Cracked rib?

[r900]

Hi lph, I hope you have been checked out for your pain. I think this may take you a few months to get over this. I dumped my mtn bike a few years back, crashed hard on my side. The impact was painful but afterward I rode back to my vehicle and called it a day. I was sort of numb on the side of my chest and when I went to bed , I could feel a 'click-clack' sound from my sternum. I did not go to a doctor but I wish I did. Three days after my crash I felt my left lung inflate when I walked up a hill outside my home. Other than that I felt great from my experience. Sneezing made me feel like my heart could pop out of my chest. Don't be as foolish as I was. Take care and rest easy.

[Xrayted]

I actually agree with Wahine and CWB. You can have cracked or subluxed (and yes, even broken ribs) and not feel it right away. I xray pts all the time that didn't feel it until a day or two later. Sometimes it's obvious and sometimes it's hard to detect what's up. We do chest xrays along with the rib series to look at the soft tissue to make sure something isn't punctured or avulsed in the area. As for the cracks, we advise a followup set of xrays in two weeks if the original ones are inconclusive. If they were cracked, they will show a healing callous most of the time.

I'd advise some xrays just to make sure. Think of it as getting a bonus look at your heart, lungs, esophagus, mediastinum, etc in the process. I do hope everything is ok and it's just a bruising. Take care and good luck.

[lph]

Hee-hee - this extra spate of posts is just what I needed now. I went climbing again yesterday, and the pain has almost gone away, to the point where I can just feel a slight soreness to the touch and when I breathe very deeply, but it doesn't hurt. So of course... I was going to skip the x-rays...

I promise, I'll order some x-rays today. If nothing else, I'd like to know what happened.

CwB - I think I taught myself to splint the area - found out pretty fast that supporting my ribs with one hand if possible before coughing or laughing helped. Is that what you meant?

Thank you everybody for great ideas!