Need advice - Ribs

[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!)

[grey]

There's really nothing they can do for cracked or broken ribs. I've had cracked ribs twice, they huuuuurt! Breathing, coughing are torture, and it's not cool when someone cracks a joke, you start to laugh and ...
It'll heal, just go slow. Totally feel for you, this is no fun.

[ShubieGA]

Thanks ladies! My doctors said it was not a break. So keep hugging Advil and see how the treadmill works out (next week). I am so relieved. But man, if this hurts this bad, I can't imagine a full break! I picture my cat hanging upside down by the claws if someone touches it. I like the idea of pressing the pillow against the side when coughing. I go back in 3 weeks. Crossing fingers for quick healing!

[Alex]

That's good news! Both ice and heat seemed to help mine, along with advil and arnica. It was funny when it finally stopped hurting to breathe. I was sitting at my desk at work and I thought, "Something is different. What is it?" Then I realized that I could breathe without pain. Sneezing and coughing still hurt like the dickens, but breathing was blissful!

[kermit]

See if you can find a rib belt, or ace bandage, it helps when the sneezes come. Feel better.