I hit the deck when a car pulled out in front of me last Sunday.

I went to the hospital to get my ribs checked out because they were sore. They are not broken but they are bruised. Any experience of how long i can expect the healing process to take. I am still very sore especially in the morning when getting out of bed.

I am fed up of not being able to get out especially as the weather is great at the moment.

I smacked mine hard into the saddle 5 weeks ago during a very ‘technical dismount’. They were very painful for around two weeks but i was alright to ride after that with no more than the occasional twinge.

Still can’t do weights in the gym though as any chest exercise still hurts although i reckon in the next week or so i’ll be back fighting fit (still have a lump though where the impact was also the nurse at a&e said they weren’t broken at the time).

Deep breathing exercises were recommended to me to help with the healing process.

thanks MrTall. They appeared to be getting better but i was gardening all day yesterday which has not helped.

Lost it “landing” a 25ft tabletop a week ago.
They reckon I’ve cracked any, or none, of up to 4 ribs.

Still hurts. Lots. Like you say, especially in the morning. Mine are keeping me awake most of the night & waking me up if I move when asleep.

Had a sneezing fit this morning, thought I was going to die.

5 weeks? That’s not cheered me up at all. 🙁

I’m going to try a little 15 mile xc loop on Weds, wheels on the ground stuff! The doctor said to keep mobile & deep breathing so xc sounds perfect!

Rest is good; I run a pub & have done a 60 hour week this week, all the bending, stetching, lifting, pint-pulling etc is not helping at all. 🙁

Apparently you need to make sure you cough & sneeze, even though it hurts, as if you hold it in because of the pain, you’ll be at risk of chest infection. Quite common apparently for rib injurys to become chest infections.

When I bruised/cracked mine a couple of months back I was off riding for ten days, but was able to do some gentle trails after that. Paracetemol is good to reduce the pain in the first few days, but sneezing is a nightmare as you’ve probably already found out, and I didn’t have a good night’s sleep for a couple of weeks cos woke up every time I turned over. Two months on I still have a lump where they were injured, and occasionally get a twinge, but otherwise back to full MTB fitness!

I had a fairly bad crash a few weeks ago. Worst of it was a broken arm but I had bruised ribs as well. They didn’t really start hurting until a week afterwards but were fine within about 7-8 days of that. Still a touch tender if I push on them now but I would definitely be back riding if that had been the only injury.

4 weeks. Made the error of trying to play tennis and golf in between and regretted it. Good luck with the recovery

Painkillers like Ibuprofen are good for that sort of pain (assuming there are no reasons why you shouldn’t take them).

As above it’s important that you get adequate analgesia because if you’re not inhaling deeply enough and occasionally coughing to clear your chest, there’s a significant risk of infection. It’s mostly a problem of elderly frail people though.

Two fractured here two and a half weeks ago, couple of commutes this week has improved my mood and hope a couple of weeks more and will see me back to almost normal! Sleep is a nightmare though.

friend of mine broke 2 riding recently and was told by hospital 6 weeks.. 🙁

I bruised my intercostal muscles a couple of times and it’s taken a couple of months for the pain to completely go.

Thanks for the replies. I thought i was healing so decided to spend all day yesterday gardening and dismantling a trampoline (bad idea). I woke up in the middle of the night in pain and had to take painkillers to get back to sleep.

Sorry, I haven’t read everything. They may get worse before they get better, and sleeping in an armchair may work better than in a bed. Two or three weeks.

Briused arnt to bad bout 6 weeks I busted sternum a good few years ago broke 5 ribs and also pulled the cartoedge out on a few. Took bout 2 years to get back on bike properly since then have fell downstairs and busted 2 on the back same as 2 I’d broke previously that stil plays me up now on occasions. Don’t rush it take ur time and you will get back to full fitness quicker

don’t catch a cold.. coughs and sneezes are a nightmare..

Ages to heal ime, and absolutely ages to go completely!

+1 sneezing will be an issue.

Just pray to gods you haven’t got intercostal ruptures, I did mine and it took nearlky two years for the pain to go 🙁