Cracked/bruised ribs?

Definitely not broken but how do you tell if just bruised or cracked?

on Monday I was going a bit fast on a downhill section and braked a bit hard (my new Maven brakes are ridiculously powerful!!)and came off landing on the end of one of the bars.

Generally just uncomfortable and only hurts if I press the impact area and when I breathe deeply.

I assume there is no point going to Dr’s but how long will they take to heal? Can I get back on the bike when I feel no pain?

Can I use inside trainer while I wait for things to heal?

Thanks

Can’t really do anything with ribs.

Painkillers and do what you can manage without it hurting too much.

Mine normally take 6-8 weeks to get back to minimal pain (yes I have done this several times). But ultimately I just get on with it and deal with the discomfort.  Climbing had to take a break though

From my experience of many rib related injuries, unless you’ve properly broken them then you can exercise on them as soon as you can handle the discomfort. Did mine once on day one with Whiteroom in Bourg and took the next day off and then just dosed up on painkillers for the rest of the week.

The worst part is getting up in the morning as lying still for prolonged periods just stiffens them up and it’s hard work for the first 15 minutes or so. And little point seeing a doctor as they’ll only suggest rest and gentle exercise.

Done mine three times. Broken. I was back on the road bike commuting after two weeks but couldn’t stand. Take co-codamol if you are coughing badly as this can reduce coughing. You still need to cough to clear lungs.

I broke 4 ribs and 2 vertebrae and the ribs were worse than the spine. They were pain free in 6 weeks as I spent 7 weeks flat on my back.

Other two times have taken longer but I was up and exercising. Just don’t crash.

Bruising can be as painful as breaking them as the connective tissue gets damaged. Sleeping wasn’t possible for all three, I had to sit upright for a week at night, couldn’t lie down as pain too bad and couldn’t breath.

Mate punctured a lung in one OTB, but was back commuting in a couple of weeks.

Broken, cracked or bruised are all the same providing there are no sharp protrusions.

The advice as was given was that treatment is the same, just recovery time that differs. My doctor said if you really need to know which it was, come back after they’re better and I’ll tell you based on how long it took.

Every so often though, suck up the pain and get a few deep breaths. Avoid stale air trapped in the bottom of the lungs.

And pray you don’t get hiccups.

Hi, I use kinesiology tape and a hot water bottle, when I have rib injuries. Usually a few weeks to recover. Best of luck.  C

Did a similar thing a couple of weeks ago.  Went out after those storms and did some trail clearing and on the way back stick jammed front wheel and OTB.  Bars twisted, dug in the ground and landed on the one sticking up (wasn’t going quick).  Not broken as not as painful as I remember and hoping for a short ride this weekend.  Trouble sleeping/lifting anything for the first few days but not too bad now except feeling sorry for myself and not being able to ride.

Yes as been said,  you can’t really tell and there’s nothing you can do other than manage the pain

Six weeks before mine cleared,bi suspect it was heavy bruising rather than breaks, based on mechanism of injury

Painkillers and no laughing.

Ibuprofen isn’t great long term, my gp warned me off them especially if you have stomach issues. For the first week I was fully dosed up though.

If you can sneeze or cough unexpectedly without serious pain then it’s not likely to be a major injury. If it does cause a heap of pain, then have a cushion at hand to hug for the next time.

As others have said, it’s all about pain management. Ibuprofen and paracetamol are good, I’ve been alternating between the two following fracturing my pubic bone.

Aa for using an indoor trainer, listen to your body, bruised/cracked my ribs once, and even riding a few yards was painful.

A cushion is an absolute must!

I’m 6 months down the line and still healing, I did a proper job on mine in Morzine, got clipped off my bike on a fire road, landed on my mates back wheel and then run over by two others in the group!

I took too long to see the doc on my return as I thought 6-8 weeks all would be well.

Turns out the fractures were the least of my issues, the damage to the intercostal muscles was more serious, the MSK team have arrived at the conclusion of intercostal neuralgia. Basically buggered the nerves.

So, pain relief/NSAID, deep breaths to keep everything loose, avoid things that caused you genuine pain, cushion to hug when coughing and avoid comedy shows. 😉

Big friction burn ftw.

I was also high as a kite. God bless the Frenchie doc and his liberal use of opiate-based pain relief.

Did a mischief to my ribs when playing 5-a-side footy.  Two of us ran full pelt into each other, other guy was 150% my height and 200% my weight.  I simply bounced the opposite direction.

Just winded at the time, but later on, lying on that side was impossible, other side uncomfortable.  Sleeping on my back was manageable.

Doctor was happy I wasn’t in any danger, not broken, just a possible crack, and not worth a chest X-Ray (quite a big dose of radiation is needed apparently). Sent me on my way, told me to take Paracetamol for a week.

Didn’t die, but to this day I can feel it if I take even a small bump in the same area.

I fractured six ribs seven weeks ago. Front wheel washed out on a descent landed like a sack of potatoes. A CT scan showed the damage. My right lung collapsed as well. Anyway mine just healed naturally. I can cough now and sneeze no problem. I was on pain killers at first Orimorph then Dihydrocodeine, then codeine, then cocodamol. My wife laughs at my aversion to pain.

Good advice on having a cushion to hand. It is important to be able to clear the lungs to avoid pneumonia so be careful. Try to avoid getting covid or flu if you can. I had covid after six weeks, luckily I could cough pain free by that point. Back to normal now after seven weeks and rebuilding my fitness on the bike. I was back on the turbo after a week to slowly rebuild.

I broke three (10, 11, and 12 IIRC) on my left many years ago in Les Gets. The little noises when breathing immediately afterwards were pretty disturbing. The Doctor in the trauma centre was great: he had sympathy for my stupidly ruined holiday; told me I could ride if I could bear it (I couldn’t) but not to crash on them again; and was able to trade injury stories and show off recent wounds from a fall that happened before his trauma surgeon had cleared him to ride again after a broken hip. After reading the information leaflet for the French pain meds I decided I’d probably rather not risk them.

It helps to remember that pain is in your head, not in your body. I didn’t cough for ages, and didn’t sneeze for about six months. Laughing hurt for the longest time. I was back running carefully and smoothly after about a month.