Abstract

Chest pain is an emergent presentation associated with a wide differential diagnosis including cardiac, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, and musculoskeletal origins. The evaluation of acute chest pain can be costly and can be a financial burden on the health care system. Integrating osteopathic diagnosis and treatment can assist with identifying and alleviating potential musculoskeletal sources of pain. This case illustrates how applying osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM) benefited a 61-year-old woman presenting with anterior chest wall pain.

Patient response to OMM can assist physicians with better managing acute chest wall pain syndromes. Improved musculoskeletal education can potentially improve medical management of chest pain of musculoskeletal origin.