damaged ribs one week on. Is this normal?

Crashed last week and ended up on my chest. Don’t know if my ribs are broken, cracked or bruised but my understanding is that they all get treated the same so it doesn’t matter. Wasn’t too uncomfortable so assumed I’m just bruised. However, probably about Thursday, it started getting more uncomfortable. What was a dull ache is now feeling sharper and more precisely located. I’m now taking ibuprofen where I haven’t been since it happened.

Is it normal for it to get worse before it bets better or do I need to bother the doctor tomorrow?

I’ve certainly had it develop much like that in at least one instance of the five cases of cracked ribs that I’ve experienced..
Pretty panic inducing IIRC but I don’t think you need worry unless you experience breathing difficulties..

Worth getting checked out, I thought I was having a heart attack but it turned out to be torn intercostal muscles, absolute agony! even seven months later I have the occasional twinge if I stretch in the right way.

I did mine in July

Basically they don’t do owt but just advise you to make sure to clear your lungs with deep breaths daily or you run the risk of an infection – that’s why they don’t strap people up anymore

It was 6 weeks for me- after 5 I couldn’t see it happening but in the last week it all seemed to settle down and I was back on the bike

Broken ribs hurt for ages. I sneezed about 3 weeks after breaking mine and almost cried…

Broken ribs hurt for ages. I sneezed about 3 weeks after breaking mine and almost cried…

Is it normal for it to get worse before it bets better or do I need to bother the doctor tomorrow?

I’d say this is pretty normal for a bruised damaged rib, nice deep breaths to keep infection at bay. But if in doubt have a word with the doc.

Cheers folks. I’ll try and get some sleep now and I’ll check to see if I’m still breathing in the morning.

Yeah they can hurt after but it’s recent chest trauma so get it checked out to be safe and to make sure it’s nothing else.

It really does hurt if they’re bruised, broken or the muscle is torn. Very painful indeed and I’ve done all three.

As above though, if you’re concerned then a checkup would be in order.

crikey – Member
Broken ribs hurt for ages. I sneezed about 3 weeks after breaking mine and almost cried…

this, but still felt the same after five weeks. Usually takes me six weeks to feel pretty much back to normal after breaking ribs

OP if you wake up dead, go to the doc

Mine got gradually worse over the course of a week before I finally admitted defeat and saw the docs, so yeah, I reckon it’s probably “normal” as far as broken ribs/torn intercostals go. Took me about 8 weeks to recover, which I think was my own fault for not taking it seriously as an injury at the start. Still uncomfortable now, 6 months on irritatingly.

Nothing they will do however a word of warning

My brother took a blow to the chest while playing rugby – brushed it off as just sore. Hard to breath couple of days later ended up with GF dragging him to the docs where he was found to have a partially collapsed lung. Worth finding out. Just go get yourself checked out when it’s quiet then you will also get an idea if broken how long the pain will go on for.

Sounds familiar.

I had a bad crash, all beaten and bruised all over, ribs ached for a few days, then a very sharp localised pain materialised out of the ache like a star coalescing at the centre of an accretion disk.

Said pain continued for a few weeks, got a bit better, then got worse to the point where I had to sleep in really weird positions for about two months.

If you scream yourself awake when you roll over in your sleep then they are broke. Use a big bean bag to sleep, it’ll stop you moving.

Also, don’t have any sex where you’re underneath.
HTH.

Sounds normal for a rib. Worth seeing a doctor to get stronger painkillers. 600mg Ibu’s should do the trick.

You’d know by now but any rib cage injury is also strong enough to rupture your spleen or damage other internal organs. So its always worth going to A&E even if they “wont do anything for a rib” – first thing they will do is press your abs area for signs of internal bleeding.

Crashed in Kildale 10wks ago. Cane creek logo from the bars imprinted like a tattoo on my ribs. Rode the bike back to the car just! Following wk pain gets worse, sleeping is a nightmare. Was told 4 to 6wks if they are cracked, 6 to 8wks if broken. I broke two, taken 6 to 8 to get on a bike comfortably again. Lesson always when fitting new SPD’s remember to set the tension to what your old pedals were set at! Little bit of advice don’t take to many painkillers cos you need to know when you’re overdoing it, you’ll heal faster although I am not a Doctor! Fit a length of rope to the ceiling so you can get out of bed, getting out of bed is the worst, hardest most painful thing with broken ribs.

That’s exactly how it gets me… Broke my ribs on day one of a riding holiday. Carried on riding for 3 days, painful but doable. Went home, went to bed, woke up the next day and couldn’t really move.

Explanation seems to be that initially there’s swelling keeping things squished together. As the swelling dies down, stuff starts to move around. Well, no idea if that’s really true but it’s a good working model.

Feel your pain as been there many a time, I would recoemend going to A&E and getting X-rays to make sure there isnt any serious internal damage as mentioned already.

did mine 5 weeks ago, only in the last week have I been pain-free moving, still get some pain laying on the side I hurt though, and also when climbing out the saddle.

Yes, having done similar a number of times over the years, it can get worse before it gets better.

6 weeks is typical for significant pain.

If you then go out for a ride and bash them again it will hurt quite a bit
…as I discovered.

OP if you wake up dead, go to the doc undertaker

FTFY – I’m too busy for dead people today…

DrP

Bruised mine just before xmas last year, took about 5 weeks to get back to normal. Try not to sneeze. Or yawn. Or breath.

Been there, found sleeping in an armchair helped, wedged in by pillows. Also saved on partner annoyance by not turning over, yelping and cussing through the night.

No one knows how long it takes because it hurts for so long and fades so slowly that you just realise one day they no longer hurt but you can’t remember when it stopped.

You’d know by now but any rib cage injury is also strong enough to rupture your spleen or damage other internal organs.

Please ignore this advice.

Which bit? That it can do that much damage or that I’d know by now? 🙁

[/quote]Please ignore this advice.

Really?

When I said you’d know by now I meant if it was serious you’d have most likely keeled over by now.

randomjeremy – Member
I thought I was having a heart attack but it turned out to be torn intercostal muscles, absolute agony! even seven months later I have the occasional twinge if I stretch in the right way

Ditto that,even got the paramedics out !That was about 4-5 years ago & I still get twinges as well….

As for the ribs,it’s a long healing process,at least it was for me..Around 12 months,but then I did carry on with my riding as normal which probably didn’t help too much………..

done mine 4 times sounds normal just keep away from people with colds

When I said you’d know by now I meant if it was serious you’d have most likely keeled over by now.

Yes really, if you think a week is safe for chest trauma then you’re mistaken. I don’t need to read a first aid website from Australia thanks I have a Degree in Pre-hospital Care from there.

pulled my intercostal muscles a week last saturday (was a pull as there was no impact)and it’s still agony, i hate to think how painful a break would be. it didn’t help that i was getting over a cold and still coughing regularly, i’d 2nd the bit about deep breathing, certainly makes you feel better after a few inhalations etc, even if it is painful

Also, having a knife sticking out of your chest gives the game away.

That aussie first aid sheet is so typically Australian, it’s brilliant!
After writing that they no doubt had a look at it and wondered if it explained exactly what they were on about.

“Nah cobber, it’s not direct enough, we need a man clutching his chest with a dirty great knife sticking out of it.”

I’ve had a history of rib injuries from rugby to motorcycle and mountain bike crashes.

In my experience, they hurt like hell when you first do it. Then the swelling seems to hold everything in place and stabilise the ribs for a few days and you get deluded into thinking they are not too bad.

Then as the swelling goes down the proper acute pain kicks in, you can feel them clicking and moving. Coughing and sneezing at this point is a nightmare as is sleeping and getting out of bed.

I had an over the bars on to rocks between Mosedale and Skiddaw House last year. It hurt like hell but I managed to complete the ride. About 3 days later my chest was black and blue but the pain was manageable so I decided to do a Dales ride near Reeth.

The next day was indescribably painful and I suspect put my recovery back by days or even weeks. It took another 5 weeks before they were settled.

I’ll take it easy for a bit longer next time.