Bodybuilding-induced Mondor's disease of the chest wall

To describe the association of bodybuilding abdominal exercise with the development of superficial sclerosing thrombophlebitis of the anterolateral thoracoabdominal wall.

A single case study.

University-affiliated regional community hospital.

A 54-year-old man presented with an otherwise unremarkable past medical history 4 weeks after the start of left-sided chest discomfort. He had undergone orthopedic surgery of the right shoulder three months earlier. Two months after surgery, he had re-started bodybuilding with thoracoabdominal training. Soon thereafter, he noted a painful induration at the left side of his trunk. Doppler and duplex sonography revealed complete venous occlusion compatible with sclerosing thrombophlebitis leading to a palpable, subcutaneous, cord-like lesion on the left side of his trunk. Physical examination and routine laboratory findings were normal. The lesion spontaneously resolved over a course of 3 months.

Mondor's disease of the subcutaneous veins of the chest wall which has been associated with breast or axillary surgery, malignant and systemic diseases can also appear in subjects performing intense thoracoabdominal exercise training. Although it requires only symptomatic therapy, physicians and therapists must be aware of the existence of this disease because, although benign and self-limiting, malignant and systemic diseases need to be ruled out.