[Closed] Cracked ribs: any advice

Effective pain relief and keep moving.

Don't sneeze or cough.

Don't let small children launch themselves at you whilst you're sat on the sofa.

dont: laugh, cough, sneeze

ice and heat. 5 mins each alternating

nope.

I was told by doctor stay within limits of pain and I wouldn't do any more damage.

Strangely running helped, thing the deep breaths helped to keep things free'd off. (YMMV)

Sorry to hear that, cracked ribs are awful. Personally Id get the doc to give you something better than paracetamol for the first week or so.

don't go snowboarding for a week two days later. most painful week of my life.

Ibruprofen in addition to paracetamol. You can buy paracetamol with a bit of codeine in it over the counter at the chemist, which might also be more effective, short of going to the docs and asking for proper codeine.

As above ice it for a few minutes, then stick a warm hot water bottle on it for another few.

Don't drink too much of an evening and have to get up for a pee in the night.

For me, sleeping sitting up (or propped up) helps a lot, especially for the first wee spell- it seems to help keep everything in more or less the same place.

Oh and after manning it up the first couple of times, these days I go to the GP and say good pills please. Movement and full breathing helps the healing process and painkillers help you move more normally. (it doesn't switch the pain off- you're not likely to overdo it). So I don't really see any reason not to

do not sneeze

or laugh

Cheers all. Thanks for your comments.

Whisky helps...same as any other ailment.

Don't be tempted to have a bath unless you fancy stopping in there. Try and roll out of bed in the morning rather than sit up as you stiffen up over night

Don't watch The Inbetweeners

I've now got to plan rolling out of bed, without laughing, coughing or sneezing, into the bathroom then down to the kitchen, unlatch door for Mrs MC to return, grab drugs and then back upstairs roll back into bed. I think they'll hear my expletives and curses across the next county.
NB haven't got a bath but any fast moves or little slips in the shower are quite brutal in their effects, I struggle to stop myself laughing at the pain.

You have my up most sympathy having been in the same position 3 months ago, ice packs, co-codamol and a large number of pillows to prop myself up right and in a comfy position was the best that could be done. It took about 4 weeks before I was back on the bike and 6 weeks before I was completely pain free.

Oddly I've found, and also seen it recommended, that once you can stand it, it's best to sleep lying on the sore side.

Man up - probably because you'll need to because it is so bloody sore. Get to the GP and ask for some proper painkillers.

Don't bleed 2 litres into your chest and then spend a week in hospital having it drained. I chose that option and it sucks, big time.

Nope nothing you can do oh and it gets worse before it gets better that's what I was told and it did
Stay away from Tremedol it really messed me about.I slept propped up in bed with plenty of pillows seemed to help and I just tried to keep moving during the day

Don't carry on going to kick boxing, unless you have a high pain threshold.

Learn to fall on your head, it's less painful.

Take it very easy for a couple of weeks at least, I decided I'd MTFU after my ribs collided with a tree and was fine for a couple more days riding into work and back and doing all the usual stuff, then I took a turn for the worse and ended up on my back in A&E being pumped full of morphine while they ran tests and x-rays. Turned out I'd torn all the cartlidge around my ribs which was causing the back spasms. Never had anything so painful in my life. Took another 4-5 days on diazepam to calm down again.

My suggestion is not to get a cold, the coughing is unbearable. I have first hand experience of this 😉

Make sure you keep breathing deeply. Apparently lots of people suffer chest infections after cracking ribs as a result of shallow breathing.

Contrary to all the posts saying don't cough or sneeze, if you feel one coming on just brace yourself and get it done! If you don't you will end up with a chest infection and when a coughing fit comes you will REALY know about it.

Would echo all the above comments also chew very carefully avoid choking/hiccups and fizzy drinks that make you burp

Basically move around very slowly & deliberately, keep breathing and avoid everything and everyone

Don't get a cough.

EDIT Oh.. should read the thread.

don't go snowboarding for a week two days later. most painful week of my life.

+1, did a week in Tignes before admitting the crunching/grinding sensation from my chest wasnt good...to be fair mine werent painful, just disturbing.

Only thing I was told was [b]don't[/b] take ibruprofen, it's an anti-inflammatory and bone healing/growth is dependent on the inflammatory response (which gels with distant memories of a bio-materials undergrad course I did).

I cracked ribs (and head, but that was less of an issue) then got a chest infection that gave me uncontrollable coughing fits. That was truly awful, so eat plenty fruit and veg and stay healthy!

BBQ sauce for me, mabye Cajun spice at a push.

As all above plus don't strap yourself up with kinesiology tape take loads of pain killers & keep riding trails really fast coz it's dry. As it's suggested rest and heal up coz if you don't you might get a chest infection and make the whole thing worse....wonder which numpty did that 😳

crashtestmonkey - Member

Only thing I was told was don't take ibruprofen, it's an anti-inflammatory and bone healing/growth is dependent on the inflammatory response

This seems to be contentious- speaking to my GP, there's not much doubt that NSAIDs impair the healing process, but equally, good painkilling enables better movement which helps the healing process. SO it can be more a question of net gains or losses and that's always messy

I don't find ibuprofen especially effective on ribs, though.

If you do feel the need to cough or sneeze get a pillow and hold it tight against your damaged ribs. That makes it much less painful. The advice above about deep breathing and avoiding chest infections is great too.

I've now got to plan rolling out of bed

I don't have any advice over what's been given, but you have my sympathy. 4 - 5 weeks of that was one of the worst things about tearing up my intercostals a few years back (same healing time as cracked ribs).