rib pain while sleeping or at waking up time

Hello all, my name is Bruce and i have been having these pains for the past couple of years. Im 48 years old and in pretty shape and no illnesses or any health problems. The symptoms are as follows but do not occur all the time...i could be weeks without any pain and then have them for consecutive days.

When i go to bed (pain free) i get awaken after a few hours of sleep with what feels like my rib cage being squeezed tighter and tighter. Makes it very hard and painfull just turning on my side and trying to find another position (none of which is comfortable). I hvae noticed that i can no longer sleep on my belly wihtout this happening. The pain is not in my back or shoulder blades but really on my sides. Its very painfull and makes it hard to move, but strangely it disapears when i get up and take a warm shower. If i dont have time for a shower it will also go away within 30 minutes and i will be painfree all day. Its as if my body needs to wake up for the pain to dissipate. I do have some acid reflux from time to time but it does not seem to be related.
I have tried different beds or sleeping on the couch, but nothing seems to work. Sleeping sitting in a chair does seems to help but is not a solution :(

Any help would be greatly appreciated, it seems to be happening more and more often and my doctors (visited 2) keep telling me that im in good health and nothing is wrong....

Please help!!!

Hi Brucen. I just found this group too. So welcome! I suggest finding an osteopathic doctor. They are equal to M.D. - just a whole different approach, based on body structure. They are very hands on, and these are the doctors who have helped me along the most in my battle with unexplained pain. Where other doctors were stumped and diagnosing me with all kinds of different "disorders" - the osteopath doctors are the ones who actually figured out what was wrong with me and are now working to fix it. Osteopaths often take a non traditional approach, but they are recognized in the medical world and many take medical insurance.

I look forward to hearing more about your issue and you are in my prayers that it gets resolved as soon as possible.