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Bruised/fractured rib

rockyroad55

rockyroad55

macrumors 601
Original poster
Jul 14, 2010
4,152
59
Phila, PA
Doctor says it's a minor fracture, but it's more like a bruise. I'm just going to be safe and say it's a fracture. Any suggestions and help? I've never hurt a bone before so can someone shed light on what I should expect in the coming month?

Also, I'm not going to take the pain meds regularly since it will interfere with my work and it's finals week too.
 
AllergyDoc said:
If it's a rib, there's not much you can do except ride it out.
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Sorry to hear that

Pretty much all there is too it. Just take it easy and let your body heal.

Surprisingly paracetamol taken at the therapeutic dose level is very efficient at pain management - I've been on 2x 500mg four times a day since my op in January and its quite effective without making me lethargic or lose concentration.

Speak to your doc about it tho - I would never advise anyone to medicate without a doc's say so.

So how did you do it? I hope it wasn't a Spiderman outfit/wardrobe related bedroom incident.
 
AFAIK, there's not much you can do at this point, just avoid any blunt force trauma to the affect area.
 
I broke 4 ribs in an accident when I was 7 years old along with many other bones. The only thing the OP can do is keep the affected area wrapped and stay away from active lifestyles for about 6 weeks. Heavy breathing and laughing will hurt for about 3 weeks.
 
Yup it sucks. I bruised my rib's as a result of a mountain bike accident. It sucks. I would use ice and lots of heating pads. Those seemed to work the best for me. I also would take 200mg of ibuprofen several times a day to help with the pain. that is pretty much all you can do.

I also had my wife purchase the heating pads that you can stick to your body. Those seem to help also. But I was out for about a month before I could safely say I was healed. It took forever to heal. Well at least it felt that way. Tough time sleeping also.
 
Yup broken ribs and collar bones hurt but such is life. Heal up and go do some more fun stuff and break the other side.
 
rockyroad55 said:
Doctor says it's a minor fracture, but it's more like a bruise. I'm just going to be safe and say it's a fracture. Any suggestions and help? I've never hurt a bone before so can someone shed light on what I should expect in the coming month?

Also, I'm not going to take the pain meds regularly since it will interfere with my work and it's finals week too.
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Nah...don't listen to all these people.

The best thing for you is a nice full tackle football game. Or maybe an hour or so of rugby.

Don't baby it...get out there and toughen those ribs up!








Feel better soon....;)
 
MyMac1976 said:
Yup broken ribs and collar bones hurt but such is life. Heal up and go do some more fun stuff and break the other side.
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Shrink said:
Nah...don't listen to all these people.

The best thing for you is a nice full tackle football game. Or maybe an hour or so of rugby.

Don't baby it...get out there and toughen those ribs up!

Feel better soon....;)
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And this is why I love the internet! hahaha....
 
Did something similar kickboxing. Was a real joy trying to breathe for the next few weeks as well as laugh.
 
Feel better soon man.

I'm not sure I've seen anyone start a thread second-guessing their doctor's advice. Usually they're only asking for medial help before seeking medical attention. This is new to me.

Since we're on the subject, my doctor told me I should use an inhaler when I am having an asthma attack. Anyone think there is something else I should do?
 
Shrink said:
Nah...don't listen to all these people.

The best thing for you is a nice full tackle football game. Or maybe an hour or so of rugby.

Don't baby it...get out there and toughen those ribs up!








Feel better soon....;)
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I'm pretty sure that if the doctor didn't explicitly forbid it, it's fair game!!
 
GoCubsGo said:
Feel better soon man.

I'm not sure I've seen anyone start a thread second-guessing their doctor's advice. Usually they're only asking for medial help before seeking medical attention. This is new to me.

Since we're on the subject, my doctor told me I should use an inhaler when I am having an asthma attack. Anyone think there is something else I should do?
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Not second guessing, the doctor never had a broken rib before or anything of that area hurt so I wanted to see if anyone else had this experience before so I know what to expect over the next few weeks.
 
rockyroad55 said:
Not second guessing, the doctor never had a broken rib before or anything of that area hurt so I wanted to see if anyone else had this experience before so I know what to expect over the next few weeks.
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The thing is, your doctor has far more specialized information about your specific injury and presumably has had the benefit of an education that has been informed by lots of empirical evidence. Whereas someone with a 'broken rib' injury in their past may be able to give generally relevant information from their experience, you might find that there is actually heterogeneity across injuries and that the advice from random people on the intertubes might fall short.

Anyway, I'm not giving you nearly as much crap as it probably sounds. :p

Get well soon!
 
mobilehaathi said:
The thing is, your doctor has far more specialized information about your specific injury and presumably has had the benefit of an education that has been informed by lots of empirical evidence. Whereas someone with a 'broken rib' injury in their past may be able to give generally relevant information from their experience, you might find that there is actually heterogeneity across injuries and that the advice from random people on the intertubes might fall short.

Anyway, I'm not giving you nearly as much crap as it probably sounds. :p

Get well soon!
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Maybe I just need reassurance because I feel so old right now haha.

Apple fanboy said:
:D

Smoke. Go for a run. Try and breathe as fast as you can.
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Hooray!
 
rockyroad55 said:
Doctor says it's a minor fracture, but it's more like a bruise. I'm just going to be safe and say it's a fracture. Any suggestions and help? I've never hurt a bone before so can someone shed light on what I should expect in the coming month?

Also, I'm not going to take the pain meds regularly since it will interfere with my work and it's finals week too.
Click to expand...


This happened to me a couple years ago - I bruised a couple ribs when my airbag deployed as well as knocking me unconscious. The pain lasted for about month, which isn't that bad. However, coughing and/or taking deep breaths exacerbated the pain. Also, getting up from a lying position made it hurt as well - I didn't realize your chest plays a role in that.
 
thatoneguy82 said:
This happened to me a couple years ago - I bruised a couple ribs when my airbag deployed as well as knocking me unconscious. The pain lasted for about month, which isn't that bad. However, coughing and/or taking deep breaths exacerbated the pain. Also, getting up from a lying position made it hurt as well - I didn't realize your chest plays a role in that.
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Yes I know right! The pain isn't that bad when I take deep breaths though. But sleeping is so bad. I literally set my alarm 5 mins early now to slowly get up and catch my breath. It's so bad. But I feel it is getting better. Last week I could barely bend down and get stuff. Now I can do it kinda easily.
 
rockyroad55 said:
Doctor says it's a minor fracture, but it's more like a bruise. I'm just going to be safe and say it's a fracture. Any suggestions and help? I've never hurt a bone before so can someone shed light on what I should expect in the coming month?

Also, I'm not going to take the pain meds regularly since it will interfere with my work and it's finals week too.
Click to expand...

About a month ago I tripped and fell on a railroad tie border, smashing my ribs. Felt tight at first, like a sprain, but after the shock cleared it hurt like the dickens and I could barely breathe and was pretty much immobilized. To make matters worse, I was getting over a cold and still had a hacking cough. Sleep was impossible for a while but I did develop a zen-like control over that cough. Family urged me to see the doc but, having cracked ribs on occasion while skating, I knew all he would do is tape me up and give me some happy pills. I used acetaminophen and, since taping is uncomfortable, applied pressure by tying a small pillow to the painful area, which provided some relief. After periodically loosening the pillow the pain would slowly return, at which point I tightened again. Now I'm still a little sore here and there but for about a week I've been basically good to go. Hope you feel better soon.

ps- You have one of the more memorable and witty sigs that I've seen. : )
 
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macmesser said:
About a month ago I tripped and fell on a railroad tie border, smashing my ribs. Felt tight at first, like a sprain, but after the shock cleared it hurt like the dickens and I could barely breathe and was pretty much immobilized. To make matters worse, I was getting over a cold and still had a hacking cough. Sleep was impossible for a while but I did develop a zen-like control over that cough. Family urged me to see the doc but, having cracked ribs on occasion while skating, I knew all he would do is tape me up and give me some happy pills. I used acetaminophen and, since taping is uncomfortable, applied pressure by tying a small pillow to the painful area, which provided some relief. After periodically loosening the pillow the pain would slowly return, at which point I tightened again. Now I'm still a little sore here and there but for about a week I've been basically good to go. Hope you feel better soon.

ps- You have one of the more memorable and witty sigs that I've seen. : )
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Once finals week is over, I'm going to take those happy pills when I go to bed. They do the trick since I've taken them last time when I had my wisdom teeth pulled. But their effects impair judgement completely.
 
rockyroad55 said:
Once finals week is over, I'm going to take those happy pills when I go to bed. They do the trick since I've taken them last time when I had my wisdom teeth pulled. But their effects impair judgement completely.
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I hear you. BTW, if you use the pillow technique, put some real pressure on it. Use something like a wide sash rather than a rope or belt. That will distribute the pressure over the pillow (and you) and let you get it nice and tight without digging in.
 
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