OBJECTIVE: To present the case of an elite female track and field athlete who suffered a pneumomediastinum resulting from a Valsalva maneuver performed while throwing the javelin. BACKGROUND: Episodes of chest pain and labored breathing in athletes may be alarming. Accurate, early diagnosis is enhanced by an awareness of those relatively rare conditions that may cause these symptoms. DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS: Bronchial injury/fracture, retropharyngeal abscess, acute pulmonary disease, pneumomediastinum, pneumothorax, cardiac disease, allergic reaction. TREATMENT: The athlete was given intravenous morphine for pain, prescribed oral pain medication, and restricted from strenuous activity for 6 weeks. Aerobic exercise was allowed after pain and air in the neck subsided, which was estimated at 1 week postinjury. UNIQUENESS: This is a rarely reported case of a pneumomediastinum in a female and a track and field athlete. CONCLUSIONS: Medical personnel must be aware of the possibility of pneumomediastinum in track and field athletes and in female athletes and must be knowledgeable in the followup care and the safe return of the athlete to activity.
OBJECTIVE: To present the case of an elite female track and field athlete who suffered a pneumomediastinum resulting from a Valsalva maneuver performed while throwing the javelin. BACKGROUND: Episodes of chest pain and labored breathing in athletes may be alarming. Accurate, early diagnosis is enhanced by an awareness of those relatively rare conditions that may cause these symptoms. DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS: Bronchial injury/fracture, retropharyngeal abscess, acute pulmonary disease, pneumomediastinum, pneumothorax, cardiac disease, allergic reaction. TREATMENT: The athlete was given intravenous morphine for pain, prescribed oral pain medication, and restricted from strenuous activity for 6 weeks. Aerobic exercise was allowed after pain and air in the neck subsided, which was estimated at 1 week postinjury. UNIQUENESS: This is a rarely reported case of a pneumomediastinum in a female and a track and field athlete. CONCLUSIONS: Medical personnel must be aware of the possibility of pneumomediastinum in track and field athletes and in female athletes and must be knowledgeable in the followup care and the safe return of the athlete to activity.