# Took a big shot to the ribs on Friday



## DeoreDX (Jul 28, 2007)

Washed the front end out and went off a steep ledge about 5 ft. Hit hard on my left side. 1st 24 hours the giant raspberry on my left arm was the worst part. Big bruise on my hip. My ribs felt a little sore but not too bad no visible bruising. I've had worse looking crashes at higher speeds before either just hit wrong on my chest just under my left pectoral muscle or at 45 I just can't take a fall like I used to.

Saturday I felt well enough to go riding again. Though I could feel it in my ribs when I was breathing deep so I dialed the effort back. A 2 on he pain chart jumps to 6-7 when I sneeze or cough. Not enough pain for me to even bother with OTC nmeds.

Sunday a little worse then Saturday. Ribs sore enough I took some ibuprofen. I feel it a bit more with certain movements. 

Yesterday Monday it's even worse. Feels like the natural progression of bruised ribs from what I've read where pain will top out after 4-5 days. A little pain with sharp deep breaths maybe a 4, and sneezing, laughing, or coughing still a 6-7. Ribs more tender today, enough I am purposly avoiding certain movements unlike the previous days. Taking ibuprofen. I normally ride on Tuesday evenings but I will probably just hang up the bike for the rest of the week as I don't want a setback and have something lingering. I thought about getting an Xray but since I don't have any other symptoms and from what I've read not much they can do except what I'm doing already I decided to forgo that time and espense.

Today on Tuesday ribs still feel sore, but also stiff as well. Hope that I begin to see some improvements soon. I'll probably start cutting back in ibuprophen as I've read NSAIDs can lengthen healing time.


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## 127.0.0.1 (Nov 19, 2013)

post pic up in the bruise thread NOW








Show me your bruising.


Here's mine...... Stuffed up a steep. Went over the bars and landing gackly side on to a massive tree root. God dammit that hurt like hell.




www.mtbr.com


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## Bikeworks (Sep 10, 2020)

DeoreDX said:


> Washed the front end out and went off a steep ledge about 5 ft. Hit hard on my left side. 1st 24 hours the giant raspberry on my left arm was the worst part. Big bruise on my hip. My ribs felt a little sore but not too bad no visible bruising. I've had worse looking crashes at higher speeds before either just hit wrong on my chest just under my left pectoral muscle or at 45 I just can't take a fall like I used to.
> 
> Saturday I felt well enough to go riding again. Though I could feel it in my ribs when I was breathing deep so I dialed the effort back. *A 2 on he pain chart jumps to 6-7 when I sneeze or cough*. Not enough pain for me to even bother with OTC nmeds.
> 
> ...


For me those are always the indicators for differentiating between being bruised up or having a fracture. Having had it happen a few times after confirmed fractures, the thought of doing any of that is enough to make me start weeping beforehand lol. My advice is to use a pillow to splint the area when you do feel the need to cough/sneeze, it helps. Given that you're not in extreme pain, not experiencing shortness of breath, or any other symptoms I'd expect that it's likely a non-displaced fracture, so I personally wouldn't bother with an X-ray. Do concentrate on purposeful breathing, controlled and deep as you feel comfortable doing about 10x every few hours or so. This will keep the lung from potentially collapsing (reason why they don't tape you up anymore).


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

I went down on my ribs this winter, I couldn’t twist, lay on my side, sneeze, cough…..for a week. The ability to handle a cough or sneeze came back in about 7 or so days but I couldn’t lay on my left side for almost a month. It’s one of the worst pains to deal with long term.


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## Prognosticator (Feb 15, 2021)

I am suffering from a similar injury. I went down hard June 5. Started to feel better by this past weekend. Rode on Sunday. Big mistake. I felt worse yesterday. In my case, I think it's a strain or tear of the intercostal muscles in my back ribs. I am fortunate to have some muscle relaxers to take. That and ibuprofen are helping.


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## UPSed (Dec 26, 2010)

I went through this a few weeks ago. I was crossing a wet bridge on my gravel bike. Next thing I know I'm picking myself up off the ground. I was on my way to a shop ride so once I determined myself and the bike were okay, I continued on. I was in a little bit of pain but it didn't really bother me until I started climbing. I couldn't get any deep breaths. I was pretty sore by the end of the ride. I'm guessing I either bruised or fractured some ribs. The next day the pain was about the same. The second day was the worst. I was at work and I started having a burning sensation that lasted about 10 minutes. Thankfully I had some ibuprofen with me that I used and continued to use to manage the pain for the next few days. It was a couple of weeks before I could comfortably sneeze and now 4 weeks in, the pain is all but gone. And yeah, at 57, I don't bounce off the ground anymore.


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## D. Inoobinati (Aug 28, 2020)

*Member has removed content due to fundamental disagreement with this site owner's views favoring expanded access for electric mountain bikes (eMtb) on multiuse singletrack in public lands.*


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## DeoreDX (Jul 28, 2007)

Bikeworks said:


> For me those are always the indicators for differentiating between being bruised up or having a fracture... Given that you're not in extreme pain, not experiencing shortness of breath, or any other symptoms I'd expect that it's likely a non-displaced fracture, so I personally wouldn't bother with an X-ray.


Having never experienced a cracked or bruised rib it could very well be a crack/non displaced as you said. I was probably hoping for bruised more so for the recovery time v. break. When do you know it's healed do you go by time or by pain? When can you start training again? Is that all about risk and pain threshold? I don't want to turn a 6 week recovery into a 9 week recovery by doing something stupid on week 3.


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## Bikeworks (Sep 10, 2020)

DeoreDX said:


> Having never experienced a cracked or bruised rib it could very well be a crack/non displaced as you said. I was probably hoping for bruised more so for the recovery time v. break. When do you know it's healed do you go by time or by pain? When can you start training again? Is that all about risk and pain threshold? I don't want to turn a 6 week recovery into a 9 week recovery by doing something stupid on week 3.


It's all relative. Location of the fracture figures in, as does what you are seeking to do. I've done light trail riding and road riding a week later, but other times I've needed 3 weeks off the bike to feel ok. I had a complete fracture of my scapula (shoulder blade) and was road riding within 3 weeks. Pidcock is out there like a week after collarbone surgery. Like I said, relative.

I guess as far as internet advice I'd hold off on anything that could result in you hitting the deck again, or at least anything that has a moderate likelihood of that happening, for at least a couple of weeks.


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## Sparticus (Dec 28, 1999)

D. Inoobinati said:


> Don't bother with an x-ray: a bruised rib won't show up, and even if it's lightly fractured the treatment is largely the same. Driving over speedbumps was the worst for me.


Couple decades ago I rode off a ledge in the dark, landing on rocks. Snapped 4 ribs. Two days later, I sneezed. In advance of sneezing, for some reason I hadn't considered the pain could / would be so horrific. For the next 10 days I lived in utter terror that I might sneeze again. Coughing was bad but not as bad as sneezing.
=sParty


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## MSU Alum (Aug 8, 2009)

Cracked a rib at age 62 AND caught a cold. That sucked.
It took 6 weeks to heal up. First 5 days the doctor had me on Valium which is apparently a very good muscle relaxer to prevent the muscles around the ribs from cramping.


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## Sparticus (Dec 28, 1999)

MSU Alum said:


> Cracked a rib at age 62 AND caught a cold. That sucked.
> It took 6 weeks to heal up. First 5 days the doctor had me on Valium which is apparently a very good muscle relaxer to prevent the muscles around the ribs from cramping.


I wish. I'm allergic to narcotics. Ibuprofen is the strongest drug I can take without inducing violent vomiting. Sucks to be me.
=sParty


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## dysfunction (Aug 15, 2009)

Yea, I was given Valium for that when I bruised a couple ribs years ago, after the muscles had cramped to the point I was literally bent over sideways. The problem with rib injuries is that, other than some nuances, fractures, bruises, and separations all feel pretty similar and they all suck (I still have a rib that will 'pop' from a separation years ago). My advice in general is alternate acetaminophen and an NSAID at half-dosage times, and every hour take at least 10 deep breaths.


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## DeoreDX (Jul 28, 2007)

dysfunction said:


> My advice in general is alternate acetaminophen and an NSAID at half-dosage times


That's interesting advice I've never seen. Any particular reason you alternate acetaminophin and a NSAID? I guess I don't understand how Acetominophin is different than say an ibuprophen. I always thought they pretty much did the same thing.


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## dirtwolf (Feb 15, 2021)

A few years ago I did something similar. Landed elbow to ribs wearing an elbow pad to protect a ground beef looking elbow and ironically that's what got me. Sat in my car for a while reading a book and trying to breathe to figure out if the pain would subside. Sharp pain every time I filled my lungs. Time, ibuprofen and eventually, bulgarian split squats to keep the legs.

This happened at the beginning of October and I let 'er loose for the first proper ride on Christmas eve complete with santa hat to celebrate.

Inoobinati's right, though. Treatment is same for borked/bruised so I didn't bother entering the medical realm.


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## dirtwolf (Feb 15, 2021)

DeoreDX said:


> That's interesting advice I've never seen. Any particular reason you alternate acetaminophin and a NSAID? I guess I don't understand how Acetominophin is different than say an ibuprophen. I always thought they pretty much did the same thing.


They don't interact. You can pretty much take 'em at the same time if you're in dire pain without OD'ing. Google that shizz.


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## dysfunction (Aug 15, 2009)

They don't contraindicate, and they work differently in general. Acetaminophen basically a pain reliever, and ibuprofen blocks inflammation. Works great for pain, sometimes better than narcotics.

Oh, also great for breaking and controlling a fever.


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## WHALENARD (Feb 21, 2010)

Broke & separated ribs twice in one season. The worst for me was sleeping...or trying to. Once I got up, moved around, and warmed up the pain was manageable. 
The separation at my sternum lasted for a looong time. I was aware of it if I pressed on it or stretched for possibly up to two and a half years. In fact I'd forgotten about it, just pressing on it now is confirmation that it's finally gone. 
Sent from my Pixel 4a (5G) using Tapatalk


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## MSU Alum (Aug 8, 2009)

With my rib injury I was taking 4 ibuprofen and 2 Tylenol every 8 hours for several days due to the pain combined with my cold. I didn't want to take any opioids so the doctor put me on that combo.

I was having lunch with a pain specialist and got to talking with him about opioids and that combo is almost as effective without the terrible side effects. It worked great.


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

I second on hugging a pillow if you have to cough or sneeze. Helps a lot.


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## ShakyDog (Oct 24, 2019)

Be sure to do breathing exercises throughout the day: breath in a long as you can, hold for a second and let out as much as you can, repeat three or four time. Do this at least five times a day.

Steve


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## RickBullottaPA (Mar 4, 2015)

I wish there was a better answer, but in reality ribs are a case of "time heals all wounds". Everyone will heal at a different rate, but with ribs it's almost always slower than you want. You'll get through it though. Sleeping was the hardest part for me (I've had rib injuries on both sides in different wrecks). I changed up my bike position on the gravel bike to make it more comfortable so I could at least get out spinning before I was ready to hop back on the MTB.


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## Sparticus (Dec 28, 1999)

dysfunction said:


> They don't contraindicate, and they work differently in general. Acetaminophen basically a pain reliever, and ibuprofen blocks inflammation. Works great for pain, sometimes better than narcotics.
> 
> Oh, also great for breaking and controlling a fever.





MSU Alum said:


> With my rib injury I was taking 4 ibuprofen and 2 Tylenol every 8 hours for several days due to the pain combined with my cold. I didn't want to take any opioids so the doctor put me on that combo.
> 
> I was having lunch with a pain specialist and got to talking with him about opioids and that combo is almost as effective without the terrible side effects. It worked great.


Okay guys, inasmuch as I respect both y'all's opinions, you've convinced me. Since emerging from surgery 4 days ago, I've been on straight ibuprofen. I'm going to try mixing some acetaminophen in with that. Thanks!
=sParty


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## MSU Alum (Aug 8, 2009)

Sparticus said:


> Okay guys, inasmuch as I respect both y'all's opinions, you've convinced me. Since emerging from surgery 4 days ago, I've been on straight ibuprofen. I'm going to try mixing some acetaminophen in with that. Thanks!
> =sParty


I first was told to take it by a dentist. I'd ask a pharmacist, at least, but it was "FM" friggin' magic!
Just quit alcohol while taking it I suppose.


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## WHALENARD (Feb 21, 2010)

Yeah, wouldn't touch alcohol on acetaminophen even days before/after. Infact I read some studies many years ago and haven't touched acetaminophen since I was like 18 or 19 years old. Kind of unfortunate that natural morphine and it's derivatives are actually much less toxic. Too bad about physical addiction and all that.


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## Sparticus (Dec 28, 1999)

Damn… I’m drinking bourbon and come across this…


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## MSU Alum (Aug 8, 2009)

Sparticus said:


> Damn&#8230; I'm drinking bourbon and come across this&#8230;


Oh, well, bourbon's okay. I meant don't drink rubbing alcohol or antifreeze.


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## DeoreDX (Jul 28, 2007)

I wasn't hurting last night per se but I felt very uncomfortable laying on my back last night. I ended up propping myself up and sleeping not quite sitting up, more around a 30-40 degree angle. This morning I felt a marked improvement from how I felt yesterday. Still definitly hurts and I can't sneeze but the pain isn't as sharp as it was previously. Maybe my recovery is finally on an upwards trajectory.


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

What trail did you crash on, DeoreDX?


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## DeoreDX (Jul 28, 2007)

I attempted a ride last Friday, 7th day after my wreck. After a mile I realized it wasn't worth it so we took the short loop back. 2.5 miles of riding was enough for me the ribs were just too uncomfortable. 

Today is the 11th day since my crash. Most of the pain associated with movement has gone away, I'd say about 90% gone. I can feel a bit of soreness with the right bit of movement but I wouldn't call it pain. I can feel it with really deep breaths and cough/sneezes still hurt. I feel like I could ride with good output today I just wouldn't be 100% comfortable. Luckily with the tropical storm all weekend I haven't had to test out that theory any. If the trails are dry enough tomorrow I might try an easy ride on a green trail.


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## RickBullottaPA (Mar 4, 2015)

DeoreDX said:


> I attempted a ride last Friday, 7th day after my wreck. After a mile I realized it wasn't worth it so we took the short loop back. 2.5 miles of riding was enough for me the ribs were just too uncomfortable.
> 
> Today is the 11th day since my crash. Most of the pain associated with movement has gone away, I'd say about 90% gone. I can feel a bit of soreness with the right bit of movement but I wouldn't call it pain. I can feel it with really deep breaths and cough/sneezes still hurt. I feel like I could ride with good output today I just wouldn't be 100% comfortable. Luckily with the tropical storm all weekend I haven't had to test out that theory any. If the trails are dry enough tomorrow I might try an easy ride on a green trail.


Be patient. Ribs take time and you can set yourself back to square one by going too hard too early. I know it sucks to take it easy - believe me I do - but listen to your body.


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## Tall BMX'r (Jan 11, 2021)

I just started riding again a week ago after a similar crash two months ago. Cracked ribs, torn intercostals, two sprained wrists, fluid build up in my right arm (elevated my arm for two days), cellulitis infected wounds ( antibiotics), my kidneys hurt, my whole torso was swollen and tight for a week, couldn't find a comfortable position to sleep with sharp rib pains (arm and leg over a pillow helped, but mostly sleeped in a recliner), Ibufrofin took the edge off, Full body x-rays (nothing ruptured and no major bone breaks, just ribs). My wrists are still a little tender, so no jumping or big drops. Just roll everything. Major eye opener to just cool it on the big jumps! Sometimes you don't land wheels first. 
This morning I rode to steeper DH trails and went around most of the jumps. It was a good confidence builder. There is an mental recovery from bad crashes too.


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## DeoreDX (Jul 28, 2007)

30 days later and for the most part my ribs feel healed except when I sneeze then it feels like someone jabbing me in the ribs with their knuckle. Didn't imagine it would take this long to heal.


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## RickBullottaPA (Mar 4, 2015)

DeoreDX said:


> 30 days later and for the most part my ribs feel healed except when I sneeze then it feels like someone jabbing me in the ribs with their knuckle. Didn't imagine it would take this long to heal.


Have you tried some ultra deep breathing exercises to try to loosen things up a bit? It does take time. For me it was about 3 months to mostly pain free.


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