Jump to content

Ever Had Bruised / 'cracked' Ribs ?


gobbledonk

Recommended Posts

I dont think I had anything wrong with my ribs until somewhere around 2002, when some horseplay with a young lady ended with her bony bloody elbow landing right on top of my lowest rib. I'm not sure exactly what happened, but it hurt like hell for a couple of days making things like swimming a lot harder than they needed to be.

 

I've had a couple of x-rays since then (crushed vertebrae) and no mention of any damage to my ribs, but every 6 or so months I seem to 'tear' something in the vicinity of that old injury and the fun starts anew. Just wondering if anyone else is 'carrying' a persistent rib injury - I dont want to go back to the same doctor who examined my last two x-rays and tell him he's blind without some frame of reference.

 

Thanks,

 

Gobble

 

(PS - like back pain, I used to laugh at people who claimed to have sore ribs - I dont laugh anymore. Laughing (and sneezing ..) just isnt as much fun when you have sore ribs ;) )

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I cracked two ribs (bottom right side of my back) after slipping on some wet stairs a few years back. Very painful for a few weeks - coughing and laughing were very painful - even clearing my throat hurt a lot. And - sneezing - sweat Jesus - that would almost bring me to my knees in pain. But - it all healed up after about three months, wit no after-effect.

 

But - about a year ago, after a bad cold, I developed a throbbing pain higher on my back - same side as the cracked ribs. It was kind of weird - intermittent sort of pain - depending on how how I breathed and moved. After about a week or so, I started wondering if I had tuberculosis, or cancer, or just what it was. So - I went to a doctor. It turned out to be pleurisy - which is an inflamation of the lining between your lungs and your chest wall (there are actually two linings - an inner and an outer - that normally slide smoothly past each other). I had somehow irritated a patch of the lining in-between the two opposing membranes. So - it was like a couple of sections of sandpaper scraping against one another. The doctor gave me some anti-inflammatory medicine, and after about three days, the problem was gone - and never returned.

 

One way to check - with pleurisy, direct external pressure on the spot dose not cause any pain (no friction between the membranes). With a cracked rib, direct pressure HURTS. I'm not sure what would happen with a torn muscle - probably pain upon direct pressure.

 

Cheers!

SS

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Damaged rib cartlidge can be more painful that a cracked or broken rib.

Symptoms of rib cartilage injury are pain at the injury site, pain when the ribcage flexes for example when you breathe, cough, sneeze or laugh. Pain when rotating or side flexing your spine, crunching or grinding sounds when the injury site is touched or moved. Can take years and years to heal if not looked after.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the feedback, guys - didnt think it could be cartilage damage, but that makes as much sense as anything. Really pisses me off, because I was just starting to get something resembling a fitness routine happening (sure you were, Gobble ;) ) when this old injury resurfaced. It does feel a bit better today - hopefully tomorrow I can back to my usual regimen of a thousand pushups followed by a thousand abdominal crunches :D

 

(would be believe a deep knee bend followed by a damned good look around ?)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I bought most of this on myself - used to go around bragging (!) that I had never had a broken bone, nor any of the childhood diseases - not even colic. Pretty pathetic claim to fame from someone who have never been shot at, much less knifed, but clearly someone upstairs decided a little fall down some stairs was in order. Even then, he didnt send me down face first - if my head had hit those bricks the way my knee did, none of this would be an issue now ;)

 

Bring on the void, but not before I see Patts one more time. Praise the Lord and pass the potato chips !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...