctly, then it becomes logical and fixable.
Here's a long wordy PDF on what costochondritis actually is and what we find works best to fix it. It is more easily read on a computer, not a phone.
The PDF covers using the Backpod for costo, and also the other bits that often need dealing to as well. Cheeringly, these can nearly all be done by yourself at home. It takes a bit of time and effort, but it's not that difficult. Good luck with the work!
www.bodystance.co.nz/assets/Uploads/Costo-treatment-plan-incl-Costo-and-iHunch-PDFs-19-July-2022.pdf
Steve, if this device gets rid of this debilitating pain and ruining my life condition, i will be forever grateful to you!!!! I am about to get it shipped to my house tonight!
How did it work for you?
Best wishes for your recovery.
Wow. I feel like a won a lottery stumbling on this gentleman's videos.
@Vape Girl he is G.O.A.T
I’ve just found your video through a link in a forum. I went to ER in pain, ecg’s, blood and x rays all good. I even got a covid test!. Been off work 8 wks, diagnosed as Costo and to rest. Rest has done nothing. I feel better after 20 mins of your exercises, I hope I can work through this like the rest of the people in the comments. I’ve never felt as useless as I have in the last few months absolutely debilitating. Thank you so much, I will look for the back pod. 🙏
Any updates?
STEVE U CURED MY COSTO. I’ve had cracking ribs/popping sternum joints/cartilage since 2018-2019 from laying on my side reading stuff. and have had a tight chest ever since. The backpod is insanely good at opening everything up and releasing the collagen. Your exercises work, and you are a genius. Life saver.
How long did it take you to fully heal from using the backpod?
@@stephaniehamlet2474 with exercise everyday and only spending a few mins using backpod== 12 months
Thankyou so much for the information.
@@stephaniehamlet2474 np buddy. U get relief as soon as u start using it if you’re consistent. Having costochondritis is such a disgusting thing. Having a physio will streamline things too
It is I been using the backpod for about a month and three weeks now it's been very helpful and my physical therapy has been helping to. When do you feel your ribs on the breastbone easing off? How long did it take for yours to heal back to normal?
Thank the heavens for this man. Give this guy a nobel peace prize.
If this works then I will be forever grateful to you.
Did it work
@@Ram-rm2gz Nope. I think it is most likely a scam unfortunately. What helped me was gradually building up in *horizontal* press (e.g. push ups, floor press etc.) + upper back (face pulls, "T-pulls", rows etc.). Also generally avoiding overhead press and pull. There are no guarantees since it is only anecdotal and I can't verify causation, just what I think helped. Good luck. Also working on my posture and ergonomics in everyday life.
@@theswedishpolyglot thank you brother will be trying this
This video was exactly what I needed. I've been suffering from costochondritis for a few months now after a somewhat nasty accident, and I've been trying to treat it from the wrong direction. Getting the right "pop" in the mid-back loosened all the tensions instantly, and I was able to do it entirely by hand. Understanding the mechanical realities of how the ribs work was the key. Thanks very much!
Good thinking, Steve. Glad I made sense.
There's a joke: "How do you get down off a tiger?" Answer: "You don't. Get down off a duck instead - it's safer."
Costo is like that. "How do you fix the pain on the breastbone?" Answer: "You don't. You fix the tight rib machinery around the back causing the pain on the breastbone - it's MUCH easier."
Well done on thinking for yourself. Cheers, Steve August.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!
i m dealing with this for over 5 years now!!
I have been to so many doctors and nothing changed.
As a sports scientist i tried to treat it with yoga and daily stretches but i just felt a bit better, never could to eliminate it entirely!
You are the first person to name this syndrome, wasnt even able to search for it, first person to give so detailed and percise information!!!
I LL DEFINETELY try what you propose!
Totally appreciate it!
THANK YOU 365x5!
Hi Kostas. Thank you! It's a matter of sufficient specific leverage. You don't fix costo by gym work and exercises. I know there are some PT, yoga and other videos out there that say you do, but they don't understand the problem. Costo is different.
The core of the problem is that the rib joints round the back can't move at all, so the joints at the other end of the same ribs where they hinge onto your breastbone HAVE to move excessively - every breath you take. So they strain, 'give', get irritated, get locally inflamed - and welcome to costo.
So, this means that any general exercise you do, whether in the gym, yoga, stretches, etc. just further strains the already strained rib joints on your breastbone - way before you get a benefit to the tight rib joints round the back. You can't fix costo by just stretching. Anyone who thinks you can doesn't understand it.
Sure, general muscle support, especially the muscles around the back, and stretching, etc. are helpful, but only, repeat only, after you've freed up the rib machinery around the back first. That's why we use the Backpod. As far as I can tell, it's the only available that will give a really effective strong localised stretch to the frozen rib and spinal joints around the back causing the problem - for definite technical reasons which are discussed on the Backpod's website www.bodystance.co.nz/en/backpod/.
It really is a very precise problem, with a very accurate answer. Cheers, Steve August.
@@stevenzphysio4203 Thank you once again for your reply!
I ordered the Backpod and until i recieve it i have already started the treatment with the usage of medicine balls.
The pain is unbearable to be honest but i feel an unexplained relief after it.
I trully believe that the Backpod will be way more effective and with dedication and consistency i will tackle the problem for good!
Definitly i will write back to you when the results starting to take place!!
Thank you for your help and your time!
This video saved my life. I was in pain for weeks.Thank you!
Well done on thinking for yourself and not giving up. And thank you. Cheers, Steve August.
Getting there! Just finishing the text to go with this video. Will put it up shortly. Got a little side-tracked as I've just been interviewed for Good Morning America on the iHunch; definitely a strange start to my day.. Cheers, Steve August.
Thank you very much! I’m a certified personal trainer and have been healthy my entire life. Your video has helped me in recovery from chronic neuro-muscular inner costal pain.
Hi Eric. Good. You still are healthy. Costochondritis is like a car with the handbrake jammed on - nothing wrong with the vehicle; just have to release the frozen bit of machinery. (Actually, to extend the metaphor, you could say that the "mysterious inflammation" idea of costo is then like the mechanic informing you that the problem is the fuel. It's not.) Pleased it helped. Cheers, Steve August.
Dr. Thank you for your nice reply! I can tell you genuinely care about other people and that means a lot. I enjoy your analogies and if I have clients with this issue, I have a much further understanding of what to look for and how to address it. You are awesome!
Ordering my back pod and about to set my adjustments and massages and do the exercises consistently praying my stuff comes and goes. I was doing the exercises months ago . I will now follow everything you said and give y’all a update I’m going follow everything you said
How is your Costochondritis going?
How is the process going?
Thanks. This makes such good sense. I've had costo for 10 years now. U K docs think its not worth looking at. They've definitely never had it. Will follow all your steps and get backpod.
Hi Lynette. Good independent thinking - well done! No, they haven't. I have - I had it for seven years before fixing it. It does give you a different view! Cheers, Steve August.
Did you manage to elimínate thé pain?
From the 1st few minutes just listening and watching, you took away my discomfort I had for 2 weeks! You’re wonderful! A true god sent! A kindred soul 🥰
I hardly ever comment on videos but I’ve been suffering with this pain for quite some time. Thanks for the great videos. It’s been really helpful to explain the issues
Hi Eddie. Thanks. It's a horrible condition - usually compounded by treatment that doesn't work. Also, have a look at the Backpod's costochondritis page - lots more detailed info and videos on costo and how we fix it. Link is www.bodystance.co.nz/en/costochondritis/ Cheers, Steve August.
I've been suffering from intermittent costo for the past 2 years, with the pain increasingly getting worse. I've recently starting using the backpod. it took a couple of weeks to get use to it, but now it is providing incredible relief both to my chest pain, but also my neck and upper back tension. I'm so grateful for this!
Good! That's what we built it for.
After two years, you may need other bits of the problem dealt to as well, e.g. massage for the tight muscles overlying the tight joints. Here's a long wordy PDF on what costochondritis actually is and what we find works best to fix it. It is more easily read on a computer, not a phone.
The PDF covers using the Backpod for costo, and also the other bits that often need dealing to as well. Cheeringly, these can nearly all be done by yourself at home. It takes a bit of time and effort, but it's not that difficult. Good luck with the work!
www.bodystance.co.nz/assets/Uploads/Costo-treatment-plan-incl-Costo-and-iHunch-PDFs-19-July-2022.pdf
That’s great, thank you I’ll check it out :)
@@stevenzphysio4203Do u have to have the symptom of it hurting when u breathe? i don’t think my sons hurts from breathing, it just constant dull pressure/tenderness ache and he cannot wear any kind of heavy jacket or sweatshirt or any kind of a rough textured shirt. He says it bothers his chest. Can you please help me
what are or were your symptoms???? please
@@AASA76 Hi. Costo doesn't always hurt when you breathe in. It just depends how bad it is. When the rib joints on the breastbone are really strained, like a recent sprained ankle, say, then just breathing in deeply can be enough to hurt. But if it's not that bad then you can just get a tightness, dull sort of awareness/pain, and the inability to take a full breath in. The tight or frozen rib machinery around the back is like wearing a tight corset - you can't take a full breath in if you can't expand your rib cage fully, and you can't do that if some of the ribs can't move,
Here's a long wordy PDF on what costochondritis actually is and what we find works best to fix it. It is more easily read on a computer, not a phone.
The PDF covers using the Backpod for costo, and also the other bits that often need dealing to as well. Cheeringly, these can nearly all be done by yourself at home. It takes a bit of time and effort, but it's not that difficult. Good luck with the work!
www.bodystance.co.nz/assets/Uploads/Costo-treatment-plan-incl-Costo-and-iHunch-PDFs-19-July-2022.pdf
However - if he hasn't already, your son does need to see a doctor first. Anything like this, the first thing is always to check out the heart, lungs, etc. in case it's a problem from there. The docs are really good at this. They're just not usually very good at costo - you do usually need to treat and fix that mostly by yourself.
I've had this issue for many years and no Dr has ever mentioned this. One Dr ended up adjusting my ribs and that made it feel better, but it would just pop back out again and the adjustments have been hit or miss. I'm so tired of dealing with this issue. Thanks so much for posting this, at least now I know what's going on and have a path to try to fix it. 1000 times, thanks.
Hi Anthony. Good oh - pleased it makes sense to you. See my comments to Julia above. There's an old joke: How do you get down off a tiger? Answer: You don't. Get down off a duck instead - it's safer. It's like that with costo. How do you heal a mysterious inflammation of no apparent cause? Answer: You don't. Just realise that it's simply a mechanical irritation caused because the rib joints at the back are frozen and free them up. It's MUCH easier. Good luck with the work. Cheers, Steve August.
Hi Red. How arw you doing today? Do you still have pain or are you fully recovered? I'm on week 2 using the backpod. Doing better but no where near 100%.
Steve August is A LEGEND. I have repeated it everywhere. Please, please listen to him!!!! You will not fix your costo otherwise. Each person is different!! As Steve says, it depends how long you have been frozen for. Might even take a few good weeks. And the pain will be there. But keep on going. You can see by breathing in and out that the capacity of you chest is expanding. This is a good sign. Good health people.
@Vape Girl EMAIL ME. WE CAN TALK
ashtonandthomas@gmail.com
Looking for a rib cage replacement. Anyone know a donor?
Same
I'm looking for bones replacement cause mine feel weak!
I just ordered the Backpod yesterday. It'll be here tomorrow. I'm hoping it works because having these pains is so nerve-wracking. If it works, I'd love to come to your small country amd personally thank you. Because my wife and 4 year old keep asking me if I'm okay and keep getting scared for me. I've been to the ER, and this is what they diagnosed me with. I will post an update after i use it for a few days.
Has it helped
@@rebeccatumilty7271 Yes, but I keep stopping cause I feel like I'm fixed. Go a week or so without doing it, and then it comes back. If I was to keep up on doing it daily for a good 3-6 months, it would most likely be fixed 100%. It takes time for the inside body stuff to correct itself and heal, and since I keep stopping after a week or so of using it, it doesn't give it the time it needs to fully heal.
Costochondritis ruined my senior year of college. I was constantly in severe pain in my sternum, chest, side, back, etc. The pain caused serious anxiety and I had panic attacks walking to class every day because wearing a bookbag makes the pain so much worse. I eventually went to the doctor and was prescribed anti inflammatories and took that for about a week, and the pain pretty much cleared up, but it came back, though not as bad. I got the backpod three weeks ago and have been using it twice a day and have not had any pain since I started. This product really does work!
Did you clear your Costco up?
@@stephaniehamlet2474 Update: my costo is basically completely gone...consistent icing of my rib area helped to clear it up. have not felt this good in almost a year
@@t0nygunk really good I'm getting there myself haven't had any flare ups in a week now
@@t0nygunkstill feeling good?
So originally I kept going to the E.R. for chest pain thinking I was having a heart attack, after multiple test they said my heart is perfecly normal.
You’re the great PT of all time! I’ve been in so much pain and everything your saying to do is helping sooooo much!
For how many days soarness in the back was there for you for you using it for first time?
Steve, you are a life saver! I’ve had CC for 11 months with very little relief. Doctors had no answers and chiropractic care only helped mildly. My husband was doing research to find a solution and found this video. He ordered the back pod and I immediately started feeling relief upon using it. I cannot thank you enough for this product and information! I finally have my life back. THANK YOU!
Thanks so much, Karinne. I really appreciate the feedback. We did put the video and developed the Backpod to help - very pleased they've done so.
Also, shout yourself a sports massage - preferably two, with a week off in between. When you've had costo for more than a few months, the muscles between and overlying the tight ribs around your back and sides, plus the pec muscles on your chest, also get tight and scarred. Massage is ideal for loosening them up.
Best wishes, Steve August.
First off, let me say that this is the only online video that makes sense to me. After reading many forums and viewing multiple posts that state that there is no cure for Costochondritis and Tietze Syndrome, I began to lose any hope of feeling better. I have had costochondritis for approximately 8 months. I have seen a chiropractor once every few weeks for the last couple months. At certain times, it appeared to be gone, but would return like a thief in the night. I have been taking Omega 3 fish oils, vitamin D2 supplements, as well as a supplement called "Collagenics", but it keeps returning. I just ordered the Backpod. I swear that if this works for me, I will spread the news like wildfire and recommend it to anyone with pain like many individuals suffering from costochondritis. Thank you Steve for your information and knowledge on this condition! Cheers from Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.
Hi. Thanks for the leap of faith. It makes sense to me, too! Good luck with working through it. Cheers, Steve August.
+Chevellion19 Hi. Did you get your backpod and if yes, are you seeing any results yet? I received mine yesterday and did my first session today. A bit painful and sore...but will persevere
+Sturan 2016 Hi. If it's sore, you're doing too much. It's just a stretch, like stretching a hamstring. Use enough pillows under your head so that it's just a bit uncomfortable when you're doing the stretch - that discomfort will go over a minute or so as the collagen stretches out a bit. Think of a hamstring that's been so tight for years that you can't reach past your knees - you can't crash down to the floor in one go. But you can get there by working at it daily, probably for a few weeks. This is the real world - collagen is tough stuff and takes time to loosen. Cheers, Steve August.
+Chevellion19 . Hi. How are your results with the backpod?
Sturan 2016 It's been great! It gives me a great stretch!
Thank you Steve for saving me with this stuff. It was a mentally draining time for me, suffering with costo and finding little relief.
It's thanks to the backpod and a change in my routine I finally recovered completely from the nightmare of costo. It took 3 months to finally stop having flare ups and working away at it. It felt like hell, and I can finally live my life again, thank you so much
Thank you very much, well done, and you're most welcome. Well done on thinking for yourself. I had costochondritis for seven years myself before completely fixing it - so I do know what people are going through. We were flabbergasted to discover that most of the rest of the world sees it wrongly as a "mysterious inflammation." I'm just passing back my New Zealand physiotherapy understanding of what it actually is and how to fix it and get on with your life. Best wishes! Cheers, Steve August.
Very happy for you can't wait for the day to say the same
How long did it take for your ribs to detach from your sternum?
Are you still Costco free?
@@stephaniehamlet2474 yep, I have had a big change in my lifestyle and this doesn't affect me anymore
Steve August, you have got me back to my normal self in the course of a day and a half. The last two weeks, I couldn't see a world in which I wasn't going through this strange debilitating pain. I still have work to do but I have a plan now. The days are almost pain free, now still just having trouble at nighttime. I ordered the Backpod and it will arrive tomorrow!
Anyway, I can't thank you enough for your calm instruction video!!!!!
@Vape Girl it was a great helper in my recovery from that whole thing! Fully recommend trying one. I used it while sitting back on the couch for just a minute twice a day. It helped me fix my posture to get thru that awful time in my life. I found out I had a wicked mono infection which seemed to cause that awful costochondritis. That was in February and I don't have any issues anymore!
@Vape Girl I'm not sure exactly, my doctor just said I had a super high antibody for Mono which means that I had it and could have been a carrier of it. I have to basically work on my immune system and up my antioxidants. I hope you get through this soon, it's terrible!
@Vape Girl how is your costochondritis doing today ? June 1, 2023
this man is saving my life
I just wanted to Thankyou so very much. We all know how utterly debilitating this chronic condition is. It personally made me want to end it all as no one would help me. You saved a life! From the other side of the world. That is quite remarkable.
Thankyou :)
Thank you, Holly! How nice - I really appreciate it. The Backpod's obviously worked, which is great - it's what we built it for. I'm still somewhat flabbergasted that the sensible, logical New Zealand understanding of costochondritis that I've been describing really doesn't seem to be around outside my country. Very pleased you spotted it, and that it's worked. Best wishes, Steve August.
Hi 33 33. Thanks for your nice comments! Glad what I was saying makes sense, and that it's helped. Yes, I've read so many comments on the costo sites and patient blogs from sufferers who've had no help. I so almost didn't do my first costo video - we just don't see it as a difficult problem to fix, and I didn't really think there'd be that much interest. I'm really dismayed at the lack of understanding about it outside the New Zealand manual physio area in which I work. If you'd like to help, would you consider putting some of your own experience on a few of the costo patient sites and blogs? I do really think the NZ view I'm passing on should be there. The one I'd like to get something on is Patient.info who won't allow me to make a comment as they think I'm just a car salesman for the Backpod. A little irritating, given that I've just been lecturing on costo to the biggest medical conference in New Zealand. Sigh. Anyway, thanks, and best wishes. Cheers, Steve August.
Hello Steve , it's Shannon and I too have mentioned the backpod on patient .com however ,
I had to privately email . The site does not allow as you said even the memeverd to post
Anything concerning products nor websites.
Thousands are suffering ! On Facebook there is a forum called Healing Costo and tietze syndrome . Some members have used the pod successfully . People need help !
Hi Shannon. Thanks for your comments. I have to admit it's a little irritating. The New Zealand manual physio view of costo I've presented is the only, repeat only, sensible explanation for such specific pain solely at the rib hinges on the breastbone and nowhere else in the body. And I'm not allowed to even present it as a concept on some of the costo patient sites because I actually invented something that was effective in fixing it - which now makes me a colonial snake oil salesman. Sigh. Oh well, if the Backpod's helped you, and you'd like to help other people, anything about your own experience with costo you can manage to get accepted on the patient sites and blogs would be very much appreciated. And I think worthwhile doing. Best wishes, Steve August.
Hi Holly. How are you doing at the moment? Are you 100% cured from costo? I'm on week 2 with the backpod and doing better but no where near full recovery. Are you still using the backpod?
Hi steve,
Ive had costo for a little over 2 years now. Im 23 years old and got it getting kneed in the chest during jiu-jitsu. It wasn't very bad at first, however i did not take care of it and it progressively got worse to the point where i couldn't even lift a small cup of water without experiencing extremely sharp pain. I had to quit my job and was no longer able to drive. My life fell apart and I was severely depressed for a while.... until you came along!!!
The back pod is the only thing that has legitimately helped my condition. Ive spent well over 5,000 dollars on various quack doctors/chiropractors/ physical therapists that all thought they knew how to fix me (im sure a lot of you reading this can relate). From PRP injections and Prolotherapy to multiple chest adjustments, nothing worked. Anyyyyways I just wanted to thank you so very much for giving me part of my life back. I have been using the back pod at least once a day for 5-10 min. without failure and my condition has improved about 15%. 15% might not seem like a lot' but compared to the amount of pain i was experiencing, it is like night and day. That being said i have not been doing the stretching or manipulation religiously yet. I also have not gotten my spine adjusted or gotten a deep tissue massage and haven't used the Voltaren or gone on the antidepressants. This might be a silly question but how much improvement should i expect to have within the next couple weeks/months if i do exactly everything specified in the video including continual use of the back bod? Also thanks again for making my life suck that much less!
Hi. Sorry about the delay in replying - just back from a lecturing trip. Thanks for the nice comments! I sympathise re the jiu-jitsu hit - I used to do judo myself. It'll get a lot better than 15%. See Karen Forrest's comments - 90% better after a few weeks and she'd had her costo for five years. I'd add in a good sports medicine massage now - after your two years, there will be muscle scarring and tightness between and around the frozen rib joints at the back.
The one bit I'm keeping my fingers crossed about is that yours was an anterior chest impact. Is that the case? Where did you get kneed? That could mean the fairly delicate anterior rib hinges on the breastbone have been significantly strained, beyond 'normal' overuse straining because the back hinges are stuck. You still get the same treatment answer though - get the back rib hinges moving 100% so they're taking as much load as possible off the front hinges. You may simply also have old anterior scarring from where the knee hit - this acts like a glue in the tissues. Get the massage person to check around this area gently also - if they're any good, they'll be able to tell.
You could try getting some anti-inflammatory gel and just working it in to the sternum/rib joint area twice daily, and work gently around any hard stuff you can feel where the knee hit. It's a bit like working around hard dry putty in your fingers until it starts to free up. Cheers, Steve August.
Thanks for the reply Steve! I really appreciate it. Going to set up an appointment today for a sports medicine massage.
It was an anterior chest impact. It wasn't necessarily a fast blow to the ribs but it was 2 instances of prolonged, concentrated pressure on the front right side of my chest wall. Then about 30 seconds later it was similarly a knee in the side of my rib on the left side for about 20 seconds. Basically a really heavy guy put all of his weight into his knee onto my rib-cage. My pain is mostly on the left side on the 3rd and 4th rib down but can radiate to the right as well as the joint in the middle of my sternum. I've had an MRI, X-ray and a CT scan and nothing showed up as abnormal to them.
I dont know if this information is irrelevant or not but ill tell you anyways. About a year and a half ago when i had only had costo for about 6 months i went to a physio that told me to do push ups. This actually helped a ton at first but then i went overboard and re strained it and it got worse. I also used to "crack" my sternum in highschool by leaning back and popping my sternum to release pressure, like cracking your knuckles. One time i did this and stretched too far to the point where i was sore for months. This eventually got better but the pain im experiencing now in the MIDDLE of my sternum is very similar to when that happened. I dont know if that means anything but i figured i should tell you.
Ill keep you posted about my condition after the massage.
Thanks again Steve! You are doing a great thing! Cheers.
Hi. You've reminded me of what it was like. Having been on the receiving end of enough O goshis, osotogaris, etc. myself, I'd be surprised if you DIDN'T have rib cage problems. Actually, that's a serious observation. Are they a common problem with jiu-jitsu and judo exponents? I haven't though of it before, but I'd be surprised if they're not. I can't actually think of anything else with quite so much impact on the rib cage.
Sure, you're bound to have old impact scarring in the muscles between and around the ribs. I'd definitely have a session or two with massage for that, and also start doing the rib stretch I've shown in the video with the two bucket handles. Less worried about the strained breastbone/rib hinges now - there'll be so much restriction in the tight rib joints at the back plus the muscles between the ribs that the breastbone joints will be sore because they're about all that can move to let you breathe. Should settle fine when the other stuff is freed up. Cheers, Steve August.
Hey Steve! Sorry for the late reply, I literally just got home from the massage therapist 5 min. ago and I didnt want to come back to you empty handed per say.
Yes, rib injuries are pretty common in jiu-jitsu. The most common injuries are for sure the fingers and then probably the knees. Its a pretty brutal sport on your body. Both of my knees are pretty much destroyed as well lol.
So the massage was petty intense but felt really good at the same time. After I felt the most relief I have felt in my chest in a lonnnnnnng time, so that seems like a good sign. Im hoping for the best and will continue your regimen religiously.
I will let you know when my condition improves! Thanks again Steve!
Hi. Good! You hear that all the time from patients - yes, the massage or whatever was a bit sore or intense, but it felt like the right thing. That's because it was - you can tell. Good oh - that'll help with the muscle component. Should be starting to feel a lot better in a couple of days. Cheers, Steve August.
Steve, I don't think I personally thank you for saving me from tremendous amounts of pain, I had costo from mid 2017 through 2020 and it was just awful, many tearful days but I began using your back pod around late 2018 and slowly the pain went away, plus my illness was contributed to overtraining and damaging my chest muscles but the Back Pod was essential in my recovery so thank you so much.
Sean :)
Hi Sean. Thank you very much. Well done on thinking for yourself. Cheers, Steve August.
I feel like I just started getting this from easing my way back into bench pressing. Feels like it’s the heart, but I doubt it
The Lord be with you ,Steve !This is a message from Catherine , Luc,s wife... ,i am grateful for your informatiosn that give finely a solution to the chest pain i had for years and i will pass it on also to family and people around ..we are also in New Zealand ,Northtland .thank you for your work and help.
Hi Steve update the pain has rejoice so much now I'm down to no pillow now thank you Steve. we are all lucky that you invent the back pod
Hi Steve,
First off I think it’s amazing how you’re still answering and replying to everyone here, so just wanted to say thank you!!
About 3 weeks ago I started to get sharp pains in my chest/sternum area and after a lot of research I landed here, and am convinced that Costochondritis is my issue. I ordered the backpod (which comes in June) and have been using a lacrosse ball for the last week, as I wait. When first watching the video I did the mobility tests and my right side had way less range of motion then my left, which made sense as the pain is on the right side of my sternum. However, I did find it a little weird that I have always had restricted motion in my right back area, but only recently did it start causing chest pain. The only reason I can think of is that I have started a rigorous stretching/strengthening schedule, doing 6 hours of trap, shoulder, and neck stretches every day for the last 2 months (for a different injury), which may be responsible.
I am happy to say that using the lacrosse ball has already had a major improvement on my mobility, and I am down to no pillows with the ball.
While my chest pain is predominately gone, my concern is that I am still dealing with pain, discomfort and inflammation sensation that runs from my sternum, along my ribs, under my right pec, to my armpit. Is this something common that will resolve over time with the use of the backpod and the stretches recommended in this video? Or should I be targeting it in some other way?
Last question, have you ever noticed a mental component to the pain in your patients? I feel as though it is hard not to focus on the different pains in my upper torso, and even though they are getting much better I am still feeling like I am overthinking it and somehow causing more pain.
Thanks so much Steve!
Kristian
Hi Kristian. Well done - you're doing fine. You've already loosened off the tight rib machinery around the back enough to stop the rib joints on your sternum straining to compensate. Keep going. Use the lacrosse ball as we'd use the Backpod - the instructions are in the user guide, and there's a pdf of that near the bottom of the Backpod's costochondritis page - www.bodystance.co.nz/en/costochondritis/ Yes, the Backpod is better again - all balls are unstable, so your muscles cannot relax on them, and this opposes the stretch on the joints. That's why the Backpod has a stable flat base.
When you no longer need a pillow under your head when you’re lying on the ball or Backpod, get some more oomph out of it by lifting your buttocks off the ground, using the Backpod crosswise across the upper back (gives more leverage) as well as lengthwise and out to the sides a little (to get the ribs), and/or linking your fingers together and slowly moving your arms up over your head and down to your waist repeatedly; try that with just one arm as well. Chase the tightest bits and spend 1-3 minutes on each.
Also, when you get to that point, start doing the sitting twist exercise I showed 12.54 minutes into the ‘How to Fix most Costo and Tietze’s , Part (2)’ UA-cam video - ua-cam.com/video/r7ve6nNVdWc/v-deo.html This is to work the joints now they’re reasonably unlocked - like working a rusty hinge back and forth after you put some oil on it.
So, you're freeing up the rib machinery around the back fine. What you're now running into is some remaining specific scarring and tightness running through your right pec and around the ribs on your front and side. This is mostly muscle. So, ideally, shout yourself a sports massage - preferably two, with a week off in between. When you've had costo for more than a few months, the muscles between and overlying the tight ribs around your back and sides, plus the pec muscles on your chest, also get tight and scarred. Massage is ideal for loosening them up. However not until you're safely past lockdown and COVID-19.
As well, if possible, talk, bargain or bribe someone into doing the two massages in the Backpod’s user guide, about once a week for at least a few weeks.
You’re probably tight on your pecs as part of it all, so best to stretch them as well. There’s a good pec stretching video on UA-cam - link is ua-cam.com/video/EfVKRXhYVEA/v-deo.html
Lastly, you could also have a bit of tightening in the nerves themselves that run through the tightened soft tissue and down your arms - they come out through your armpit which suggests that. You can start stretching the nerves and muscles gently. Lie on your back on a table, knees bent up, with your left shoulder just off the edge of the table. Hold your palm upwards, then bend your hand and fingers back, then drop the straight arm gently down towards the floor (arm out at 90˚ to your body) until you feel a good stretch and even some tingling down the arm. That’s stretching it all. Hold for several seconds, then lift up the arm to take the stretch off, then do again, several times gently. It’s just a stretch.
It’ll all disappear when things are loose enough. That you have the discomfort around your right pec at all does tell me you were pretty tight to begin with. It’ll stretch (and massage) out fine.
Doing good! Keep going. Cheers, Steve August.
Forgot to mention. Sure, you can focus on the pain. You often get hit with an "anxiety" diagnosis bludgeon if you do this. However I think it's perfectly sane and reasonable to be concerned about a mysterious and debilitating chest pain which the docs don't seem to understand or know how to fix, and which can hit out of a clear blue sky for no apparent reason. I mean, I'd be worried if you were HAPPY about it!
Thank you so much for this Steve, I've been using the backpod for just over a week now after 2.5 months of being bed-bound with chronic chest pain and the difference is incredible. I still have pain but it's taken the sharpness out of it and I feel a lot more able than I was before. It's crazy how clinicians in the UK have absolutely no idea how to fix this super common problem and just tell you to take painkillers and wait! If your costo doesn't seem to be shifting, I'd highly recommend taking the plunge and ordering this device, and also finding a physio/chiropractor who understands that this is a mechanical problem. Fingers crossed it will heal soon so I can feel like myself again!
Hi Lily. Well done, on thinking for yourself and getting a Backpod, and making it work. Yup - our sensible and effective New Zealand manual physiotherapy way to fix costo is based on the actual published medical research. The popular medical explanation of costo as a “mysterious inflammation" is not. Yes, this is nuts. I'm aware the UK has hierarchy in the water supply, so doubly well done on doing something useful on your own initiative.
Stick with it - it’s very tough stuff you’re stretching and it takes time. Do please READ THE INSTRUCTIONS and the 'Warnings and precautions' section in the user guide. If for some reason you haven’t got one, there is also a pdf copy of the full user guide near the bottom of the iHunch and Costochondritis pages on the Backpod’s website - www.bodystance.co.nz/assets/Uploads/backpod-full-user-guide-feb-2020.pdf.
We start people off really gently because often they just do too much initially and get sore. It’s a lot like stretching hamstring muscles that are so tight you can’t touch your knees - takes a while before you can reach your toes. You are starting to stretch joints that haven’t moved for months or years and you can get a bit of normal treatment tenderness for a few days. It’s a lot like stretching hamstring muscles that are so tight you can’t touch your knees - takes a while before you can reach your toes.
When you no longer need a pillow under your head when you’re lying on the Backpod, get some more oomph out of it by lifting your buttocks off the ground, using the Backpod crosswise across the upper back (gives more leverage) as well as lengthwise and out to the sides a little (to get the ribs), and/or linking your fingers together and slowly moving your arms up over your head and down to your waist repeatedly; try that with just one arm as well. Chase the tightest bits and spend 1-3 minutes on each.
Also, when you get to that point, start doing the sitting twist exercise I showed 12.54 minutes into the ‘How to Fix most Costo and Tietze’s , Part (2)’ UA-cam video - ua-cam.com/video/r7ve6nNVdWc/v-deo.html This is to work the joints now they’re reasonably unlocked - like working a rusty hinge back and forth after you put some oil on it.
Also, ideally, shout yourself a sports massage - preferably two, with a week off in between. When you've had costo for more than a few months, the muscles between and overlying the tight ribs around your back and sides, plus the pec muscles on your chest, also get tight and scarred. Massage is ideal for loosening them up. However NOT until it’s safe with COVID-19. At a minimum, you should both wear masks, hand sanitise, and when you get home take all your clothes off and put them straight into the washing machine and you straight into the shower, including washing your hair.
As well, if possible, talk, bargain or bribe someone into doing the two massages in the Backpod’s user guide, about once a week for at least a few weeks.
You’re probably tight on your pecs as part of it all, so best to stretch them as well. There’s a good pec stretching video on UA-cam - link is ua-cam.com/video/EfVKRXhYVEA/v-deo.html
I’m guessing this next bit, but the commonest reason these days for costo starting is if you’re getting a bit hunched, usually from much bending over computers, phones, patients or whatever - we call it the iHunch. As part of the spine getting a bit hunched and tight, the rib joints attaching to your spine also stiffen and seize. When they can’t move, then the joints at the other ends of the same ribs MUST work excessively just to let you keep breathing. So they strain, ‘give’, irritate, get locally inflamed - and welcome to costo. It’s not a “mysterious inflammation” arriving for no reason.
Have a look at the iHunch page on the Backpod’s website - www.bodystance.co.nz/en/ihunch/ If that looks like a fit with you, then you’d better do all the bits in the Backpod’s home program - we designed it specifically to counter the iHunch and pull you back towards perfect posture. It’s worth looking at the Perfect Posture page also.
Good luck with the work.
Cheers,
Steve August (B.A.,Dip.Physio.).
Hey Lily, I’m wondering how your experience went after buying the back pod and physio. I’ve had the same response from doctors here on the UK and for the last 18 months just living with it after it left me bed bound for nearly a month
For how many days soarness in the back was there for you for you using it for first time?
@@abdihakimabdullahi6796 Hi, UK doctors and physiotherapiss just told me it was "idiopathic inflammation" , e.g. random inflammation with no obvious cause. I've tried osteopaths but they didn't know, so I bought the Bsckpod and did the exercises for. The best purchase I've made in years. My costo is about 80% better. When I place it either side of my spine, I get a satisfying clunk as my ribs move. Steve August seems to be the only physio who understands costo and how to fix it. Best of luck 💪
@@Clodhopping I can also tell you that acupuncture helps. I did it for 5 sessions and it made a world of difference. I would say mine is 90% gone now
I had costochondritis for 15 years, but the pain was just at the nuisance level, and it didn’t seem anyone knew the cause of the inflammation, so I just let it be. But then a couple of weeks ago, the costo flared up to the point where every deep breath, every step I took, and every word I spoke, resulted in excruciating stabbing pains… I knew I couldn’t tolerate this for long, so I did a much deeper research dive, and found your work and the backpod. Two weeks later, I hardly feel any inflammation! I am extremely grateful, Steve - the backpod has been a lifesaver for me. One thing, though: now I seem to have chronic lower back pain. It’s not excruciating, but it does hurt. I’m guessing that somehow I’ve not only unfrozen the joints, but perhaps also the spine, and I’m now feeling in the lower back forces that were blocked or redirected before. Have you had an6 experience with this, or what to do about it? I’m doing certain basic things, like putting a roll behind my lower back when I’m sitting, breaking from sitting every 20 minutes and doing some stretches to help the lower back, etc. A half hour of brisk walking every day is also helping. But if there’s anything else I can do, I’d sure appreciate it. Thanks so much.
Hi Chris. Sorry - low backs are more complex than middle backs and rtibs; I can't tell what's going on over UA-cam so well.
It may simply be that you've also been tight in the low back, and that now the middle back is moving better, that improved movement is requiring the low back to move more, and it's protesting.
The other thing may be if you haven't kept you knees and hips well bent up when you're on the Backpod. If you're already tight in the low back, and especially if you're quite hollowed there too, that can pull on the tight bits.
Just try this to loosen the low back. There’s a particular massage technique which is excellent for this, if you can talk someone into doing it on you. They’ll need something to let their fingers slide on your skin - massage wax is best but any sort of oil will do (although oil dribbles a bit).
Kneel on the end of a firm bed, plinth, couch, etc. - feet shoulder width apart, and just off the edge of whatever it is you're kneeling on. Make sure you're stable - wriggle your feet up to the edge of it so they lock onto it a bit. Put a pillow behind your knees, and sit down on it.
Then tuck another pillow into your waist and curl forward over it. This puts the strong muscles down your back onto stretch. Your massage buddy then works up and down the big erector spinae muscles along your back, and lower down onto your buttocks, for about 10 minutes. They can use their fingers, palms, fists or knuckles, working up and down the muscles - it’s like using a rolling pin on scone dough.
It works really well to loosen up spasm and scarring, which allows the hollow in the low back to ease up a bit, which is what you want. It should help your low back a lot. Probably do it once a week for a few weeks.
@@stevenzphysio4203 Thanks so much (again), Steve! I am relieved to say that, after a week of fairly intense lower back pain, the pain has subsided (still there, but much, much less). I think you are exactly right: the improved movement in the middle back is indeed now requiring the lower back to move more. . . The lower back began by “protesting” (great word!), but it seems to have adapted to the greater movement after a week. But there’s still some lower back pain now and then, so this has sensitized me to needing to care for the lower back, as well as the mid-back - so I really appreciate your detailed suggestions for that! Thank you so much, Steve!
Thank you so much sir you actually break it down properly I’ve been doing what you have mentioned it helping me a lot
Thank you Steve. Been a journey for me.
Kind regards,
Thomas
Thanks Doc. You're a blessing!
I have had tieze syndrom for 2 years now and non of my doctors and practitioners could come up with a solution let alone the right diagnose. I am so happy I could cry that I finally be able to cure this disease.
I am very grateful I found your video.
Hey there. Did you get the BackPod and has it helped you? Kind regards.
thank God that i found something about costochondritis that realy makes sense.
last Jan.15-19 2016 i was admitted my chief complaint was chest pain and difficulty of breathing.
blood chems.ECG.Xray.the basic.
my Cardiologist told me it was costochondritis.and i was discharged from the hospital.
after a month this March.3-5 2016 i was re-admitted to the hospital..it was a "crushing" chest pain.
this time around besides from the basic labs..i had my endocardiogram and a 24hr ambulatoty BP monitor.
they found out i was hypertensive and that my heart is in a good condition.so they roll out any heart problems..
now its conclusive that i have COSTOCHONDRITIS...and it's KILLING me...I'm on NSAIDS now and it's working i guess...
the pain..sharp pain is still there and i can't lay on either my left or right side like i use too..=(
i hope this would go away eventually..but reading some comments madr me realize this would stay for awhile...
even now..I'm sitting on our couch and leaning on my left...and i found it a bit annoying cause it's painful especially when I'm breathing..
please share your experience and how did you guys coup up with costochondritis....@xanderfox90 my Twitter.
people who doesn't had or have COSTOCHONDRITIS won't understand the pain and discomfort we are in...
most of them especially here in the Philippines would just say "your Malingering"...
THANK YOU for posting this on youtube.for the rest of us.looking for answers about our predicament.
Hi Alex. Just spotted your comment - sorry, don't know why I missed it before this. Yes, difficulty with breathing is common in costo. You can't fill your lungs fully if you can't expand your rib cage fully, and you can't do that if the rib hinges around the back are jammed - and that's also what causes most costo.
So the difficulty breathing fits completely with my New Zealand physio explanation of why you've go the costo chest pain - the rib hinges on the breastbone are working excessively just to let you breathe, because the rib hinges at the back aren't moving at all. Easy to sort out, and I hope you have done so by now. Cheers, Steve August.
Backpoa work 101%. In one week i am 101% fine . After trying everything .At last i try backpod . With the help of backpod am able to do chest exercises in gym now . Thanks alot steve 💯👍🏻
Hi Sandhu. Great! Well done. Keep using the Backpod for at least a few weeks more. The tight joints you've been freeing will still try to tighten up again for a while yet, even though they're good now. Also, avoid dips for another three months at least - they're the single worst exercise for costo in the gym. Cheers, Steve August.
Hi sir how is your pain now. Am suffering from same pain. Plzzz cal me.
Hello. I just purchased the back pod on amazon. I have been having issues with what seems like costochondritis for a year now. It comes and goes but recently I can't go a day without some level of pain. The pain resides throughout my left side. It always starts out in my left shoulder up into my neck and eventually makes its way to the middle of my chest causing me trouble breathing from the pain. (I have checked my heart and been to dr multiple times). The doctors are not doing anything other than prescribing tramadol. I constantly have cracking and popping going on in my back and sometimes my sternum. I have lupus and I'm wondering if this product will be helpful for me. I also have winged scapulas which I'm sure isn't helping the problem. I was really into lifting but now I can hardly get through a light workout. Your advice is appreciated. Really hoping this product helps.
Hi. Should do. Thanks for getting in contact. I saw your UA-cam video about your costo a little while back and made a comment on it.
Good, you have a Backpod - start using it. It sounds like what's going on with you fits squarely into my New Zealand physio understanding of costo and what we built the Backpod for.
Sure you have lupus - my sympathies - but a general condition like lupus will not cause the very specific pain you're getting where your ribs join onto your breastbone. Nothing says you can't have lupus and also sprain your ankle - the ankle sprain wasn't caused by the lupus. Same with costo. (People, including doctors, love having a diagnosis pigeonhole they can drop you into, and then explain everything that happens to you in terms of that pigeonhole. You may have noticed..)
You probably DO have a worse case of costo than most people because the lupus means a greater background level of inflammation in your muscles and joints. So you're getting a double hit at the rib hinges on your breastbone - the local pain and inflammation plus the elevated background levels. Them's the breaks. Neither are fair.
Cheeringly, you can fix the costo. What you've described all fits with my NZ physio explanation. You're tight or frozen on the rib hinges around your back where the ribs join onto your backbone. When this happens, the much more delicate joints where the other ends of the ribs hinge onto your breastbone HAVE to work excessively just to let you keep breathing. So they strain, irritate, inflame - and there's your costo. And they never get a rest as long as you keep breathing (Don't stop that - there's a better answer.), and yours are more irritable and ready to inflame anyway as part of your lupus.
The cracking and popping in your back is from joints jolting and giving a bit as they move instead of sliding fully and silently - a lot like rusty hinges instead of smooth, well-oiled ones. The pops on your sternum are those rib joints 'giving' under their excessive load and strain - a lot like spraining your ankle. Your winging scapulae indicate that the support muscles for that part of your back are really weak - which ties in with the hinges there getting tight. (Your gym workouts probably emphasized your pecs, etc. and not so much these posterior stabilising muscles - I'm guessing.)
So the driving force of the costo pain on your breastbone is clearly that patch of your rib hinges around the back mostly on your left side being tight or frozen. Probably frozen - it's been a year. The only, repeat only, logical treatment for this is to free them up. Every treatment aimed at just suppressing the pain and inflammation at the breastbone misses the point and is just dabbling. They may indeed help - if you take enough drugs you will get some pain suppression even if they turn you into a zombie - but none deal to the root cause of the problem.
You probably got told by the docs that your costo would settle down in a matter of weeks. They were wrong about that, and they're wrong about most things with costo. It's not their fault - they're just passing on what they've been taught as medical students.
Good luck with the Backpod. DO please read the instructions. Your joints will be more inflamed than those of someone without costo, so you may need to go more quietly. Feel free to make contact and I'll talk you through what's going on. Do use enough pillows under your head so it's not actually painful to lie on the Backpod. It should be initially somewhat uncomfortable - that eases off over a minute or so as things stretch. It's a real treatment device, not a magic gimmick - for it to be stretching, you do need to feel it doing it.
It's been a year, and the rib hinges take at least few weeks to stretch mostly free. (Like stretching a hamstring that's so tight you can't reach your knees - it takes weeks of daily stretching before you can touch your toes. But you get there.) Just use the Backpod once a day, and do definitely use it out to your left side a bit, because that's where the tight left rib hinges will be. Chase the tightest stuff.
Don't try and get to the gym. You can't train through costo. Any exercise or stretch you do will just strain further the already strained rib joints on the breastbone, long before it'll help the tight rib joints on your spine. It's just another of the frustrating things about costo.
Good luck with the work. Cheers, Steve August.
Thank you for taking the time to reply! I receive the BackPod tomorrow and I'm looking forward to using it. Will update on how it goes. Also, you hit it right on the dot with costochondritis being the main problem but lupus worsening the pain. Thank you.
Lupus definitely causing this. Adopt a whole foods plant based diet and watch the symptoms minimise. And yes buy a back pod, its the only thing giving me a fighting chance
Hi Cookedburra. My sympathies. Does explain why the costo was improving but not clearing on the Backpod. Nothing says you can't have both, unfortunately. So the lupus will make everything more irritable and inflamed generally, then there's been the tight ribs driving the costo on top of that. So, a double hit at the breastbone rib joints.
There is a really good series of UA-cam videos by Samatha Wayne who's been living with lupus for years, and with costo on top for more than a year. One link is ua-cam.com/video/MvrBQBa4RGw/v-deo.html
Best wishes, Steve August.
Steve NZ Physio my bad, i worded that in a way that seemed like I had lupus, thankfully I'm in exceptional health. :) Strangely I wanted to ad, that since its my 2nd rib hurting, placing the back pod a bit further down and stretching out more over the back pod actually hit the sweet spot. Did that 2 weeks ago and improvement has accelerated since. I believe I was spinning my wheels with using it as I simply wasn't manipulating that joint properly. I know when I'm targetting it good because I feel it right on my 2nd rib, it feels like i'm stretching it out. When I first did this i thought "oh no! Ive just flared it up!" But then I got up and felt so much more mobile. The pain in my back also decreased very very significantly. I thought I was over-using the back pod but nope, I use it multiple times a day and get no back pain from it, thus giving ne an inclination to believe that the two circumstances were directly related. Only thing I'm wondering now is, will I always have to use the back pod? Ive come to a mutual agreement between mind and body that cardio and yoga is the way forward, bye bye dips! I just wonder if i'll get to the point where it stays in place. It clicks less now too since finding that sweet spot. Cheers Steve i literally owe you my life, I wasn't sure I wanted to suffer indefinitely the way I was 3 months ago.
OMG! I want to hug you even though I haven’t even done anything yet. I’m just so so glad I found this excellent video because today is the first day I found out what I have and after reading WebMD and MayoClinic and all the other websites, I was starting to get depressed thinking that there’s no preventive treatment or known causes for costochondritis. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. Cheers mate!
Thanks - and I sympathise. We think the Mayo, WebMD, etc. on costo are just nuts. There is NO research validation for their assertions. I do know - I've been back and over the research. Well done on thinking for yourself and good luck with the work. Cheers, Steve August.
Really appreciate this and working on what you have discussed
Thank you Steve for your very helpful video. Waiting for my backpod to arrive to and will get the gel and do exercise. Really want to live normal again :(
I owe this man so much!!
The last few years were so painful... I am really glad to read in the comment section that they got healed and pain free. I hope to get there to
Hi. It's just not a difficult problem, once you understand it correctly. We were astounded to discover that most of the rest of the world outside New Zealand manual physio doesn't. (Actually the Aussies are good at it too.)
Here's a long wordy PDF on what costochondritis actually is and what we find works best to fix it. It is more easily read on a computer, not a phone.
The PDF covers using the Backpod for costo, and also the other bits that often need dealing to as well. Cheeringly, these can nearly all be done by yourself at home. It takes a bit of time and effort, but it's not that difficult. Good luck with the work!
www.bodystance.co.nz/assets/Uploads/Costo-treatment-plan-incl-Costo-and-iHunch-PDFs-19-July-2022.pdf
Update: Huge improvement in my costo. Thanks so much Steve for the backpod and your advice. Have mentioned the success of the backpod to my GP, physio and myotherapist/remedial masseuse. Thanks again Steve. (Husband it getting a lot of use out of the backpod too.)
@Vape Girl not 100% but very close. I only use it every so often now. Have very minor flare ups every now and then but nothing at all like it used to be. Good luck
@Vape Girl Hmm not really sure. I have other health issues and I never seem to be able to recover fully so maybe it is just that? It is such a big difference though. My flare ups are so minor in comparison to before. Yes I'd say I felt less and less pain. Progress was slow at first. Then actually it seemed like a breakthrough when there was no pain for a good amount of time. My first flare up after that was very minor and it was almost like a reminder to keep using the backpod.
I got the backpod a couple of months after I got the costo diagnosis, then used it for I think around 3 months before it started to come good. My memory is a bit hazy, it might have been a big longer. I don't think I had the worst case of costo you can have though, it sounds like you might be a bit more limiting than mine was and therefore maybe will take a bit longer to come good? Just a guess though. Backpod, stretches, massages and Physio helped me. Just bizarre that many health professionals had little idea how to treat this.
Hopefully you will be able to get closer to pain free and sleeping normally soon.
@Vape Girl For how many days soarness in the back was there for you for you using it for first time?
Thank you for this. Im gonna try it all.
I have been suffering from costochondritis for six months. I ordered the Backpod and have been using it multiple times daily for almost a week, and already notice a dramatic improvement. Many thanks, Steve!! Your invention is brilliant, and for me, life-changing!!
Thanks - and well done on thinking for yourself, and getting a Backpod. We were flabbergasted to discover that our sensible research-supported New Zealand manual physio understanding of costo is not out there in the rest of the world - which is why it's so often not fixed.
Stick with it - it’s very tough stuff you’re stretching and it takes time. Do please READ THE INSTRUCTIONS and the 'Warnings and precautions' section in the user guide. If for some reason you haven’t got one, there is also a pdf copy of the full user guide near the bottom of the iHunch and Costochondritis pages on the Backpod’s website - www.bodystance.co.nz/assets/Uploads/backpod-full-user-guide-feb-2020.pdf.
We start people off really gently because often they just do too much initially and get sore. It’s a lot like stretching hamstring muscles that are so tight you can’t touch your knees - takes a while before you can reach your toes. You are starting to stretch joints that haven’t moved for months or years and you can get a bit of normal treatment tenderness for a few days. It’s a lot like stretching hamstring muscles that are so tight you can’t touch your knees - takes a while before you can reach your toes.
When you no longer need a pillow under your head when you’re lying on the Backpod, get some more oomph out of it by lifting your buttocks off the ground, using the Backpod crosswise across the upper back (gives more leverage) as well as lengthwise and out to the sides a little (to get the ribs), and/or linking your fingers together and slowly moving your arms up over your head and down to your waist repeatedly; try that with just one arm as well. Chase the tightest bits and spend 1-3 minutes on each.
Also, when you get to that point, start doing the sitting twist exercise I showed 12.54 minutes into the ‘How to Fix most Costo and Tietze’s , Part (2)’ UA-cam video - ua-cam.com/video/r7ve6nNVdWc/v-deo.html This is to work the joints now they’re reasonably unlocked - like working a rusty hinge back and forth after you put some oil on it.
Also, ideally, shout yourself a sports massage - preferably two, with a week off in between. When you've had costo for more than a few months, the muscles between and overlying the tight ribs around your back and sides, plus the pec muscles on your chest, also get tight and scarred. Massage is ideal for loosening them up. However NOT until it’s safe with COVID-19. At a minimum, you should both wear masks, hand sanitise, and when you get home take all your clothes off and put them straight into the washing machine and you straight into the shower, including washing your hair.
As well, if possible, talk, bargain or bribe someone into doing the two massages in the Backpod’s user guide, about once a week for at least a few weeks.
You’re probably tight on your pecs as part of it all, so best to stretch them as well. There’s a good pec stretching video on UA-cam - link is ua-cam.com/video/EfVKRXhYVEA/v-deo.html
I’m guessing this next bit, but the commonest reason these days for costo starting is if you’re getting a bit hunched, usually from much bending over computers, phones, patients or whatever - we call it the iHunch. As part of the spine getting a bit hunched and tight, the rib joints attaching to your spine also stiffen and seize. When they can’t move, then the joints at the other ends of the same ribs MUST work excessively just to let you keep breathing. So they strain, ‘give’, irritate, get locally inflamed - and welcome to costo. It’s not a “mysterious inflammation” arriving for no reason.
Have a look at the iHunch page on the Backpod’s website - www.bodystance.co.nz/en/ihunch/ If that looks like a fit with you, then you’d better do all the bits in the Backpod’s home program - we designed it specifically to counter the iHunch and pull you back towards perfect posture. It’s worth looking at the Perfect Posture page also.
Good luck with the work.
Cheers,
Steve August (B.A.,Dip.Physio.).
Everytime I start feeling Costo flare up, I use my backpod for a few days, and it fixes the issue. The backpod is worth every penny I spent on it.
So, costo’s a mystery, they say,
And, no, it won’t just go away;
The New Zealand view’s clear -
Free the ribs at the rear,
Then their front joints will settle okay.
Steve NZ Physio hello, my pain is in the floating ribs, would I still benefit from the back pod the same, and use the same way? Also, It seems many articles claim the problem is loose cartilage that holds the rib in place. Is that untrue? If it is true, how does releasing the “back hinge” help with the condition?
Steve, I just watched your rather educational video, and am amazed I never saw it in the 20 months I have been Googling costo! I ordered the Backpod right away. It sounds like it should work! One question though: do you recommend any anti inflammatory foods as well to supplement the regime you recommend? Do you think inflammatory foods exacerbate the costo pain? It has been quite severe for me lately. Thank you!
Hi steve i have one question my sternum pops when i lift it up.. Is this not good. What should i do.. How long does it take to cure the inflammation..
It only pops because the rib joints around your back are getting tight. It is not an inflammation. If you free up the tight rib joints round the back, then the sternum popping will stop. The video tells you how to do that.
Steve NZ Physio hi
Hey Steve, thank you for this video. I have been suffering from costochondritis for about 3 months now. My chest rib cage is very very sore (especially left side). I just ordered the back pod so hoping it will take some pain away. I get a bit of anxiety with the pain which makes my pain worse and was wondering if I should go for the anti depressant meds? Does anxiety makes the pain worse? Also i am able to move both sides but the soreness is always there 😔😔😔 please advice
Hi Kami . Where did you order the Backpod from please.? I need one
@@JIMMIX7 Hi James. have a look down the 'Buy' page on the Backpod's website - www.bodystance.co.nz/buy-now There are suppliers in lots of countries now. Cheers, Steve August.
Hi Kami. Usually costochondritis is easy enough to sort out - if you do the right things for it. Well done on thinking for yourself. Please do follow the Backpod's instructions in the user guide carefully. Re anxiety - I think it's perfectly sane and reasonable to be concerned about a mysterious chest pain that the docs don't seem to understand or fix. Sure, anxiety makes everything worse. I don't have any miracle cure for it - my feeling is just fix the costochondritis. Good luck with the work - sure, you can get a bit tender for the first few days as things start to move freely again. It usually takes three weeks or so to get everything mostly free.
Also, shout yourself a sports massage - preferably two, with a week off in between. When you've had costo for more than a few months, the muscles between and overlying the tight ribs around your back and sides, plus the pec muscles on your chest, also get tight and scarred. Massage is ideal for loosening them up.
Hang in there. Cheers, Steve August.
How has the progress been?
Do you still have Costco?
Thank you for all this and devoting so much of your life to chosto. Nobody else is an expert like you. I was in awful pain and no doctor knew what was wrong. I had to self diagnose. Bought the backpod and been using it 3 weeks. Within a day pain halved, and now its barely noticeable at all. Thank you sir!!
Well done on thinking for yourself. Very pleased the Backpod is helping.
You may need other bits of treatment too. Here's a long wordy PDF on what costochondritis actually is and what we find works best to fix it. It is more easily read on a computer, not a phone.
The PDF covers using the Backpod for costo, and also the other bits that often need dealing to as well. Cheeringly, these can nearly all be done by yourself at home. It takes a bit of time and effort, but it's not that difficult. Good luck with the work!
www.bodystance.co.nz/assets/Uploads/Costo-treatment-plan-incl-Costo-and-iHunch-PDFs-19-July-2022.pdf
Many thanks sir steve. God bless.
you poor people that get this everyday for years. its been one day and its awful trying not to move
I've had mine since 2008
It's got worse for months now and hardly go out due to severe pain
Iv had mine 2 years 😩
3 years
Ive had mine for 5 😭
Thank you so much GOD BLESS
I was in despair, found these videos and rolled up a bath towel, put it on the floor, laid on top with the roll between my shoulder blades and felt all kinds of CRACKLES, then relaxation.
And my costo was so much better the very moment I got up!
Went and ordered the back pod. Thank you so much.
Good intelligent thinking - well done. Do note that your costo is therefore not, repeat not, repeat NOT a "mysterious inflammation." You couldn't get instant relief from an inflammation just by freeing up the tight ribs around your back like you did. The crackles were the frozen rib joints round the back freeing up a bit - like rusty hinges.
So it's a mechanical problem - which is what I've been saying from my New Zealand physiortherapy experience. Which is supported by the medical research - the "mysterious inflammation" red herring isn't.
Good. The towel started you off. That'll start you stretching the tight ribs. Yes, the Backpod is hugely better - it's got much more specific leverage because of its unyielding core, and usually the joints need that oomph. But the socks will start you off okay.
Well done on thinking for yourself, deciding I might know what i’m talking about, and getting a Backpod.
Stick with it - it’s very tough stuff you’re stretching and it takes time. Do please READ THE INSTRUCTIONS and the 'Warnings and precautions' section in the 31-page user guide. If for some reason you haven’t got one, there is also a pdf copy of the full user guide near the bottom of the iHunch and Costochondritis pages on the Backpod’s website - www.bodystance.co.nz/assets/Uploads/backpod-full-user-guide-feb-2020.pdf. These are the best detailed instructions on how to use the Backpod.
We start people off really gently because often they just do too much initially and get sore. You are starting to stretch joints that haven’t moved for months or years and you can get a bit of normal treatment tenderness for a few days. It’s a lot like stretching hamstring muscles that are so tight you can’t touch your knees - takes a while before you can reach your toes.
When you no longer need a pillow under your head when you’re lying on the Backpod, get some more oomph out of it by lifting your buttocks off the ground, using the Backpod crosswise across the upper back (gives more leverage) as well as lengthwise and out to the sides a little (to get the ribs), and/or linking your fingers together and slowly moving your arms up over your head and down to your waist repeatedly; try that with just one arm as well. Chase the tightest bits and spend 1-3 minutes on each.
Also, when you get to that point, start doing the sitting twist exercise I showed 12.54 minutes into the ‘How to Fix most Costo and Tietze’s , Part (2)’ UA-cam video - ua-cam.com/video/r7ve6nNVdWc/v-deo.html This is to work the joints now they’re reasonably unlocked - like working a rusty hinge back and forth after you put some oil on it.
Also, ideally, shout yourself a sports massage - preferably two, with a week off in between. When you've had costo for more than a few months, the muscles between and overlying the tight ribs around your back and sides, plus the pec muscles on your chest, also get tight and scarred. Massage is ideal for loosening them up. However NOT until it’s safe with COVID-19. At a minimum, you should both wear masks, hand sanitise, and when you get home take all your clothes off and put them straight into the washing machine and you straight into the shower, including washing your hair.
As well, if possible, talk, bargain or bribe someone into doing the two massages in the Backpod’s user guide, about once a week for at least a few weeks. Get them to go hard down between your shoulder blades.
You’re probably tight on your pecs as part of it all, so best to stretch them as well. There’s a good pec stretching video on UA-cam - link is ua-cam.com/video/EfVKRXhYVEA/v-deo.html
I’m guessing this next bit, but the commonest reason these days for costo starting is if you’re getting a bit hunched, usually from much bending over computers, phones, patients or whatever - we call it the iHunch. As part of the spine getting a bit hunched and tight, the rib joints attaching to your spine also stiffen and seize. When they can’t move, then the joints at the other ends of the same ribs MUST work excessively just to let you keep breathing. So they strain, ‘give’, irritate, get locally inflamed - and welcome to costo. It’s not a “mysterious inflammation” arriving for no reason.
Have a look at the iHunch page on the Backpod’s website - www.bodystance.co.nz/en/ihunch/ If that looks like a fit with you, then do all the bits in the Backpod’s home program - we designed it specifically to counter the iHunch and pull you back towards perfect posture. It’s worth looking at the Perfect Posture page also.
Good luck with the work.
Cheers,
Steve August (B.A.,Dip.Physio.).
Please give this man a knighthood. Suffering from intense chostocondritis for over 2 years but already seeing improvements with the backpod and recommend stretching.
Hi Ruhul. Heh - thanks! Well done on thinking for yourself.
Have a thorough look over this long wordy PDF on fixing costo. Should give you what you need, including the other bits usually needing dealing to as part of the whole costo problem. It's easier read on a computer, not a phone.
www.bodystance.co.nz/assets/Uploads/Costo-treatment-plan-incl-Costo-and-iHunch-PDFs-19-July-2022.pdf
You're a lifesaver. This shit literally made me suicidal
Hi Scorcoz, I feel the same. Got very depressed, I have had it for 3 months now. Did yours heal, and if so, how did you heal it?
@@arvidschwartz3412 gosh, it was a lot man. Start by taking natural anti-inflammatory's daily. No ibuprofen. Only ginger and turmeric. Start doing things that stretch your chest. I know it sounds weird, but a lot of this stress is actually being held in your pectorals and your traps
@@scorcoz I’ve been dealing with this for a year and today it moved to the other side of my rib cage and j ended up in the Er for hours because breathing is excruciating. I am so tired of pain
@@kanbear4115 Do what he says. I believe him. I have LIVED with this and other musculoskeletal horrors since Childhood. No one can see how much I hurt, and I have remained active but in serious pain forever. I'm always looking FOR NON PHYSICIAN, NON PHARMACEUTICAL RELIEF. He is spot on I believe. Just RULE out other things before you lean into this hard. I won't...lol! BUT, that's my business...ha😋Lisa
@@arvidschwartz3412 1 month for me. How are you doing now?
Thankyou sir Thankyou!
I started with the pain last week, did the exercises during the video and I feel so much better now.
How r u now?
Hi Steve! You are a wonderful man. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with the world, you are helping so many people! I originally commented on your first video for how to fix costochondritis, and this second video is just as helpful. Both my husband and I have watched is 3 or more times.
I got costo from a BJJ injury. I went back to BJJ after 5 weeks off - that was a mistake. I went back and not even a week and a half later, I had to stop traiing again as I was in so much pain.
So I took 6.5 months off, and have now been back training BJJ for 5 weeks...not without pain in my chest/sternum, that's for sure. But my husband is a qualified physio from Melb uni, and so after watching your videos, he has been freeing up the joints at the back and massaging the collagen, and this has helped a lot. On top of that, I've been stretching like mad for 7 months - hanging off bars at the gym to loosen up my spine, twisting stretches, doing bridges, lying back on the roller, etc.
But I still can't have knocks or much pressure put on my chest, bc I feel pain and am afraid of having people on top of me (which is sometimes necessary for BJJ!) Most of my training partners understand, and work around it and that's great...however, it's getting to the point where I believe that having say, another 12 months off or another 24 months off wouldn't actually fully heal the injury, only movement can...
I think that after years of studying at a desk and years of hunching over, breastfeeding, probably contributed to my spine and rib joints freezing up - so I lost mobility in my spine and rib cage. I've got that mobility back now - but pain is still there when I train BJJ.
My quesion is - how long did it take for you to finally heal your own costo? Yours happened after a fall, you then had costo for 7 years...but how long did it take you to heal it with the physio work on it? Was the rehab a fast process for you? Wishing I could be like you and never feel a twinge again so I could train BJJ normally....but then again, someone double my weight sat on me for a prolonged period, so I did have an acute injury there initially to the chest!
Maybe I'm just too small to be training with bigger people (I weight 52 kg, so small).
Hi. Good - your physio husband is going to be a great help! Say hi from me.
Mm - it took me a couple of months to clear my own costo about 95% - but I didn't have the Backpod then, and it really is an advance. BJJ is pretty extreme on those rib joints on you sternum. Think of them like sprained ankles - even when you've freed off the tight machinery around the back, you've still got sprained joints that are vulnerable for some months after that.
You may need this as well: What you can get with costo and especially Tietze’s Syndrome is swelling where the ribs join onto your breastbone. (Tietze's is just costo with enough swelling of the joints where the ribs join onto your breastbone to be noticeable.)
All it is is intracellular fluid - the same sort of fresh fluid swelling that happens if you sprain your ankle. As with a sprained ankle, after a week the fluid swelling sets hard. This is just the normal inflammatory response of strained joints - there’s no auto-immune component. It’s a normal repair process, with fibrin in the fluid acting as a slow setting glue to hold everything together while the torn fibres and cells are repairing.
With costo and Tietze’s, the irritation and strain can continue for months or years, so you can get a rock-like build-up of this stuff, often with a bit of fresh swelling on top. It’s a bit like running with tight boots causing a blister and NEVER STOPPING for years. As long as the rib hinges round the back can’t move, then the rib joints on your breastbone HAVE to keep straining - every breath you take.
So you often get some hardened swelling there where the ribs join onto the breastbone. This doesn’t just interfere with the normal free glide of the rib hinges, it also binds down the free nerve endings and receptors, tethering them and making them hypersensitive.
Break it down. This is like working hard putty or play dough or cold pastry dough until it becomes malleable. You can do this yourself.
Use something to let your fingers slide. Massage wax is better than oil - oil dribbles. Better again is something that will also reduce the irritation of working these sensitive bits around, like Voltaren (diclofenac) anti-inflammatory gel or CBD cream like Penetrex. You won’t weaken the scarring round the joints or any surgical scar, just make it flexible and not pulling on the nerves.
Spend about 10-15 minutes every three or four days working your fingers through the hardened bits in all directions. Start gently - it’ll get easier as you continue. It will be tender and probably sore - it gets easier as it frees up. The first time is the worst. Just do what it feels like it can handle, and expect to feel it tender, especially to touch, afterwards.
It takes time - probably a few or several weeks. But it’s easy enough to do. It’s the main answer to this specific bit of the problem. But just done on its own it’ll keep coming back, unless you sort out the tight ribs round the back driving it. We use the Backpod for that but quite often you need to do the front bit as well.
Cheers, Steve August (B.A.,Dip.Physio.).
@@stevenzphysio4203 Thanks very much for your response Steve, I will definitely start with the massage today.
What you are describing totally makes sense, and it's really helpful for my situation.
I always appreciate your advice and won't forget how much help you've been.
- Renee.
For how many days soarness in the back was there for you for you using it for first time?
i get this every few years from a car accident in 2012, i just got woken up by the pain that i could feel was coming before i went to bed. currently standing in a hot shower, doing these exercises and honestly can breathe without the massive amounts of pain. thanks!! adding these into my lifestyle in hopes i never have to go through this again
Hi Maria. Glad it's helped! It's common after a car crash when you hit the steering wheel airbag or the seatbelt. The impact can leave the rib joints round the back tight or frozen, so you get ongoing extra strain continuing to happen at the rib joints on the breastbone.
These rib joints at the front will 'give' under a bit more load, with that sharp scary stabbing pain - it's NOT a "mysterious inflammation." The stretches will free things up somewhat. If it keeps happening, you may definitely need more leverage to stretch the rib joints round the back fully free. We use the backpod for that - see www.bodystance.co.nz/en/costochondritis/
Cheers, Steve August.
I’ve had epidurals n blocks over the past 6 yrs. I started myself researching about my pain. Internal medicine doctors just don’t know enough about this disease. I bought the back pod n having been using it n will start your exercises per this video. Your the answer to my prayers🙏
Well done on thinking for yourself. The thing is - epidural or other nerve blocks aren't a treatment. All they're doing is attempting to block the pain signals that the nerves are carrying. They are not treating the problem that is causing the pain in the first place.
In the case of costo, this is the frozen movement of the rib joints around the back. So blocks don't last - even if they work to start with - because the problem is still there, keeping the ongoing sprain at the rib joints on your breastbone.
Well done on thinking for yourself, deciding I might know what i’m talking about, and getting a Backpod.
Stick with it - it’s very tough stuff you’re stretching and it takes time. Do please READ THE INSTRUCTIONS and the 'Warnings and precautions' section in the 31-page user guide. If for some reason you haven’t got one, there is also a pdf copy of the full user guide near the bottom of the iHunch and Costochondritis pages on the Backpod’s website - www.bodystance.co.nz/assets/Uploads/backpod-full-user-guide-feb-2020.pdf. These are the best detailed instructions on how to use the Backpod.
We start people off really gently because often they just do too much initially and get sore. You are starting to stretch joints that haven’t moved for months or years and you can get a bit of normal treatment tenderness for a few days. It’s a lot like stretching hamstring muscles that are so tight you can’t touch your knees - takes a while before you can reach your toes.
When you no longer need a pillow under your head when you’re lying on the Backpod, get some more oomph out of it by lifting your buttocks off the ground, using the Backpod crosswise across the upper back (gives more leverage) as well as lengthwise and out to the sides a little (to get the ribs), and/or linking your fingers together and slowly moving your arms up over your head and down to your waist repeatedly; try that with just one arm as well. Chase the tightest bits and spend 1-3 minutes on each.
Also, when you get to that point, start doing the sitting twist exercise I showed 12.54 minutes into the ‘How to Fix most Costo and Tietze’s , Part (2)’ UA-cam video - ua-cam.com/video/r7ve6nNVdWc/v-deo.html This is to work the joints now they’re reasonably unlocked - like working a rusty hinge back and forth after you put some oil on it.
Also, ideally, shout yourself a sports massage - preferably two, with a week off in between. When you've had costo for more than a few months, the muscles between and overlying the tight ribs around your back and sides, plus the pec muscles on your chest, also get tight and scarred. Massage is ideal for loosening them up. However do it safely with COVID-19 around. At a minimum, you should both wear masks and hand sanitise.
As well, if possible, talk, bargain or bribe someone into doing the two massages in the Backpod’s user guide, about once a week for at least a few weeks. Get them to go hard down between your shoulder blades.
You’re probably tight on your pecs as part of it all, so best to stretch them as well. There’s a good pec stretching video on UA-cam - link is ua-cam.com/video/EfVKRXhYVEA/v-deo.html
I’m guessing this next bit, but the commonest reason these days for costo starting is if you’re getting a bit hunched, usually from much bending over computers, phones, patients or whatever - we call it the iHunch. As part of the spine getting a bit hunched and tight, the rib joints attaching to your spine also stiffen and seize. When they can’t move, then the joints at the other ends of the same ribs MUST work excessively just to let you keep breathing. So they strain, ‘give’, irritate, get locally inflamed - and welcome to costo. It’s not a “mysterious inflammation” arriving for no reason.
Have a look at the iHunch page on the Backpod’s website - www.bodystance.co.nz/en/ihunch/ If that looks like a fit with you, then do all the bits in the Backpod’s home program - we designed it specifically to counter the iHunch and pull you back towards perfect posture. It’s worth looking at the Perfect Posture page also.
Good luck with the work.
Cheers,
Steve August (B.A.,Dip.Physio.).
How is the costo now?
Thank you for information. It has been a constant search for answers to this condition for several years.
Thanks, Peggy. You are not alone. The confusion is almost as bad as the pain.
Thoroughly read the costo page of the Backpod’s website, including watching the costo videos linked from it - www.bodystance.co.nz/en/costochondritis/
Understand what’s going on and what actually fixes costo. Our sensible and effective New Zealand manual physiotherapy way to fix costo is based on the actual published medical research. The popular medical explanation of costo as a “mysterious inflammation" is not. Yes, this is nuts.
Good luck with the work.
Cheers,
Steve August (B.A.,Dip.Physio.).
I can’t thank you enough. You’ve changed my life. I’m not 100% but my pain is vastly improved. It started when I was pregnant so I assumed it was because of that. I lost so much sleep because of the pain.
God bless you, my friend.
Thank you very much. It’s common for costochondritis to start over pregnancy. As the baby bulge gets bigger, the rib cage is forced apart a bit. If the rib joints round the back are too tight to move, then the ones on your breastbone get strained out more, often with popping and cracking and sharp stabbing pain - a lot like spraining your ankle slowly. That’s what the pain is - it’s not a “mysterious inflammation”, no matter what you may have been told.
This can continue even after your baby is born, because the tight rib machinery around the back stays frozen, so the joints on your breastbone have to keep moving too much to compensate. So they click, pop, ‘give’, get sore - and welcome to costo.
So, you would have been tight in your rib cage before your pregnancy. I’m guessing this next bit, but the commonest reason these days for costo starting is if you’re getting a bit hunched, usually from much bending over computers, phones, patients or whatever - we call it the iHunch. As part of the spine getting a bit hunched and tight, the rib joints attaching to your spine also stiffen and seize. When they can’t move, then the joints at the other ends of the same ribs MUST work excessively just to let you keep breathing. Pregnancy just puts that bit of extra loa on the joints like this.
Have a look at the iHunch page on the Backpod’s website - www.bodystance.co.nz/en/ihunch/ If that looks like a fit with you, then you’d better do all the bits in the Backpod’s home program - we designed it specifically to counter the iHunch and pull you back towards perfect posture. It’s worth looking at the Perfect Posture page also.
Good luck with the work.
Cheers,
Steve August (B.A.,Dip.Physio.).
Hey Molly mine happened 6 months post Partum and I really believe it must have started during my pregnancy because I had a lot of trouble breathing during my pregnancy, and it can take a bit for ribs and everything to go back to normal too so I feel like me lifting my baby not correctly and also bad posture definitely made this pain come on. I’ve been dealing with it for 3 months now. If you ever wanna talk to a fellow costo mom feel free to email me ckjones220@yahoo.com I hope you get better soon!
Thank good someone figured it out. Been suffering on and off for years with sternum pain, has been getting unbearable lately. All US doctors say it has no cause and no cure. Haven't tried the treatment suggested here but now I have hope.
Hi Alexei. The US doctors are wrong. I'm being accurate, not cranky. It's not their fault. Have a look at this video of mine on the actual medical research on costo - ua-cam.com/video/t8k2LCLeR24/v-deo.html Then have a thorough look over the Costo page on the Backpod's website, including the videos - www.bodystance.co.nz/en/costochondritis/ Then start fixing it. Cheers, Steve August.
What a LEGEND thank you so much for searching this and helping people all around the World, much love and respect Sir👍
I just ordered a backpod yesterday. I'm almost in tears while watching this video because everything you've said is me. I've been dealing with pain for 5+ years. I will come back to this video and update my progress.
Hi Janice. Well done on thinking for yourself and not giving up. Good luck with the work - please DO follow the instructions accurately; expect things to take a few weeks to stretch free mostly, and to get a bit tender over the first week as the rib joints round the back start moving again after five years of not.
I do sympathise. It's just luck - I so nearly didn't put up the first costo video - didn't think there'd be much interest in what we in my area of physio in New Zealand regard as a simple readily fixable mechanical problem. We were gobsmacked to discover that most of the rest of the world sees costo as this "mysterious inflammation" nonsense - that's why they don't fix it.
As well as the Backpod, shout yourself a sports massage - preferably two, with a week off in between. When you've had costo for more than a few months (let alone 5+ years!), the muscles between and overlying the tight ribs around your back and sides, plus the pec muscles on your chest, also get tight and scarred. Massage is ideal for loosening them up.
Best wishes, Steve August.
I received the Backpod last week. I've used it several times already. I started with 2 pillows. It was intense. I no longer use pillows but I need to use a towel over the Backpod. I came back to review the stretches outlined in the video. The Back pod and stretches are WORKING! Now I need to schedule an appointment with massage therapist. Thank you.
@@janiceriedel8845 Hi Janice. Well done! Stick with it and give it time. You can feel a bit of treatment tenderness after you stretch stuff that hasn't moved for a long time. It's a measure of how tight you've been - when all the rib and spinal joints are moving fine, you just feel a satisfying stretch on the Backpod. It's only sore if it's tight - like trying to force down to the floor with really tight hamstrings.
Well done on sticking with it, and it'll get easier all the time now. We do get a few people who don't read the instructions, hurl themselves on the Backpod, then complain it's too hard or sore. All they have to do is use pillows, etc. Sigh.
It''l also be a lot easier after the massage. Cheers, Steve August.
It's been 3 years since I got the backpod. My costochondritis is gone. I do have a question for you. My ribs on the side hurt. They don't hurt where they hinged at the backbone or chest. They're inflamed. Can the backpod help with that? Do you have suggestions on how to use it.
So glad this was posted in one of my chronic pain groups.
I went through all the steps, I felt painless slight pops, my arms immediately felt more relaxed and so does my entire body. I was told I also have Nerve Root Disorder/Disease, it was explained to me that the root of my nerves connect to my spinal cord are misfiring and causing crazy bouts of pain. This is the most relaxed my back and chest has felt in awhile. Thank you so much, I will be adding this to my daily schedule 6X a day. Thanks again, I never thought I could get an adjustment and help heal myself all from a UA-cam video. Ahhh, I love the positives the internet brings us. ❤
Hi JM. Great - glad it's helping. I'm assuming you're using a Backpod though you haven't actually said. Yes, you often get that diagnosis - that it's the nerves that are causing the pain, somehow. What you don't often get is a reason or even a question of WHY they are doing that.
The commonest answer is that some of the moving parts of the spine and ribs are stuck solid - which can sort of nip the nerves where they exit from the spine. (This doesn't show on CAT or MRI scan or X-ray because these are still photos and can't show if joints are moving fine or concreted solid.)
The Backpod, if that's what you're using, is quietly stretching free the frozen hinges. The cracks are them releasing - just like you'd get with a rusty hinge. Stick with it - it'll get a lot better yet. It takes time to stretch the tough stuff. Cheers, Steve August.
@@stevenzphysio4203 Thank you for responding. I have not purchased the pod yet, but it will be purchases after the 1st of the month. I also showed your video to my roommate, he too did the exercise with me, he too could not believe how much it helped. We both look forward to getting the Backpod, prior to viewing your video we were using 2 different types of rolling pins.
I have even use the door jam, like a bear using a scratching tree. Definitely, looking forward to the Backpod.
Thanks again, I am spreading the word to all my friends I met at the former Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. A lot of us use wheelchairs and back braces and you are the first one who made since to any of us what was causing our pain. We would refer to them as fat cramps, meaning we haven't been exercising enough. We finally now know what it is, and how to relieve it naturally without reaching for an opiate.
🙌
@@JM-fp9wk Hi JM. It's a matter of leverage. The small peaked shape of the Backpod can simply bring more stretch leverage to tight rib and spinal joints around the back.
Any rolling pin or foam roller spreads the upper body weight more along its length, so can't exert as much stretch on a specific joint. Any general stretch also can't get as much leverage onto a joint. They're not wrong, and they are useful, but usually you're so tight on the hinges that they simply need more heft to stretch free fully - that's what we built the Backpod to do.
Also, for someone in a wheelchair, they're probably limited further in what general stretches they can do anyway, So again the Backpod's going to be really helpful in getting enough leverage in to keep the thoracic spine and rib cage free.
I didn't really think of that - my life's a bit like swimming in an avalanche anyway, but it makes complete sense. Thanks for drawing it to my attention. Is it really common with people in wheelchairs to get sore in their thoracic spine and rib joints - what you call the "fat cramps"? I'm a new Zealand physiotherapist, but it's a long time since I've worked in rehab with guys like you. I think I remember how muscly and bunched you get around the back muscles though, and how tight the joints got underneath that.
Cheers, Steve August.