Need advice - Ribs

[ShubieGA]

Hi - I did a silly "unclip with the wrong foot" fall in my driveway at the end of a ride last week. The scrapes and bruises are healing, but either bruised or cracked a rib (handlebars broke the boob ). It's finally not hurting to cough as much, but still pretty sore. Haven't been to the doc yet, as I have been on the road. How long will this take to heal??? I want to ride, but am hesitating...should I wait?

[pll]

Go to the doctor or a clinic, have it checked out.

[tzvia]

I crashed hard last year on a MTB vacation in Fruita CO. Took a bar in the ribs as I supermanned over the front. Saw the doc then rode with pain patches all over me in Fruita and in Boise. It took about a month to get back to 90%.

Don't rush things; ribs heal slowly.

[ultraviolet]

Healing time will depend on if it's bruised, cracked or broken. I broke a couple of ribs about 5 years ago. I have also both bruised and cracked others. (What can I say? I play hard. I'm also clumsy.) My doctor laid it out as:
4-6 weeks = bruise
8-10 weeks = cracked
12-16 weeks = broken

Except for the time there was a break (which I already suspected, because I could feel something moving around in there and it grossed me out), I never had x-rays done because there wasn't much the doctor could do for me other than prescribe painkillers and tell me to take it easy while I waited out the pain.

I've always been told that I could ride pretty much as soon as I'm not so sore that I can't breathe properly or hold myself up on the bike. Generally with cracked or broken ribs, even breathing is a painful experience...and deep breaths can sometimes make you stop in your tracks.

[ShubieGA]

Thanks ladies - sounds like I need to see my doctor as soon as I get home. Sneezing or coughing, turning in bed, etc., causes whimpers or swear words. I can't even imagine going back to strength training yet. Appreciate you sharing your experiences! Love TE!

[ShubieGA]

ps...hmmm, pain patches sound good. have been hugging the Advil bottle. It was time to move the goddaughter in at school.

[marni]

4 cracked ribs took me almost 4 months to recover. Worst was the first two days whenever my husband heaved himself oove onto his side while asleep. Ended up the rest of the first week sleeping in a recliner, and then managed to sleep on the couch which at least was not moving around. The worse part after the pain subsided was withdrawing from the darvocet and other pain killers. They left me so foggy and groggy that I had no brain for another couple of weeks after I stopped them at about week 6.

Good luck and don't push yourself. Ribs hurt, they heal slow and they ache in cold weather even years later. But I'd rather have them than not.

marni

[Alex]

I had an unfortunate incident during a triathlon in late June. I dislocated a rib (above my breast), tore some rib cartilage, sprained my wrist, and more. I learned that a PT could possibly help, or a chiropractor could pop it back into place. I couldn't get in to see a PT for a week and I was in a lot of pain. I have a great chiro, and he fit me in right away. He popped it back into place, and his massage therapist worked on it, too. I went back 2 more times over the next 2 1/2 weeks. I was back on the bike about 3 weeks after the injury. My wrist was badly sprained and I could only ride in aero position, so I started back on the indoor trainer. I was back running at the end of 2 1/2 weeks. I felt the rib injury longer when I was swimming, so backed off on that for a little longer. Weight training was an issue for about 4 weeks, but I was able to work around the injury.

Having a pillow handy to press against your ribs when you feel a sneeze coming on helps a little.

Good luck. I forced myself to wait out the recovery and not push too soon. (And in case you're wondering, I did finish that Tri, although the pain caught up to me during mile 5 of the run, when I puked twice in full view of the aid station workers!)