I thought I'd hurt myself at the gym — but I've got endometriosis in my chest

The 39-year-old assumed her shoulder pain was because of a routine gym injury (Picture: Jen Pickering)

‘Every time I think I’ve got it under control, it throws me another challenge,’ says Jen Pickering, 39, of her unusual health diagnosis.

In late 2023, Jen, from Liverpool , felt a sudden pain near her shoulder blade, and assumed she’d pulled a muscle while stretching in the gym.

But countless tests revealed a shocking diagnosis: her right lung had collapsed.

It marked the beginning of a long and painful journey, until Jen was finally diagnosed with thoracic endometriosis .

While endometriosis is more well known as a reproductive condition, thoracic endometriosis is a complex form of the disease, when tissue, similar to that found in the lining of the uterus, grows in and around