Chest Pain

In Reply.— Dr Rogers describes brief anterior chest pain, worse with inspiration, which he has labeled "benign pleuralgia." The etiology of this pain, as with most chest pain, is uncertain. Perhaps, the pain arises in the pain-sensitive pleura and then travels through the intercostal nerves in the chest wall. If such pain is not reproducible with palpation, and not related to recent exercise, I would not consider this to be of musculoskeletal origin. Although some may prefer to consider this a distinct clinical entity, I would "lump" such vague, unexplainable pain in the idiopathic category.