Came off mtb on Saturday and landed on my ribs on the hand railing of a wooden bridge (in front of a load of people watching a football match of course!).

Ribs are now very sore when laughing/sneezing/twisting etc.

I know there’s no point in trying to establish if they are broken or just bruised, I guess the length of time it takes to recover will be the tell tail sign.

Anyway, I want to limit the amount of fitness I lose so providing I can face the pain is it safe to continue riding at a moderate level? I’m thinking of using the turbo so I can limit movement in the upper body.

Ta.

Jase – I’ve done this exact same thing now a few times and so’s the misses.

Never found there to be a problem as long as you keep within suitable pain thresholds.

I’ve always recovered pretty quick too – back to ‘normal’in around 2-3 wks.

I’m a firm believer in getting out there asap after illness / injury,

Go for it

Ive cracked mine a couple of times and i couldnt do any meaningful exercise for about 4 or 5 weeks. For a couple of weeks it was a struggle just sleeping but after that improved a bit i tried getting back out on the bike. Just going over an average road surface had me wincing in pain and potholes etc were agony. Couldnt twist or look over my shoulder so didnt feel safe either. Breathing more deeply than what i would when not doing exercise was a problem too so that ruled out the turbo beyond a very easy pace.

After a month or so things had improved a bit and i could get riding again but it was still a while before i could do ‘normal’ rides and not have discomfort particularly when climbing.

Agree with alanbill.

I’m no doctor but I always taken the approach – if it hurts during or directly after an activity, give it some time. If it doesn’t cause you additional discomfort, carry on but don’t go too wild.

If you can sit up in bed you’ve probably just bruised them, in which case I’d rest up a few weeks and you should be fine to be back on the bike.

Broken ribs are a whole world of pain, been there twice and my experience was similar to Omar’s.

I still remember having a cold and desperately trying not to sneeze.

EDIT – it would be worth going to your GP for a discussion. I was told that I had to regularly take deep breathes, can’t remember the reasoning tbh but the GP stressed I needed to so I did…..

Thanks All.

getting out of bed seems to be the worst part, I’ve been rolling around like a beached seal trying to find a non painful way of getting up.

I’ll give it a go them and see how it feels. I rode in to work this morning (its less than a mile) and couldn’t even lift the front up over dropped kerbs!

Might go to the docs just to get some painkillers for night time.

Get the doc to prescribe you some strong stuff. Anti inflammatories are avoided for most bone breakages, but ribs seem to be the exception. A bit of Diclofenac (slow release) will help at night.

I always (yes, I snap them quite often-ish) get back on the bike/board when they still hurt and I’m not dead yet.

I too fell off satdi & cracked mi ribs & a coupla fingers,having hit acoupla trees,but having done it before i didnt bother going to hospital/Drs etc,as theres nowt they can do really,just take the advice above & rest, ive taped two fingers together & doing similar,but ill be out nxt weekend for another go.

Its a bloke thing women dont understand!.

Just dont lift owt heavy etc,take it easy chief! .

it would be worth going to your GP for a discussion. I was told that I had to regularly take deep breathes, can’t remember the reasoning tbh but the GP stressed I needed to so I did

think its because you can’t cough you are more prone to chest infections – so if get a cold or similar go straight to gps to avoid it getting worse

road riding is fine (as would be turbo) did mine (again) in the summer on a waterslide with the kids but still did Ventoux and other stuff

Off to the docs later this afternoon.

I’m feeling a bit more positive now following these comments.

I can’t remember what it’s called but the muscle layer between the ribs if torn is really painful and very similar symptoms to what you describe (I’ve done that twice). Definitely take this at a steady pace, you can easily strain/stress something else (eg your back or neck) riding “unnaturally” trying to protect your ribs and if distracted by pain you can have a another silly crash.

I’ve done this a few times and have just taken strong painkillers and got on with it. I don’t think you heal any quicker if you rest but I’ve been told proper pain management will help you recover. Road riding will be fine but MTBing may hurt a bit.

I did the Mayhem a few years ago 10 days after cracking a rib. It hurt like buggery on that rutted section along side the lake. But I took great pride and satisfaction in not letting the team down and helping them to 48th place or whatever it was! 😉

Good point, I used to regularly suffer with back issues until I started doing core exercises so could be prone to this – will try and be concious of my position.

I too fell off satdi & cracked mi ribs & a coupla fingers,having hit acoupla trees,but having done it before i didnt bother going to hospital/Drs etc,as theres nowt they can do really,just take the advice above & rest, ive taped two fingers together & doing similar,but ill be out nxt weekend for another go.

Are you sure you didn’t hit your head?

I gave mine a good whack last year and kept riding through the healing process (didn’t have a choice in the immediate aftermath, as I had to get home).

The biggest problem I found was that I handled my bike terribly on technical sections for the first few weeks, not due to the actual pain, but almost like a subconscious fear of binning it and landing on the ribs again.

I’ve just gotten over my annual bout of bust ribs. It takes me 2 weeks to get back to easy biking and 4 to get back to full strength (I’m 28, fit and eat well).

If you’re able to cycle over bumps and weight your arms without it feeling like you’re pulling your stomach out – they’re probably just a bit bruised. Although, typically (for me) it takes about 5 days for broken ribs to become painful.

In my experience, it’s best to rest up and avoid loading your abs/arms for at least a week or you’ll just delay the healing process. It’s frustrating but it’ll get you back out quicker.

You soon figure out ways of getting out of bed and standing up. I sort of kick my leg and it’s weight pulls me up, rather than engaging my stomach muscles.

Best of luck healing – you’ll be fit again before you know it!

As above really. Just ride the sort of terrain that’s not too uncomfortable. I’m afraid I’m one of those who dislikes painkillers as they can fool you into thinking that you’re OK. 😳

+1 for most of what has been said.

Go out and do a road ride, breathe deep and see how much it hurts. Painkillers will help mask the pain but after 3/4 weeks you shouldn’t need them.

Yes breathe deep to avoid infection.. Cycling will force you to do this.

I broke 2 on day 4 of last years trans provance. Doc recommended I rest. Took day 5 off and then carried on. I was even slower than I had been, bumps and drops really hurt, but I completed. The steps into monte Carlo aren’t recommended with broken ribs. 😉

When I came back, a week or so after, I began the regular commute.

The last advise, is go steady, if you fall on already damaged ribs you don’t want to puncture a lung. Road is your friend.

Are you sure you didn’t hit your head?

Funnily enuff i did !,as i say,good job i landed on mi head,otherwise i cudda hurt miself !,lol,but as i was wearin a lid it wasnt as bad as it could av been !,ive done this sort of thing before chief,& Docs just send you on youre way,with a prescription for pain killers..

Am i’m over 18 !

Have had badly bruised ribs several times and broken ribs only once,last year in a bad quad bike accident, the difference is such that you will not move at all with broken ribs , the pain is indescribably excruciating no question of will I can I ride a bike?
Doctors advise you to try to cough a couple of times every hour to move fluid and prevent possible chest infections as breathing becomes very shallow to avoid the discomfort, good luck but I would reccomend rest to help the healing process , no one benefits if you become ill from doing too much too soon.

Been to the docs and he gave me some painkillers to take.

Said if I’m ok in 2 weeks they are only bruised and if not then they’re probably fractured.

Said to rest for 2 weeks, which I’ll obviously take note of 😆

I rode on mine after about a week…Actually I rode on it right away as we were on day one of a 3 day biking trip through the lakes when I broke it and the alternative to not riding was a lot of hassle and a crappy time.

The main worry is if you crash again and puncture a lung or something. I just stayed off the technical stuff for a few weeks. Doc said it was ok to ride if there was no pain…sleeping was much worse than riding actually.

Broke mine at Xmas in the middle of a promised stint of “I will ride everyday” over the Xmas hols.

Didn’t stop me riding at all but it was uncomfortable. Managed to do Chipps CX race with them broken but I did mange to consume a substantial amount from a hip flask and finish in the 30’s…..

I guess it’s down to how much you want to ride versus how much it hurts, and don’t fall off if you do continue riding!

I always find I can ride for a few days after then it floors me for a week or so. I can still ride on the road etc but mountain biking is just too unpleasant to bother with- can’t breathe on the climbs, can’t ride properly on the descents. Not worth the discomfort for what’s always going to be a crap ride.

Turbo will be absolutely fine unless you’ve got jagged ends but tbh you’d know if you did!

Fell off about two weeks ago on a night ride, later discovered that I had bruised my ribs, a check at the docs confirmed this, went for an x-ray as I have had two collapsed lungs and the symptoms to me were similair.

So; after two weeks off riding, I went out last Friday and rode down some steps with my seat too high and stacked the bike, landing on my right side; dislocating my shoulder. (new level of pain experienced)

Trip back to the hospital and some manipulation/morphine/lost hour and it was back in place.

Now have been signed off work for three weeks, not allowed/recommended to drive! Guess biking is out again!