# Bruised ribs...how long?



## lobolator (Oct 29, 2006)

My ribs and the muscles around them are so sore. How long before they start feeling better. I'm looking for the answer that includes riding with the healing time. Unless I really shouldn't be riding(yeah right). I feel ok when I'm riding but at night....ouch where's the ibuprofen.


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## chucko58 (Aug 4, 2006)

IME, could be a couple weeks before the pain fades away completely, could be a few months, depending on how hard and where you hit. If you didn't break anything - and in some cases, even if you did - there's nothing the doc can do for you anyway. So get right back out there and ride!


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## mroneeyedboh (Sep 24, 2006)

yeah ribs are a b itch. they can hurt for months. and then when you think the pain is gone, you take a deep breath in and here comes the sharp pains again. rib injuries suck bad.


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## CANBONSAN (Nov 20, 2006)

*Sore Ribs*

I am going on my fourth week of sore ribs after a hard fall. Of course I could have done things to improve the healing time ( like not repeating the fall three days after the original injury on a night ride) like ice ibupofrin. I took five days off the bike after that. Like your experience it feels fine on the bike but sleeping on my prefered left side hasn't been comfortable for a month.


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## trailville (Jul 24, 2006)

I'm going on 3 months and still have pain when lying down but it's gradually getting better. I was riding again (carefully) within a week and after about a month my ribs didn't really interfere with anything I did (except for lying down).


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## rafdog (Jun 16, 2006)

I had one that was bad for about a month and then lingered (laying on side) for another...it was forgotten after being replaced by a nasty thigh bruise from handlebar that has been going on fer weeks....thank you sir may I have another.


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## blackjack (Apr 20, 2005)

Popped the ribs on my left side a couple of weeks ago, after over-cooking a fast, loose corner. Didn't even hit them on anything, just the force of the impact. The rest of the injuries are healed up, but the ribs are still giving me hell.

I thought they were on the road to recovery, until my wife leaned on them in bed......, CRACK, and that was the ribs.

The Doc said I just separated the original tear in the muscle/cartilage/rib again or some such. Two weeks of light duties at work (means driving a desk) and no riding....bugger.

The Doctor did say that the injury could easily be aggravated, causing a break, which I would be looking at six weeks of the bike etc.

Time heals, apparently.
Stay safe.


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## 8Trak (Jan 20, 2004)

Bruised ribs suck... I'm sure broken ribs are even worse. Healing time of course depends on each injury, but I found that they stop hurting during the day and while biking before they stop hurting while lying down in bed, or worse, getting out of bed.

BTW, I hurt mine most recently when I crashed while off the back of the saddle.... the seat speared me right above my diaphragm. Before that, it was a snowboarding injury... crashed on and into a boulder submerged in deep powder. Ouch and ouch.


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## devinjo (Aug 4, 2005)

I endo-ed and cracked a rib and banged up a load of others. Went to the chiro -could hardly breath without searing pain when I went in and could breath easily when I left. After a couple more visits I was able to get back on the bike 2 weeks to the day and had an awesome ride!. I Do have one cracked rib but they were able to "fix" the rest!!:thumbsup:


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## elsinore (Jun 10, 2005)

devinjo said:


> I endo-ed and cracked a rib and banged up a load of others. Went to the chiro -could hardly breath without searing pain when I went in and could breath easily when I left. After a couple more visits I was able to get back on the bike 2 weeks to the day and had an awesome ride!. I Do have one cracked rib but they were able to "fix" the rest!!:thumbsup:


Who did you see? Chiro?

I cracked a few two weeks ago, and they still feel the same as the day they were smashed.
Endoed and landed with my chest on a rock, also got a hairline fracture in my thumb, while Im trying to get the thumb squared away, the doc said there was nothing I could do for the ribs, I have been using ice with little results. I think my abdominal muscles really took a beating as well beaucse they are aching just as bad as the ribs.

any advice appreciated, thanks.


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## devinjo (Aug 4, 2005)

> Who did you see? Chiro?


Saw the ER to diagnose the cracked rib and the chiro did an xray and then put the ribs back. ER doctor said there was nothing to be done for the ribs, too. They seem to think the chiro is a voodoo witch doctor!ut:


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## stevefo (Nov 25, 2006)

I'm in the RIB club. 

I had a nice little endo on Christmas Eve'. Came down and broke the bar end with my chest muscles and the impact I took on the ground knocked my breath out and I was flopping around like a fish out of water. It took about 10 minutes to get back on the bike and finish the ride out in pain. The real kicker is when I woke up on Christmas day and I could not move. I wonder if I have a cracked rib I started popping 800 mg of Ibuprophen 3 times a day. Today is the 28th and the pain is still bad. I am supposed to go riding tomorrow. The Wife is pissed that I may go. She said no freakin way:nono:


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## mtnkiwi (Mar 29, 2004)

Bruised ribs from landing on my handlebar put me out for about a month, the next time I rode I was sooooo slow. My mate cracked some ribs in October, I think they hurt like hell for the first 6weeks to 2 months. The x-ray didn't really pick up on the cracks, but they were there as the doctor admitted on the second viewing. Hope you get better soon mate. Don't ride if they really hurt after the ride, you are just prolonging the healing time by damaging the injured area again. If you need to stay fit just do some slow road rides, no hopping curbs and getting carried away:nono: . Take care


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## Rainman (Apr 18, 2004)

*Ribs...*

I've had broken ribs several times ... from racing, windsurfing, biking and climbing...:madmax:

It sux.

Getting upright from a prone position on your bed is the worst, imo. I had a length of climbing rope attached to the foot of my bed to help me sit up last time I broke three ribs.

I used to have to slowly pull myself into a sitting position whilst trying not to yell with the pain from the broken bits...:eekster:

Broken ribs are the pits!

A good chiro can set them back in place so that they don't hurt quite as much, but one wrong move and they 'pop' out again.. 

My wife fell while walking the dog recently and landed with her fist against her upper chest, which probably cracked a rib. She is in extreme pain from it.

Time is about the only thing that makes you come good again.

R.


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## simplton (Apr 14, 2006)

I had the smack-down by the hand of gawd. Landed chest 1st on a root jutting from the ground. I knew immediately something didn't feel right. Cut my ride short and went back to the car. Three days later went to the doc. X-rays didn't reveal anything to him so he said he'd have the radiologist look and call me if something looked broken. I felt the pain for about two and a half months. Three weeks ago I broke my collar bone. When I went to see the orthopedic surgeon before my surgery he says, "I see you've just had three broken ribs. Are they still bothering you?" I'm like, "huh?". So yeah, the radiologist never called me to tell me about my busted ribs but I knew in my mind they were fubar. Oh well. Ribs feel fine now, just waiting for my shoulder to heal up. 

later,
simp


p.s. Endos suck.


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## blackjack (Apr 20, 2005)

Had my first ride yesterday, a full month after busting up my chest.
The actual pain from the injury went away about a week ago, but with Christmas and all, I stayed off the bike until then.

I'm glad I did at the end of the day, as I didn't have any physical problems from the injury.
I was very cautious however. Felt pretty good though.
Dragging the extra kilos up the climbs however, was a different matter.

Time heals. Let the body do it's thing. I'm sure the pain is telling you something.
Good luck.


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## BelaySlave (Aug 4, 2004)

I had a bad crash at Tamarack on Labor Day. Long story short...nothing broken, but definately bruised. That first week or so sucked cuz it hurt so bad. The first couple of times back on the saddle the ribs hurt. And to this day...I still have soreness in my right ribcage when doing certain things. 

It just takes time.

Nick


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## muddywings (Apr 28, 2004)

*just did it*

yeah, got me some cracked ribs. Stalled out going up a nice techy section and couldn't unclip one side (the side I ended up falling on). Put my hand out to stop the fall as I was going down and backwards and as soon as my hand hit the rock I was headed for, it just slipped right off without slowing me down a bit. BAMM. OUCH! Everything got bright and cold and then didn't feel so good in the ole tummy! Finally after slowing my breathing I got up and biked the last 1/2 mile. 
Didn't hurt to much till I went to bed, now I dread sleeping! Oh well, a few weeks out I guess. Any good suggestions besides motrin and ice?


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## ZoSoSwiM (Dec 2, 2005)

Just bruised my lower right side ribs a little.
Sunday: long steep smooth downhill. Nothing to worry about. EXCEPT a large bump, basically a kicker at the bottom. I attempted to suck it up and roll the jump and not get lots of air because of the coming corner. My back wheel rises up and I try to shift backwards. My shorts caught the seat and I nose manualed for maybe 10 feet. My shorts slip free and my seat rises up and slams me in the ribs. I'm still clipped in and sitting behind my back tire on the ground. 


It doesn't hurt much doing regular activities or even riding for that matter. Coughing, sneezing, and blowing my nose hurt though. Oddly enough it feels more like an Ab injury than my ribs, but I've never hurt my ribs before. 

(Note: I have no outward signs of injury.. which sucks... bruising at least would show me the spot I hit..)

I feel everyones pain on this one!


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## micky (Jan 28, 2004)

*bruised ribs suck*

I bruised mine when a trail I was on (next to a creek) literally collapsed and I fell about 6 feet onto rocks. At the time, I was training for an xterra triathlon. It took about 3 or 4 weeks before I could ride again.

What was weird was, the more technical the ride, the easier it was on me, probably because I had to get of my seat a lot. I was able to do mtbike rides comfortable before I could do roa rides, runs or even swimming. Go figure.

It is real important that you stay healthy. If you get a cough or sneeze a lot with bruised ribs, you may literally start crying from the pain.


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## mtbchik (Jul 5, 2005)

*Ohhhhh!*

Yeah, I'm there rehabbing now. I have become the master of the silent sneeze!

At least you guys don't have to deal with wearing a Bra! Happy for little ones at the moment. 

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=300309


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## Nocturnus (Mar 28, 2005)

I brused my ribs 2x in one year (same side) and once time was during my allergy season, so i was in all kinds of paint form coughing and sneezing.. It sucked big time.


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## TrekJeff (Oct 12, 2006)

Just coming out of a bad deep bruise from about two weeks ago. Endoed and landed on the handle bar end, the other end when into the turf about two inches. Hurt like a MFker. Laughing, sneezing, deep breaths, picking anything over 10 pounds up....just plain h ell. Not much could be done other than taking good old vitamin Motrin. Things are hardly tender, although when I was healing and still commuting I would one hand it most of the way, putting any pressure on that side was..well I've mentioned that already


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## Bushman71 (Nov 20, 2006)

You guys ROCK :thumbsup: ...My buddies are calling me crazy..I thought I was the only die hard mountain biker..at least around here. 4 wks ago I fractured my right ankle downhill riding Collingwood Ont. Just 2 dayz ago I was riding a fire lane close to Ellicotville NY when I took a header over the bars and either bruised or broke the ribs on my right side.. Hurts like H E L L... Thank the docs they gave my lots of pain killerz for the ankle... So once again I'm down for the count for at least a week away.. Till the next accident.. GET R DONE!!!


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## MightyTurtle (Sep 19, 2006)

Funny, I was just gonna come here and ask about bruised ribs, because it happened to me today. Was out doing recon laps for a race this weekend, just riding a nice, casual pace. Afterward I decided to hammer some singletrack. Exited a corner too wide and wrapped myself around a tree.

I was about two miles from the trailhead and pedaled back in at about 5 mph. Completely excruciating. Worse, I had a 30-mile drive home and because my car is a 5-speed and I hit on my right side, every time I went to shift it felt like I was being stabbed.

Took myself to the ER and the X-rays didn't show any breaks or cracks, so I guess that's good. But, man, that's some serious pain.

I was somewhat hopeful that since my ribs were only bruised and not broken, I'd be able to do the race this weekend, but judging from others' experiences, maybe it's not such a good idea. I guess time will tell.


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## akashra (Dec 30, 2006)

I guess this really depends how much damage you did. One guy went over my wheel about 6 weeks ago and cracked a couple of ribs, he finished the race, was sore as hell the next day, took the next week off because of crap wether (not pain) and was back racing the week after that.


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## muddywings (Apr 28, 2004)

MightyTurtle said:


> Took myself to the ER and the X-rays didn't show any breaks or cracks, so I guess that's good. But, man, that's some serious pain.


i had my xrays done about a week after the accident and my ribs were nicely cracked. if you got your xrays right after the fact and they didn't show cracks, you might still of cracked them as I have heard (note: NOT a medical expert) that it might take a few days for the cracks to actually show up on an xray. if they hurt as bad as you said, you still might of done more damage than the xrays showed.


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## Uncle Six Pack (Aug 29, 2004)

I took a good hit in the side a week ago-4th of July. My bud and I set up a sweet "front porch freeride"-from a walkway, gap over a few steps and a short landing, to land on a pallet set on the lower set of steps, across the porch, ending with about a 3 ft drop into my downhill side yard. Not very big, but we were proud of coming up with something so imaginative to keep us busy right in my yard. So it was lots of fun and my wife thought it was ridiculous-which obviously made it more fun. 

So the amazing thing was we went from riding this thing sober to gradually more and more intoxicated. We even kept riding it after a rain shower. No issues whatsoever! Until another guy's girlfriend asked us (at like 10:00 at night, many whiskey sours later) "Is that ALL you guys do?" 

So with very little reasoning left in my brain, I decided to ride it backwards. Well, the backwards ride was hard, but do-able 12 hours earlier-sober, dry, in daylight, and with another pallet on the upper steps to smooth things out. The landing was about as long as my bike, so as I cleared the pallet and was bracing to attack the steps, my back tire didn't agree with the painted, wet decking. I spun out very fast, while clipped in, and slammed to the side right on the railing.

I was frozen for a few seconds, mad at myself and barely able to breath. My friend was amazed how well I held back the foul language in front of his children. It wasn't until about 15 seconds later I had enough control over my diaphragm to whisper to everyone that I couldn't yell an obscenity even if I wanted to.

Anyway, here I am about a week later, still pretty tender and pretty mad at myself. I'll probably try a nice easy ride soon, but I won't be back to normal for at least another 2 weeks. The most physical thing I can do for exercise is walk my dog.

Don't drink and ride-even if your drunk friend is doing it while wearing a mullet wig!

It was just about this same time last year that I bruised the other side almost as bad, but nothing to do with biking or drinking.


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## VTSEAL (Apr 20, 2004)

4+ months for me -still sore.

I fractured some ribs in early March on the steerer tube. Typical story - JRA, stood up to pedal hard on a climb, front wheel stopped cold on a rock, onto the steerer, over the front, down the cliff, etc...

Felt sore but was able to ride for a couple weeks, then it all went downhill. Was doing the shallow breathing, silent cough thing - since I was fighting a head cold at the time. I hadn't been taking a good steady dose of anti-inflamitatory drugs like I should have, so wasn't breathing deep enough to heal. Stupid chest cold + ribs + no drugs = pneumonia. 

Eventually the ribs started to feel ok after about 10 weeks of steady motrin, but still sore 4 months later when I lay on them or if kids jump on me, etc. Still not back to level of cardio/lung fitness and get tired after prolonged exercise. The weight room is the worst in terms of exercise - feels ok running, riding swimming, etc - just a little sore, but doesn't feel right at all when I lift.

Surprised the ribs are still sore after all this time, but is certainly sounds common after reading this thread... Hope everybody feels better soon.


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## TrekJeff (Oct 12, 2006)

Quit lifting, give them a chance to firm up. I did that after an endo and some deep bruised ribs, plus a busted floater.


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## dickstarbuck (Oct 10, 2007)

I fell and landed with my chest on the end of my handlebar. I have a huge bruise under my right pec. It hurts to breath,laugh,move,sit up, pretty much whatever I do. I went and rode the next day, bad idea. It all hurts so much more now. I'm just hoping I can ride this Sunday it will be a week. I have'nt rode since Monday so 6 days off the bike I'm hoping will do it.


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## YuriB (Jan 12, 2004)

I bruised my ribs 3 days ago. I got X-rays the day after and they were negative.
Laying down and getting up from laying down hurt the most. 
Being on the bike or sitting hunched over I feel no pain so i'm going to try riding tonight just to see.
I'll see what my chiro thinks tomrrow since I already had an appt. scheduled.


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## Flytime (Aug 20, 2007)

*Broken Ribs*

5 weeks and 2 days I crashed and broke 2 ribs (5th and 6th) and punctured my lung. http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=349347 After 3 weeks I could do easy rides (real easy rides) at 5 weeks I did my first real ride. All is good. 
A good indicator for me was when I could lift reasonable weight (40 to 65 lbs) and sneeze without a lot of pain.


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## msgvb (Nov 19, 2007)

wellt, it's official -- four separated ribs.
took a spill off a stupid little jump this past Saturday morning and tucked my arm in instinctively to roll out of it. didn't get the opportunity for the roll part and took the brunt of the hit sliding on my shoulder and tucked in upper arm, which transfered the impact to my chest.

I figured I just had some bruised ribs, having had that fun experience before, but something about this injury felt different. after reading this post and doing a little reading about rib injuries on the web last weekend, I suspected separation. Doc confirmed it for me yesterday, the pain having worsened the day before.

anyway, I've got a rib belt on and some decent drugs. he says it'll probably take between 3 and 5 weeks until it feels better.

so, I've been wondering about the chest & shoulder protector gear, or a flak jacket type. I think something like that would have prevented this injury. thing is, our trails aren't that aggressive, so I'd feel like a goon wearing this stuff out there considering that I don't hit the dirt jumper hills, mostly just those little jumps and platforms on our trails. frankly, I was just having an off day and made a silly error that landed me here. any of you guys wearing that stuff?


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## Flytime (Aug 20, 2007)

msgvb said:


> so, I've been wondering about the chest & shoulder protector gear, or a flak jacket type. I think something like that would have prevented this injury. thing is, our trails aren't that aggressive, so I'd feel like a goon wearing this stuff out there considering that I don't hit the dirt jumper hills, mostly just those little jumps and platforms on our trails. frankly, I was just having an off day and made a silly error that landed me here. any of you guys wearing that stuff?


Check out this thread http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=343424
Most of the talk is about knees, shins and arm protection but some stuff on chest protectors as well.

I'm considering the same issue myself..... no conclusion yet. For a rib protection the '08 Rockgardn Flack jacket looks good. Amother friend rider suggests ice hockey rib pads if you want to just protect the ribs.

j


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## msgvb (Nov 19, 2007)

awesome, thanks for the heads up -- good reading there.

frankly, until this mishap, I never even thought to consider rib protection. you just don't think much of it -- mostly as you say, knees, shins, elbows, etc. I'm still a bit surprised at how easily this happened. I've taken tumbles and rolls before and off of more serious stuff. it doesn't take much, apparently.


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## AZDesertRat (Sep 5, 2007)

I'm learning how much rib injuries suck. I've been off the bike for 9 days now after a pretty nasty OTB incident, and I'm going nuts. Every time that I think, "hey, it doesn't hurt as bad today", the pain shows back up. In all honesty, it doesn't feel much different than it did when the pain first kicked in 100%, but I guess the pain has gotten slightly better (or I'm just getting used to it). I haven't been to the doc, so I don't know if they're bruised, cracked, separated, or what. I'm kind of thinking they aren't cracked, since I'm guessing the pain would be more severe than what I'm experiencing (though the pain is significant). At any rate, this sucks. I have mixed emotions while reading all of these posts about long recovery times. On one hand, I feel better knowing that it isn't uncommon at all to still be in pain 9 days later but, on the other hand, it makes me sick to think I'll be off the bike for much longer. I might have to start going to the gym and using the cycle machine just to keep in shape while I'm sidelined.


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## AZDesertRat (Sep 5, 2007)

Flytime said:


> Amother friend rider suggests ice hockey rib pads if you want to just protect the ribs.


That's an awesome idea! :thumbsup:

I don't know why that didn't dawn on me. My son plays lacrosse, and I've seen lacrosse rib pads. The ones that I've seen seem like they'd do a pretty good job, too.


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## cannesdo (Feb 3, 2007)

I thought I'd be out for weeks, the slightest bump was excrutiating and bed was the sitting up was horrible but on day six I was able to ride again, some pretty rocky stuff, in Sedona. Had to be careful but...every day after that I was a little better with the sleeping pain and the two week mark was when I started to feel like the worst was behind me, especially where sitting up and sleeping was concerned. Make sure you're getting lots of minerals (Emergen-C is good) and getting a lot of rest. The body can do a lot of healing in a week.


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## AZDesertRat (Sep 5, 2007)

cannesdo said:


> I thought I'd be out for weeks, the slightest bump was excrutiating and bed was the sitting up was horrible but on day six I was able to ride again, some pretty rocky stuff, in Sedona. Had to be careful but...every day after that I was a little better with the sleeping pain and the two week mark was when I started to feel like the worst was behind me, especially where sitting up and sleeping was concerned. Make sure you're getting lots of minerals (Emergen-C is good) and getting a lot of rest. The body can do a lot of healing in a week.


It's been 12 days now and I still have enough pain that I'm not able to do much riding at all. I've gone riding twice now, but it was painful to do, and I'm probably going out there before I should be. It seems to get a little better each night, but lying down to sleep hurts like hell and, by the time I wake up after sleeping all night, my ribs hurt all over again. I know it's getting better because things like sneezing, laughing, etc., hurt a little less than they did a week ago but, overall, it seems to be healing pretty slow. I guess that isn't uncommon for rib injuries, from what so many others in this thread have said.

I tried sleeping in a reclining chair last night, so I wasn't lying all the way flat, and it seemed to help a little.

This really blows. I bought some football rib pads, which basically just look like the lacrosse or hockey pads, and I'll definitely be wearing them when I start riding again. As bad as the pain is, the worst part of all of this is being off the bike, and I'd rather not deal with this particular injury again if something as simple as those rib pads could help prevent it.


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## e1eveN (Feb 13, 2008)

I joined the club on Friday but just got confirmation this afternoon.

I was coming around a right-hander trying to keep going fast enough to make it up a steep section, and I guess I started cranking too soon. I think the best way to describe what happened is to say I high-sided. I'm not sure if the pedal hit the ground and lifted the rear tire off the ground or if it actually got caught on something, but the next thing I knew I was flying off the side of the bike, through the air and right into an embankment. I wish I could have seen it because I arced through the air. It must have looked really cool. Then I landed on my side with my left arm trapped underneath. 

My first thought was 'oh no, I hope I didn't rupture my brand new Camelbak!' then turned immediately to my inability to draw air into my left lung. I've never knocked the wind out of just one lung before. It was a very strange feeling, being able to breath but not really. I stood up and grunted for a while, which helped.

Went to the doctor the next day and got x-rays taken but their radiologist wasn't in. The doctor said it was probably just bruising and to take over-the-counter Ibuprofen. I called them back today and found out I fractured my 5th and 6th ribs, and they finally gave me a prescription for some decent painkillers. I'm supposed to take it easy for 4-6 weeks but I just got a new bike a month ago and...well...I don't think I can hold out that long.


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## Flytime (Aug 20, 2007)

Guys, (e1eveN and AZ DesertRat),

just take it one day at a time. Think of it as a good time to catch up on some reading. Take long walks if you can and short rides on the road if you don't have pain. Soon enough you'll be back on the trails, riding better than you ever had.:thumbsup: 

Really, things could be a lot worst, take this time to count your blessings.

Get well soon guys...

j


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## AZDesertRat (Sep 5, 2007)

Thanks. That sucks about the other guy's crash. I know the feeling, and it does suck. It's tough to fight the temptation once you feel even slightly good enough to go ride! I admit, I've gone out a couple times in the last few days and I could probably stand to be off the bike for a while longer.


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## ertman (Aug 24, 2007)

Just adding to the thread - crashed hard in a DH race two days ago, went to the emergency for x-rays on the ribs and shoulder. Doc said nothing punctured, didn't look like anything was broken, but they are still waiting for the radiologist to give them a second opinion (I hate the waiting - and the doc will only call if there is "something of concern", whatever that means. I just want to know if I'm nursing broken ribs or bruised ribs.)

What really sucks is that I have a trip to Whistler planned in 2 weeks. Damn, I hope I'm able to ride by then. I think the shoulder will be OK (ice and ibuprofen numb the pain a lot, but no way I am lifting anything with that arm right now), but the ribs concern me - I can't even drive my car yet.


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## msgvb (Nov 19, 2007)

holy crap man, in a DH race, yeah, no doubt that was a crazy spill. can you offer some details on the crash? like what caused it, and how you landed?

hate to say it, but two weeks might be a bit optimistic to be out hittin' it hard again. I was still hurtin' pretty badly by week three, but that was a partial separation at the sternum, about four sore spots. pushups didn't hurt, but like a pull-over type maneuver did; kinda like how you support yourself in riding position.

last time I bruised ribs, it was still a little tender after two weeks, laughing, sneezing, coughing, and getting out of bed being the triggers. that was more of a nuisance though compared to what I was feeling this past go 'round, though. point is it doesn't take much to damage ribs, and even slight injuries can be painful, but when you really hurt yourself, recovery takes a while and there's nothing you can do about it really, aside from taking good care of yourself, eating well, and maybe staying active somehow.

sounds like you're got a real deal injury going on. hopefully nothing's broken, but you've most likely got some stressed connective tissue at the very least, which can prove painful just the same. I think I was out two months on my last crash, and even then, I still wasn't pain free. the worst part was remembering to take my time when I got back out there, balancing between being careful and getting over the fear of getting hurt again. the confidence comes back pretty quickly, though. just take it easy and let it happen, and get over any ego you might have. only had a few of really nasty ones, but I've found that it happens either when I'm being overly confident and careless over little dumb things, or if I've psyched myself out worrying about crashing on something big.

the ego gets bruised more than anything


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## ertman (Aug 24, 2007)

msgvb said:


> holy crap man, in a DH race, yeah, no doubt that was a crazy spill. can you offer some details on the crash? like what caused it, and how you landed?


About 20 people saw the crash, but no one is really quite sure what happened. I was wearing full armour (661) which is a good thing, because they might have been surgically removing bike parts had I not been wearing it.

I was pinning it into a mild corner just before a downhill section - going maybe 30-35km/h. Then within a fraction of a second I am slamming head and shoulder first into the ground. Sat there for a while, first-aiders showed up and walked me off the course. I only noticed the ribs hurting a few minutes later - and they hurt a LOT. I figure that I slammed into the stem or the end of the bars with my chest. Wish someone would have got video of it, because I really want to know what happened (current theories are that I clipped a pedal on a wood feature next to the corner, or I washed out my rear tire, which hit the feature and bucked me over the bars.)


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## msgvb (Nov 19, 2007)

when I did the partial separation on the ribs, I slid more on my upper arm and shoulder. I tucked in my arm to roll it out of the fall, but my momentum was too forward for me to angle and roll, so I just sort of landed and slid on my tucked arm and shoulder before endo'ing onto my head a little. it was the pressure of my arm tucked against my ribcage that caused the separation pressure at the sternum. it was kinda like trying to flatten a bow or an arch; one of the anchor points has to move. it was just enough flex to stress the connective tissue.

where's yours hurt most?

did it go into slow motion for a sec , long enough for you to think, ah crap...

from the sound of it, you're lucky you didn't break your collarbone, or worse, your neck.
good thing you were wearing all the gear, for sure.
I was thinking some sort of chest protection might help prevent compression injuries.


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## redwarrior (Apr 12, 2007)

Here's my story from this past Sunday: Crashed on a "step" type move. Planted my front wheel and went over the bars landing square on a rock with my chest (mostly right side) I felt sonwthing snap and let out a god awful scream. Buddies helped me out of the woods and got the car closer thank goodness.

urns out I have 3 fractured ribs (789 I think) with mild displacement and a bruised lung. Had to spen 2 nights in the hospital to make sure I didn't collapse the lung or that it wouldn't fill with fluid.

Upon returning home today, I pedaled up and down the street for a minute or two. Don't picture myself back in the woods for at least a month, though :madman: 


Red


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## ertman (Aug 24, 2007)

Update 8 days after my crash:

- Finally got word from the radiologist - no broken bones. Yay. I apparently have incredibly dense bones. Drink your milk kids. Still hurts like hell to sneeze or couch, but I can at least tie my own shoes now.

- Shoulder is separated, which is what is really keeping me off the bike for now. Got an EVS shoulder brace on order that should help out. Taping it for now.

11 days til Whistler...


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## blender (Oct 28, 2005)

had a serious high speed crash at Northstar last weekend.
faceplanted into some roots, and took them straight to the left side of my chest.
felt fine after the crash, and rode the next day even stronger than the day before, without any significant discomfort.

Got home, and on Monday the pain started setting in. It's now Friday, and I'm hurting.
Breathing is fine, though a bit painful.. haven't really been taking any pain meds yet.
From everyone else's experiences, sounds like I'm gonna need to take it easy for a few weeks until the bruising heals up.


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## Turmoyl (Aug 1, 2008)

I bruised ribs twice this year already. 

The first time was while snowboarding at Mount Rose Ski Tahoe (near Reno, NV, USA) in February. I was barreling down the Upper Lakeview run on my way to the Lower Lakeview drop-in when a boy of about 12 cut across my path on the KC Traverse. He completely ignored the warning signs to wait and look uphill, and he had headphones on so he couldn't hear me yelling at him. I started to carve hard so I'd pass behind him but he saw me at the last second and froze like a deer in the headlights. My two choices were to plow him or to eat it, so I ate it.

I've never cartwheeled that hard before... truly jarring. My right arm ended up whipping overhand to go underneath me just as I plowed onto my front, right side. The inner ball of my elbow became a tool of destruction as all my weight came down on it. 2 bruised ribs low on my right side, good and proper.

The second time was just a few days after I got my MTB in May, my first ever and also the first time I'd been on a bike in over 20 years. My friend took me on the easy part of an intermediate trail (the beginning section of Thomas Creek) but I still managed to get myself into trouble on a 6 foot long, 1 foot wide, flexible wooden bridge over the creek. I did not have good balance on the bike yet so I didn't line up for the bridge very well, and by the time I was half way across it I was leaning hard. My front tire went off the bridge to the left side and all forward progress halted. I spilled forward and the left side of my chest smashed into the stem. I managed to roll the rest of the way out of it so the only visible damage were some pedal scratches on my left leg and some mud on my right shoulder, but I had bruised 2 more ribs, this time on the left side.

I treated both instances the same, and had the same results both times. I used Ultram (a non-narcotic pain reliever, prescription required) for the first two weeks, took one week off from strenuous activity, wrapped my torso with an ace bandage for support until no longer necessary, used ice for the first 48 hours and heat after that.

In both instances I was back to business after a week although the pain was present in varying degrees for about 8 weeks. For the Winter injury I also used some padding along with the ace wrap because we snowboarders tend to fall face first when we go down hard and I was worried about aggravating the injury more than it had to be if that occurred.

There are few injuries that are as aggravating to me as bruised or broken ribs. Can't sit right, can't sleep right, loss of range of motion due to the pain... all for nothing. You can't stop breathing and you can't be immobilized so there's truly no need for your ribs to be letting you know they're in pain... it's just useless noise, and it goes on and on for weeks.

It's the price we pay to do the things we do, though, and I suppose it beats getting casted and having to lay low for 2 months or more.


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## NW Danny (Oct 12, 2008)

A mile off the Centennial Trail in northern Idaho, riding along the river. White shepard jumps onto the trail and takes out my back wheel (but not my leg!). I pull my left leg up to avoid the jaws of the white beast, hit the breaks, spin right, bo over the bars in a flip, land on my right shoulder/right side. Can't breath for 5 minutes...

Crushed shoulder (no break) and bruised ribs. That was 8 days ago. Ribs are sore. Should is sore. Knees are sore. Lower back is sore. Like everyone else, rising from bed is the worst. Bottle of Vicadin was gone a couple of days ago! Ibuprofin is managing the pain...

With all the stories about ribs and collar bones, there must be a market out here for some space age rib-protectors. Know of anything out there?


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## squishi1993 (Jun 12, 2008)

I had a crash on the 24th of last year and till this day it hurtts to sneeze or laugh hard.

I WAS wondering how u guys get ur confidence back after crashing now am some what scared oh hit big jumps.
any tippss????


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## msgvb (Nov 19, 2007)

ribs are wicked, man, no doubt.
I feel the same way you do after pretty much any significant crash, kinda like you've lost your edge, feeling a little hopeless, emasculated. your body wasn't the only thing bashed up -- ego, too, not to mention the refresher course your survival instinct got.

for me, I found that just getting back out there again, but taking it easy, worked pretty well for getting back into it once reasonably well recovered. just keep riding. the confidence will come back in time. you'll find that once you get your rhythm back, you'll start pushing yourself again a little bit at a time. the series of small triumphs will get you going. just concentrate on having fun again though, and you'll be less likely to psyche yourself out. don't beat yourself up for the crash. everyone crashes. if you don't crash, you're probably not riding on the edge of your limits. or, you're just _that_ good 

.02 for your savings account.


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## squishi1993 (Jun 12, 2008)

msgvb said:


> ribs are wicked, man, no doubt.
> I feel the same way you do after pretty much any significant crash, kinda like you've lost your edge, feeling a little hopeless, emasculated. your body wasn't the only thing bashed up -- ego, too, not to mention the refresher course your survival instinct got.
> 
> for me, I found that just getting back out there again, but taking it easy, worked pretty well for getting back into it once reasonably well recovered. just keep riding. the confidence will come back in time. you'll find that once you get your rhythm back, you'll start pushing yourself again a little bit at a time. the series of small triumphs will get you going. just concentrate on having fun again though, and you'll be less likely to psyche yourself out. don't beat yourself up for the crash. everyone crashes. if you don't crash, you're probably not riding on the edge of your limits. or, you're just _that_ good
> ...


Thanks For the tip.
Am sure it would take a while


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## veloreality (May 10, 2009)

i bruised my ribs last weekend when i crashed my bmx. the lower 3 on my right side are sore. ive broken those same three pretty bad a few years back to where they are deformed a bit(caved inward half an inch more then the left side) 

it didnt feel that bad the day after and since then ive continued to ride. i commute to work every day and ive gone one 3 mountain rides a road ride and road bmx on monday. untill yesterday my ribs were barely even giving me any pain at all but i wake up this morining and can barely sit up. i cant really walk around without leaning over like a troll.

i dont have insurance so getting xrays can be a real hassle. i dont want to go just for them to say theyre bruised. my breathing is pretty normal but maybe a bit comprimised. 
to the touch they are very very sore. im just scared i did something to make it break or fracture and now its pushing on my muscles and lung?

i dont even want to know how much xrays would cost.
worst part of it is i have 3 mtb races next month. two of them are in a week and a half. one is my first super d. 
i know its a bad idea but how can i feel functionable by then?


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## Ace_mon (May 31, 2010)

I took a thirty foot tumble off of a drop two weeks ago. My most obvious injury was a broken wrist, but my back hurts like hell where I think I rolled over a rock. It feels like muscular injury and last friday I was moving something heavy and my muscles there seized up. I got some massages to loosen that stuff up and it worked but it still hurts!!! Idk whats up with my back, I think I have bruised ribs but idk.... when I press down on the sore spots it doesnt hurt so much, mostly when I stop pressing. I start work tomorrow  My parents are gonna be pissed if I have to see a doctor about something else (I'm 19, but I cant pay...I have some lousy insurance)


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## Evan55 (Jul 23, 2009)

So did you guys wait to start riding until you were completely recovered? Or did you start riding after it was mostly better? If so then did it prolong your recovery time or make your ribs hurt more?

Im 2 weeks into my bruised rib recovery. Pain is much improved than the first week (which was terrible) 
I did a light road ride yesterday and ribs hurt more than they had afterwards (and this morning). Im wondering if I should not ride or exercise at all until the ribs heal entirely?


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## Aaron1017 (Jun 1, 2010)

My sternum took at least 5 weeks to be almost better.


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## CommuterGene (Jul 28, 2010)

I bruised mine over two months ago and in the morning I still have to get out of bed carefully to not yelp in pain, riding is fine until I get home, then it hurts like a b. Take is easy and after it feels 100% give it a couple more days.

Best of luck.
Gene


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## Evan55 (Jul 23, 2009)

CommuterGene said:


> I bruised mine over two months ago and in the morning I still have to get out of bed carefully to not yelp in pain, riding is fine until I get home, then it hurts like a b. Take is easy and after it feels 100% give it a couple more days.
> 
> Best of luck.
> Gene


yeah thats about where I am right now, but over 2 months thats a long time! has it just stayed like that for a long time?

I can deal with the pain in the morning and while lying down, but Id really like to get back to doing core workouts, and I cant while the ribs are sore


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## Broncstad (Aug 4, 2009)

*1st time down*

This sucks!!!! Its been 1 week since I endoed going super slow on a tight off camber switchback (Annadale, Lawndale Trail). I didnt even realize my ribs were hurt after I ate it because my knees and elbow were banged up. Like everyone else, the bed is my worst enemy and a cough or sneeze reminds me im hurt. The pain is bad, but only when im relaxed it seems. Its my 1st time down. I'm still kinda new to this super fun sport. From listening to most of the other posts, my bar end might have hit me in the chest.
Couple questions:
Should I ride or wait?
I think Its #1 rib. Its the 1st bone below my collerbone. I have no Medical Ins. Has anyone buised this partical rib? If so, please tell me about it?


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## Evan55 (Jul 23, 2009)

finally starting to get over my left rib bruise, went down on saturday and bruised the right ribs.

im doing something wrong if every time i go down i bruise ribs.....


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## mwmtb (Sep 7, 2008)

Since this seems to be a pretty long list of people who have had rib injuries and I have injured the same rib twice this season(first time, partially separated fracture, this time, I am 99% sure it was just bruised ribs in the same area), I thought this would be a good discussion to ask vs. starting a new thread so here it is. Did any of you look into wearing protective gear after your rib injuries and if so, what did you wear? I'm thinking of this partially for psychological reasons as well as making the home-front a little less worried. In looking around, I didn't find much but I found this rib protector for motorcycles that I saw a cyclist mention.

http://www.forcefieldperformance.com/product/rib-protector/2350

Has anyone used this or anything else? I've gotten on the road bike a few times recently and am going crazy not getting on the mtb so finding something that might help protect the ribs a little would be very helpful! Also, I wear a HRM when I ride so wasn't sure if that would interfere at all. I'm guessing it would not.

Thanks again!


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## N10S (Sep 27, 2004)

Thats an interesting rib protector. I cracked my ribs about two months ago and the hit was on a flat angled rock. Really caused more of a flat high velocity impact and not sure how much a protector like that could diminish the effects of a smashing hit to the ribs? Certainly would provide some cushion and protection against protruding items that might gouge you though. 

I managed to have two different rib cage hammering "get-offs" last weekend. The first was shortly after the start of the ride when I fell and re-injured the same ribcage I hurt a couple of months back. I decided to forge forward on the ride and darned if I didn't overcook a turn about 15 minutes later and down I went smacking the other ribcage! Man I hate ribcage injuires and having both sides injured is a real joy, especially when you lie down or try to get up. I am 52 and it usually takes me 2-3 weeks to get mostly healed and another 2-3 to get all the kinks out. Not much you can do but suck-it up and take ibuprofen now and then.


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## mwmtb (Sep 7, 2008)

Yea, I was wondering that too. One review that I read said that it redistributes 75% of the force so that the impact is much less. My first was on the handlebars and the second time was more of a hard ground impact so it's probably 50/50 for protecting my ribs. Ended up hurting the same rib both times for me so I think it wasn't completely healed anyway. Yea, sleeping is still the worst! I haven't slept without waking up in pain/discomfort since March. Gotta love it!


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## Broncstad (Aug 4, 2009)

I need armor for family peace too!
Which rib for you?
And please describe the level of pain for bruise and fracture. 
I had my wife rub my back a little(my painful rib is in my chest) and the next morning I have sharp pains where she mildly rubbed.(shoulder blade area) it's been 9 days.


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## mwmtb (Sep 7, 2008)

The doc said it was the 7th one on my right side. The first time(fracture), I felt like I had to breath lightly a lot of times or it would hurt so breathing constantly hurt. It seemed to get worse, then better, then worse again and usually different each day. That lasted for 4-6 weeks. I didn't ride at all for 8 weeks which is when I felt the pain was much better. I couldn't lift my arms above my head the first 4 weeks either. Not sure if it was my mind or not, but at times, I could feel a sharpness to the pain too.

The second time (my guess is bruised the same area), I have had no struggle breathing deeply and only when I breath really deep did I feel anything. I've had some odd pains throughout that side of the ribs that makes me think it was more of a muscular issue. It's been 3 weeks now and I feel a ton better. I have been riding my road bike lightly for 1.5 weeks and although my HR was high on the light-medium ride, when I rode up the big hill near my house(my test of how am I feeling), I was gasping for breather(thank you asthma), but no pain at all. That was last Wednesday. Of course, the next morning when I woke up, I hurt. That is pretty much the same in both instances. Waking up from sleeping is no fun. I have to be very careful in how I move as to minimize the pain as I sit up from sleeping. I am guessing the body just settles in and is in an odd position. 

I'm thinking about getting that protector in order to get me out there quicker. my biggest thought was to see if anyone else had experience with anything better. Rib injuries seem to be a very nagging injury. My first time this year, I never felt fully back to normal before wrecking again but up until that wreck, I was having a great time and felt more comfortable than before. This brought me back to my senses a bit! Hope that helps. It definitely seems to take a long time to heal and fully healing takes even longer. Good luck!


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## Evan55 (Jul 23, 2009)

lots of rib protection options out there. there are shirts with low profile rib pads sewn in, used for football hockey and lacrosse mainly. I have one of these
http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/e...CA_DF:3424750:DSP&cid=CSE:GoogleProductSearch
(shoulder caps come off) it breathes well. 
shockdoctor makes a good one that I plan on ordering
http://www.shockdoctor.com/product/crushtech-3-pad-short-sleeve-impact-shirt.aspx

for thicker hardshell padding, you can look at football rib protectors, and kart racing rib protectors. kart racing protectors are most likely to be hard shell yet still slim. do a search for "rib protectors" on google, ebay, or sports store.
it is now football season so you may even be able to try them on at your local sports store

this is my next step, as my 2nd rib bruise came through a DH armor jacket AND the DNA padded shirt.


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## Broncstad (Aug 4, 2009)

Thanks for the desrcriptions mw. 
And thanks for the armor options Evan.


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## jfwebber (Jun 4, 2008)

I'm in the bruised rib club as well. Had a bad crash last year and bruised a few ribs on my left side as well as strained intercostal muscles. It hurt to breath and getting out of bed made me feels as though I would pass out. I wanted to beat anyone who tried to make me laugh and sneezing was unbearable. Went to the ER two days after it happened just to make sure nothing was broken and the ER doc gave me some nice meds to make me feel all nice and relaxed.

I was back on the bike in 4 weeks and finally pain free in about 6 weeks.


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## Broncstad (Aug 4, 2009)

Today was the day 11 of my recovery from my endo resulting in some abrasions and number 1 and possibly 2 rib bruise. I went on a little 10 miler today and yes it was uncomfortable and a little painful, but no more than typing this, going to work, or sleeping. pretty much the same pain. There was a potential disaster at one point when my front wheel washed out, but I was able to unclip fast enough and plant my foot which hurt a little.Other than that I am glad I went. I actaully feel a little better.


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## radziu82 (Aug 30, 2010)

*Rib bruise - Day 2.*

Well this is the end of day 2 of my second rib bruising this year and it sucks as you cant do anything physical for a while. Damn you endo 

For those of you without insurance i think that if you dont have trouble breathing, and or arent spitting up blood, you do not require immediate medical attention.

I find the only way to improve sleep is to immobilize yourself in bed, this also helps speed healing as if you rollover at night, not only will you wake up very rudely, youll aggrivate the bruise. Pillows at sides work reasonably well. I find the best pain killer by far is ganja(where applicable).

Although ive been reading this site for a while and you guys helped me pick my new bike, this is my first post, go figure. Good luck to you all and a speedy recovery for those like me.


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## N10S (Sep 27, 2004)

I am into my third week of healing after a second rib cracking this summer. This time it was two wrecks on one ride and cracking each side of my ribs so both rib cages have been aching at once. Arghh.. I am glad I am almost past it. My left side finally popped back into place earlier today relieving that gnawing discomfort. Just hope it holds this time. Usually I can lay on my back but not on my side but it has been ultra uncomfortable to lay on my back this time and the only way I have been able to sleep is on my side. You can buy a rib brace/wrap at the drug store that will help stabilize your ribs and help the healing process along, but the bottom line is just giving it time to heal.


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## bing! (Jul 8, 2010)

cracked ribs, 12 weeks for complete healing.


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## mwmtb (Sep 7, 2008)

Evan55, Thanks for the tip! I bought this one after searching around online (found it somewhere for $59.99 - http://www.shockdoctor.com/product/crushtech-3-pad-short-sleeve-impact-shirt.aspx)
I took my first mtb ride yesterday after way too long off. only did 1 lap and slow it was but I did not fall again and having that rib protection gave me a little more confidence. Still don't want to actually test it out but if I am forced to, I am glad I have it. I doubt I'll use it for too long but until the rib feels completely ok and until I get my confidence back, it'll be with me every time! As for a review, I loved it. I didn't even feel it there while riding but it did make me sweat more. Not sure it was that much more though. I definitely liked the security it gave me! Thanks again!



Evan55 said:


> lots of rib protection options out there. there are shirts with low profile rib pads sewn in, used for football hockey and lacrosse mainly. I have one of these
> http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/e...CA_DF:3424750:DSP&cid=CSE:GoogleProductSearch
> (shoulder caps come off) it breathes well.
> shockdoctor makes a good one that I plan on ordering
> ...


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## littlebus (Apr 25, 2010)

the fact that this thread is two pages long makes me feel better...haha...im broke my rib last year...didnt know it till a week later when i sneezed,...now i have a bruised rib cage and it hurts a lot more!....i slamed on sunday...rode the next sat...think i made it worse....its sooo sore now lets see what happends by this weekend....


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## gingus (Sep 27, 2004)

I guess I'm in the club as well. I hope I am better for next as we will be in St. George. So, hopefully I can ride Gooseberry.


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## kwalam (May 30, 2008)

Pretty sure I either cracked or did some major internal bruising around my right rib after an endo this weekend in the trails where the handle bar jabbed into my chest as I came tumbling down. 

I had a similar injury about 10yrs ago and it felt like a constant cramp..Hurts to cough, laugh or twisting of the arms or hips. It doesn't hurt to breath hard so I'm riding into work but will probably stay off the mtb for awhile. Expect to heal within 6wks..if it is a fractured rib. Otherwise if its just bruising I should be fine in about a week or so.


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## dmc123 (Jun 14, 2006)

I didn't read every post but I probably have the record. A month ago today I broke 7 ribs, one twice and my collarbone on a small jump that went bad. Considering getting on the trainer for the first time to celebrate the day!


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## Ted_R (Feb 21, 2011)

Bruised 3 or 4 ribs on the left side last Sunday on a technically crazy trail. I feel much better a week later, I rode the streets around my neighborhood yesterday and today. The ride went better than I expected.

I am getting where I can cough with a minimum of pain. Actually I am surprised that the healing is going this quickly I expected more grief. ( I had plenty the first 3 or 4 days  )

I could probably do the trails now but one crash on the injured ribs would be excruciating. I think I am gonna wait until they are close to perfect and just ride the streets in the meantime.

This rib bruising thing has made me take a serious look at body armor. Even though I only ride trails, the old phrase " better safe than sorry " is starting to have a whole new meaning for me . I like the look of this this company's stuff http://www.forcefieldperformance.com/product/extreme-harness-adventure/2347 Their rib protector was mentioned earlier in this thread.

Anyway, best of luck to all here, I feel your pain.

Ted

Update: Back on the trails as of 4/9/11


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## erringtonnc (Feb 16, 2008)

Took a spill a couple of weeks ago on my 2nd mtb ride of the season. I did a jump on a trail that I had not ridden before on a new bike and took a bar end and tire to the right ribs. It was painful but not too bad at the time. I managed to ride another 6 or so miles and completed the ride albeit in pain. I rode again a few days later with a little discomfort but again nothing major. However it has been getting worse and now 2 weeks later I am in some discomfort just sitting on the couch. I cracked a rib 3 years ago on the left side and then bruised ribs again on the left side just over a year ago and I remember the Doc saying that the pain could come and go and that it could take a few months to completely heal. This most recent spill didn't seem as bad as the others but I am getting a little concerned that it is feeling worse and not better.


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## brassnipples (Feb 26, 2006)

Is there any value to going to a doc for banged up ribs? I had a spill early in a race on Saturday and took a handlebar end right to a rib, the pain was manageable for the rest of the race but it's been getting progressively more uncomfortable the last two days. It's really quite painful (seeing stars when I shift in my sleep), but nothing is shifting around and normal breathing is mostly painless, so I'm inclined to think that it's just a bruise or crack. From the bit of research I've done it sounds like a doctor is just going to confirm that damage was done and tell me to lay off for a bit which sounds like a waste of his time and mine.

Oh, and make sure to check your bike has plugs on the ends of the bar, mine would have taken a core sample if they hadn't been there.


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## Evan55 (Jul 23, 2009)

brassnipples said:


> Is there any value to going to a doc for banged up ribs? I had a spill early in a race on Saturday and took a handlebar end right to a rib, the pain was manageable for the rest of the race but it's been getting progressively more uncomfortable the last two days. It's really quite painful (seeing stars when I shift in my sleep), but nothing is shifting around and normal breathing is mostly painless, so I'm inclined to think that it's just a bruise or crack. From the bit of research I've done it sounds like a doctor is just going to confirm that damage was done and tell me to lay off for a bit which sounds like a waste of his time and mine.
> 
> Oh, and make sure to check your bike has plugs on the ends of the bar, mine would have taken a core sample if they hadn't been there.


not really. even if your ribs are broken there is no change in treatment. i went to the doc when i bruised mine bad and they took an xray but it didnt matter either way. its a good 6 weeks until you will feel better.


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## swoodbrn (Oct 5, 2005)

*separated vs. broken*



AZDesertRat said:


> I'm learning how much rib injuries suck. I've been off the bike for 9 days now after a pretty nasty OTB incident, and I'm going nuts. Every time that I think, "hey, it doesn't hurt as bad today", the pain shows back up. In all honesty, it doesn't feel much different than it did when the pain first kicked in 100%, but I guess the pain has gotten slightly better (or I'm just getting used to it). I haven't been to the doc, so I don't know if they're bruised, cracked, separated, or what. I'm kind of thinking they aren't cracked, since I'm guessing the pain would be more severe than what I'm experiencing (though the pain is significant). At any rate, this sucks. I have mixed emotions while reading all of these posts about long recovery times. On one hand, I feel better knowing that it isn't uncommon at all to still be in pain 9 days later but, on the other hand, it makes me sick to think I'll be off the bike for much longer. I might have to start going to the gym and using the cycle machine just to keep in shape while I'm sidelined.


Actually, my doc said the pain from separated ribs can be greater and longer lasting than for broken ones. By "separated" he meant damage to the cartilage that holds them to the sternum(?). Not that it really matters, as the treatment for both seems to be the same...nothing.


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## JonathanGennick (Sep 15, 2006)

brassnipples said:


> I had a spill early in a race on Saturday and took a handlebar end right to a rib, the pain was manageable for the rest of the race but it's been getting progressively more uncomfortable the last two days.


The "progressively more uncomfortable" part catches my eye here. I'm trying to remember back when I whacked my own ribs a couple years ago, whether there was a progression in pain at first or not. Honestly, my memory isn't clear on that point.

If your pain levels don't stabilize after a few days, you might consider a doctor just for your own peace of mind.

When I whacked my ribs in a crash a couple of years ago, I just toughed it out. I hate going to the doctor and paying all that money only to get either no treatment, or just palliative treatment such as pain relief. So I am generally in the tough-it-out camp until I become certain that there is something a doctor can do that goes beyond pain-relief towards actual healing.

It is true, btw, that the treatment for bruised and cracked ribs is to just tough it out. Years ago, doctors would sometimes wrap a patient's chest. I've read though, that such wrapping leads to problems with fluid build up in the lungs. My understanding (and I am not a qualified medical person) is that current thinking suggests it is better to not restrict lung movement, to let the lungs move even though it hurts in order to avoid problems w/pneumonia. Like I say, I'm no doctor, but the foregoing is my current understanding.


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## FNG RIDER (Apr 2, 2011)

I fractured a couple of ribs two yrs ago. I clipped some roots that I have been across many times before, this time it tossed me! I just tuffed it out, off the bike for about 3 months. sucked,l missed May thru August of the riding season! don't, cough, laugh nor wake up in the mornings! recently I bruise some ribs when I hit a speed bump after a long 75 mile road ride., I was tired and wasn't paying attention! Its been about 3 weeks (almost healed up) and I continue to ride, but no jumps, bunny hops, manuals. just wheels on the ground.stuff. This time I went to the Chiro, He x rayd, electro stim, iced and Physical therapy and massage therapy. The 2 very attractive therapist helped the most, for the short term anyways! so did the 1000mgs of Tylenol, lmao!!


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## mtnbeer (Jul 2, 2007)

*Is there any value to going to a doc for banged up ribs?*



brassnipples said:


> Is there any value to going to a doc for banged up ribs? ...


A MD visit can tell you whether you have bruised or broken ribs. 
A Chiro or Osteopath may be able to move a displaced ribs back into place. Otherwise it may heal in the wrong place or never heal correctly.


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## Pedro S (Oct 17, 2010)

New member to the bruised/cracked ribs club checking in.

I was very slowly, perhaps too slowly negotiating an off camber downhill switchback when I went down hard on my right side. Not sure how it happened, didn't even have time to try to unclip. I hit the ground with my forearm between my rib cage and the ground. I couldn't breath at all for a minute or two and thought I might need to be carried off the trail. Once I got my breath back, I dusted myself off and continued to ride at a slower pace for a few more miles at which point the ribs started hurting so I turned back to the trail head and went home. 

Now I'm eating Vicodin sitting on the couch watching TV while it's perfect riding weather.:cryin:

It's all I can do to keep from screaming in pain when I try to lay down or get up from bed. Guess I'll be off the bike for a few weeks now.:cryin:

On the bright side, I get a pass from doing yard work for a while.:thumbsup:


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## Pedro S (Oct 17, 2010)

A second visit to the MD and an x-ray show a fractured right 7th rib. Good times...not.


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## Tim-H (Mar 20, 2010)

Fun right? I'm a week and a half in on my bruising. It felt like I broke something the day of and after but I think it's healing too quickly to be broken. Sneezing still makes me pause from absolute pain and laying down hurts like hell when I turn but everything else is OK for the most part. Maybe reaching up for stuff.

Anyway, I went for a ride just this last saturday, a week after the accident, and riding was OK. Dropping off of anything was painful so I just stuck to the xc trails.

It'll heal quick enough. My fall was enough to give me a light concussion, talk about a weird feeling. Hell, I might have cracked a rib. I never went to the doctor but everything looks fine visually and nothing feels swollen or out of place when I go over them with my fingers, there's really nothing they can do other than tell me to take it easy and let it heal.


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## Tupelo (Dec 23, 2010)

Rule of Thumb for ribs....

8 weeks


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## iKona40 (Feb 8, 2009)

*I'm in!*

A week ago I was out riding with a friend. We began to pick up speed on a slight downhill, rocky section and I told him I was going to back off and put some room between us. No sooner had I said that, when I caught my left grip on a tree, had the handlebars rip from my hands and landed rib first onto a wonderfully solid boulder, stone / whatever. There was a pronounced POP and immediate tightness. Finished of the ride going another 20 miles, just trying to "ride it out."

Things got worse at home.

After a few days, I went for x-rays and found out I had fractured my 10th rib on the left side.

Pain continued to build in my chest / sternum area over the course of the week and this morning when shifting in bed slightly there was a NEW POP with shooting pain. Good times.

So now I'm guessing fractured 10th rib, and possibly detached rib / from the sternum, based upon my symtoms.

Planning on going to a sports doctor this week to have MRI done to check for soft tissue damage.

Sooo, one week in and this is as bad as it's been.

I'd prefer not to be a member of this club. Was at the best physical condition of my life since high school, and I'm 43 now. :madman:

What's up with all the trees and rocks in the woods anyway? :thumbsup:


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## Mishtar (Jun 3, 2011)

msgvb said:


> wellt, it's official -- four separated ribs.
> took a spill off a stupid little jump this past Saturday morning and tucked my arm in instinctively to roll out of it. didn't get the opportunity for the roll part and took the brunt of the hit sliding on my shoulder and tucked in upper arm, which transfered the impact to my chest.
> 
> I figured I just had some bruised ribs, having had that fun experience before, but something about this injury felt different. after reading this post and doing a little reading about rib injuries on the web last weekend, I suspected separation. Doc confirmed it for me yesterday, the pain having worsened the day before.
> ...


I know this post is like five years old now but I think what you describe explains what I am feeling. I lost it in a berm and landed hard on my shoulder, body armor protected the shoulder so no pain there, but I felt what seemed liked my ribs compressing and a small pop from what is in between them. It hurts a bit to breath deep or blow my nose or cough but I was still able to ride most of the trails on lower whistler yesterday which was the day after but now today it is a bit more tender. I knew I had not broken anything but was not sure what I did but a separation makes sense.

I am back in whistler next week Friday for 7 days so I hope most of the pain is gone by then. It hurts but does not seem nearly as bad as most of you.


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## OUWxGuesser (May 14, 2011)

Might as well add to the thread - just had my first major crash on some Colorado singletrack... pretty mad as I had already rode that part of the trail before and it was straightforward. Second time around I made the descent, and at the end there was a nice washboarded out section of trail. Must have tapped the front brake wrong at the bottom of one of the divots and before I knew it, I was slammed into the ground at a high rate of speed. 

Nice scraped up arm, shoulder, and love handle ... knocked the wind out of me and tweaked my back. Day after, back was fine, but I noticed I had some surface numbing in the love handle region. Two days later, and I really stared to feel pain in the front ribs... lines up nicely with where my elbow probably was when I hit the ground. 

Half a week later, and now it's hard to sleep in several positions, breathing hard/deep (while riding of course) hurts, and the worst is sneezing. So far I'm toughing it out, but I'm wondering if eventually a Chiro visit is in order. I'll probably wait the rest of the week out and see how it goes.


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## Mugochap (Nov 12, 2010)

I did had the biggest endo of my life 2 two weeks ago and landed hard on my right side. Ribs hurt immediately. I rode another 7 miles or so, but eventually had to cut the ride short because I was in too much discomfort. The first three days or so were brutal, everything hurt. Then gradually they started feeling better and better... weird thing is that on my road bike, they felt perfectly fine. I even did a century ride one week after the crash with minimal discomfort. 

Yesterday morning I tried going for a run before work and thought I was going to die about 1/4 mile in, so I stopped. Then throughout the day the pain got worse and worse to the point that I was in agony by the time I left work around 4:30.

I decided to set up a DR appointment and will go find out what's up today... all I can say is that this sucks!! Sleeping on my right side has been miserable since the day it happened. I just want to get a good nights sleep here soon and get these damn ribs/muscles healed up!


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## ghettocop (Jul 26, 2011)

Man do I sympathize with you guys. I wish we had one big giant broken rib house we could all hang out in and scream and moan and share meds. I am 6 days into my cracked ribs and the pain just gets worse and worse it seems. I went to the ER from the trail and then my Doctor early this week. As everyone else has stated, unless there is a shard or fragment that could possibly deflate a lung, there is no treatment other than rest and ice. I was prescribed some Vicodin, and while it helps, it also makes me feel a little too weird, so I will be happy to be off it soon. I know we are not supposed to wrap them for fear of pneumonia, but I have found some relief from periods of tightly wrapping them. I miss riding more than anything else, and the way they feel now, can't envision being able to ride anytime soon. Totaly sucks.


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## Mugochap (Nov 12, 2010)

Sorry to hear that ghettocop, hopefully you'll heal up quickly and be riding soon... 

It turns out I have a severely strained intercostal muscle, torn cartilage and small fracture on the 'floating' rib... here's to hoping I'll be able to heal quickly! I have a sprint race on Oct 6th and then a two day 180 mile charity ride on the 13th/14th.


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## brad72 (Jun 12, 2009)

Well i'm 8 weeks out from a chostochondral separation and bruised ribs and can do everything pretty normally but sleeping comfortably on that side.

7 days post accident were the worst when the rib popped out in the night with an grinding sound followed by excruciating pain. The best thing I found for good sleep to lie on my good side and put a a pillow behind my back, one between my knees, one in front of my chest and an extra one under my head. Lot's of pillows but worked a treat, although my wife was pissed she had little room in the bed. 

Hope you guys get better soon


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## huffster (Nov 14, 2011)

*Things to avoid with rib injury...*

- Breathing deep
- Sneezing
- Laughing hard
- Sitting up from a laying down position
- Getting out of car
- Sleeping (especially on your side)
- Hugs
- Washing your back in the shower
- Bending over to tie your shoes
- Lifting stuff
- Jumping
- Twisting

OK, I'm 7 days in to my rib injury (sustained by taking a handlbar to the ribs during an OTB). I went for a ride yesterday...I couldn't take it any more. It still hurts! So, I guess I should add...
- Mountain biking

Apparently, the rib bone is connected to...EVERYTHING!!!!


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## brad72 (Jun 12, 2009)

I certainly learnt to isolate my core and eliminate a lot of pain. But you are right, every movement seems to involve the ribs

The best feeling though was being able to yawn after about 5 weeks. Felt sooooo good.


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## starry (Jun 9, 2009)

man, i endo'd yesterday on a steep technical downhill, so i flew for a good amount of time. Landed on my side, cracked my helmet right above the temple. As soon as i hit, i couldn't breathe at all for like 30 seconds....was doing that strange-sound-fish-flop thing. Kinda freaked out my riding buddies.

Cracked some ribs and bruised like all the rest. Left side of my body feels like someone took a bat to it. My shoulder feels dead, and i can't lift my arm at all, but they said no break there. Deep breathing sucks, but shallower breaths are ok,,,Getting out of bed or out of a chair is pure torture.

Just totally sucks..was just hitting my stride in terms of best riding shape i've ever been in, really.

So is it best to let the body tell you what's up in terms of riding? i know i'll be off for awhile. Is it ok to ride stationary, and get your heart rate up, even if it hurts when you breathe deeply? is that ok to do, or is breathing too deeply bad....

Any other pieces of advice besides pain killers and ibuprofen?


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## beshannon (Oct 14, 2012)

Glad for the advice in this thread, wiped out on Friday and landed hard on my left side.

The worst part was after I had the strength to get up, I had to fix a few things on the bike before I could try and ride home.

Feeling a bit sore still but I guess it will just take a few more days.


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## GnarBrahWyo (Jun 4, 2012)

Thanks, Google, for directing me to ancient threads. Sounds like this is my prob too. Deep breaths hurt, but when I ride the pain subsides...for a while...I guess I just have to play the "wait and see game". Here is a pic of my crash. OTB'd and landed right on my left side.


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## swoodbrn (Oct 5, 2005)

Awesome pic! Enjoy your nights for a few weeks.


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## Bubblehead10mm (Jan 6, 2013)

Just one more war story to add to the list. I think I might have fallen asleep(no joke) because I don't know what happened but believe I hit wet roots on the inside of a down hill bench cut. Any how I remeber my helmet hitting the ground forward. Landed on my left side with my arms up and contorted so head hit to. basically bounced off my rib cage. (all this at Fredricsburg, VA BTW) 
Recovery time first week I didn't dare sneeze and actually said "no! no! don't make me laugh " although I was renting a kayak at the time. 
Keeping moving helps and you have to keep the lungs working but a sneeze was like a hot knife sliding in. 
after 2 weeks I got back to some light work outs and riding park trail (along Erie Canal this time.) Exersize burned like hell but the day after was sublime by comparison. 
Definetly start to move asap.


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## GnarBrahWyo (Jun 4, 2012)

I will chime in and update everyone on my condition. I went to the doc and got an Xray, he said I could fractured a rib but it would have been to fine of a fracture to see on the X ray film. More than likely it was just a bruise. At any rate, I am finally feeling healed up after about 4 weeks of relative pain. I started thinking and worrying it could be something else...BUT it finally went away. Rib injuries suck and take a long time to heal. Glad it happened at the tail end of the riding season rather than the start !


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## brad72 (Jun 12, 2009)

About 4 months out and i can finally stretch out my ribs properly without them hurting. Yay. 

Great Picture GnarBrahWyo. A lot more spectacular than my fall


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## GnarBrahWyo (Jun 4, 2012)

brad72 said:


> About 4 months out and i can finally stretch out my ribs properly without them hurting. Yay.
> 
> Great Picture GnarBrahWyo. A lot more spectacular than my fall


Glad you're on the mend! I was getting worried for a while about my pain. Thought it might be something else (you start going crazy with things you think it might be) but I am better. We ride again!


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## outback97 (Oct 3, 2012)

A google search led me to this thread, so here's my story to add to the tales of misery. Three weeks ago I wanted to get one last ride in the mountains before the snow arrived. All went well until I found myself slowly climbing up a section of trail that went from a bit of mud to frozen mud to ice covered ground pretty rapidly.

I ran out of momentum and put my feet down, finding that it was so slippery it was almost impossible to stand up. As I was thinking, "this isn't too good", my feet slipped out from underneath me and I jammed my left forearm into my ribs as I went down hard.

Riding back down was uncomfortable but not as painful as the next several days... like many other here have mentioned, getting out of bed and things like laughing, coughing or sneezing are probably the worst. Sleeping has been hard and it seems like mornings are the most painful, then it gets better during the day.

Took the bike around the neighborhood and local park Sunday afternoon, exactly three weeks after my crash. It felt great to be back on the bike. Everything was wonderful until for some reason I decided to drop a small ledge coming down a dirt hill to a flat asphalt parking lot.

I went down the hill with a little more speed than I should have, my seatpost was a little higher than it should have been, took the ledge a little uneasily, landed flat but then kind of pogoed a bit from the suspension. My weight went too far forward, I may have grabbed some front brake (STUPID), honestly I don't know, but I bit it hard on the asphalt, going OTB and kind of half superman-ing onto my RIGHT side. It probably looked a lot like GnarBroh's photo above, but with asphalt instead of trail.

My helmet (glad I was wearing one) took a good scrape but did not break. Fortunately I was wearing gloves, jacket and pants as the weather was in the 50's, or I would have been scraped up a lot worse. Bike got some scrapes on the bars, grips and stem. Was just starting to feel better from the first one, and now I get to start it all over again, but now with elbow, knee and shoulder pain added in. D'OH!

Ice and ibuprofen help take the edge off but just time and taking it easy are about all you can do I think.


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## trevordchi (Nov 2, 2013)

Well you can add me to the list. Last Saturday I went down a trail I shouldn't have, tried to ditch the bike, and ended up with my chest landing on the saddle. It knocked the breath out of me and it took me a good 5-10 minutes to regain my composure but I was ok after that. I finished my ride without issue. It was a bit sore the next day but nothing bad so I went on another 10 mile ride. Bad Idea....

That was last weekend and I've been 7 days no bike no exercise no nothing. Feels like crap every morning but seems to get better throughout the day. I refuse to take pills unless it's absolutely necessary so I've been eating garlic and tumeric powder constantly. 

Hopefully one more week of rest and I'll be able to resume my commute. I feel like a damn dog that needs to exercise or I just turn into a douche.


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## trevordchi (Nov 2, 2013)

Well it has been 23 days and I finally feel good enough to resume commuting today. Too bad its 30 out with 90% humidity. I couldn't be happier to get on the bike no matter what the weather. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk


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## outback97 (Oct 3, 2012)

Trevordchi, hope you're continuing to do better! These injuries suck. I was just looking at my bike last night and noticed that my saddle is quite broken, must have happened when the bike flipped over in my endo.

It has been a month since my right side injury, and seven weeks since the original left side which was ribs only. Left side is doing well, I don't have much pain anymore but still have occasional discomfort. Right side is another story. Still a lot of rib pain, sometimes very acute and sharp. If I look at the average for a week, it's getting better every week. But some individual days or moments there is as much pain as there was a month ago. Kind of discouraging.

Since I know the rib injuries take a long time to heal, I'm not as worried about that as I am about my knee and wrist. The knee got pretty banged up slamming into the pavement. I went into instacare three weeks ago (a week after crash) and xrays did not show any fractures, but it's still really stiff and hurts when it's bent, as when pulling on socks or shoes.

My wrists were sore from my hands taking a lot of the impact, but now the right one hurts doing specific movements like grasping a plate, opening a door, et cetera. I started reading about scaphoid injuries and freaked myself out about that for a while, but hopefully it's just a sprain.

I'm glad this didn't happen in the spring or summer. And I'm contemplating a dropper seatpost to make getting my weight back on the bike a little easier. Looking forward to healing and feeling good again. Despite all the above whinging I can't wait to get back on a bike!


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## starry (Jun 9, 2009)

yeah, just hang in there. i posted about exactly a year ago on here, and it was really my first rib injury...That **** lasted like 3 months before i was finally pain free. I had no idea they were so persistent and long healing.

But yeah if you're going to pick a time to have an injury, now is probably the "best" time at least (if you live in a cold weather area, which i assume you do).

Take time off the bike, then build back slowly and you will be killing it later in the winter/early spring.



outback97 said:


> Trevordchi, hope you're continuing to do better! These injuries suck. I was just looking at my bike last night and noticed that my saddle is quite broken, must have happened when the bike flipped over in my endo.
> 
> It has been a month since my right side injury, and seven weeks since the original left side which was ribs only. Left side is doing well, I don't have much pain anymore but still have occasional discomfort. Right side is another story. Still a lot of rib pain, sometimes very acute and sharp. If I look at the average for a week, it's getting better every week. But some individual days or moments there is as much pain as there was a month ago. Kind of discouraging.
> 
> ...


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## mtrain (May 28, 2008)

I had this OTB rib bruiser this weekend. Ibuprofen and stretching has been helping me but I think it's going to be sore for awhile. As other people have said the best thing is to keep moving so it doesn't stiffen up.

taco - YouTube


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## outback97 (Oct 3, 2012)

starry said:


> yeah, just hang in there. i posted about exactly a year ago on here, and it was really my first rib injury...That **** lasted like 3 months before i was finally pain free. I had no idea they were so persistent and long healing.
> 
> But yeah if you're going to pick a time to have an injury, now is probably the "best" time at least (if you live in a cold weather area, which i assume you do).
> 
> Take time off the bike, then build back slowly and you will be killing it later in the winter/early spring.


Thanks. I re-read your post from last year and it sounds like yours was worse than mine, at least in how much impact your chest got. Ouch. I hate that wind knocked out sensation, fortunately haven't had that in a while.

I live in SLC so it's relatively cold here right now. I have never liked this time of year, kinda too cold for biking (IMO) but not enough snow for skiing or snowboarding. I dislike the gym but normally get a three month membership starting around now to keep some level of activity going through the winter months. I rarely go boarding before late January anyway so I should still get some days in late winter.

I have noticed that not getting enough physical activity really affects my mood and that's part of the problem. Hopefully the knee will cooperate enough to do some work at the gym. Keep the rubber side down everybody!


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## outback97 (Oct 3, 2012)

mtrain said:


> I had this OTB rib bruiser this weekend. Ibuprofen and stretching has been helping me but I think it's going to be sore for awhile. As other people have said the best thing is to keep moving so it doesn't stiffen up.
> 
> taco - YouTube


Ouch, damn. Hope you heal soon! Wheel tacoed upon landing, then caused the OTB? I wish I had a video of mine so I could see just what the hell I did, I'm still not sure.

A cold pack definitely helped me for the first few days. Also combining ibuprofen and acetaminophen seemed to work a little better than ibuprofen alone.


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## mtrain (May 28, 2008)

outback97 said:


> Ouch, damn. Hope you heal soon! Wheel tacoed upon landing, then caused the OTB? I wish I had a video of mine so I could see just what the hell I did, I'm still not sure.
> 
> A cold pack definitely helped me for the first few days. Also combining ibuprofen and acetaminophen seemed to work a little better than ibuprofen alone.


When I hit the jump I was aimed a little to far to the left so when I landed the front wheel hit the uphill side of the trail and hooked sideways. This flipped the bike and me and in the process taco'ed the front wheel and bent the derailleur mount. I had to walk the bike out and now its at the shop getting a new front rim and derailleur mount. It's always a bummer to crash but you take the good with the bad and I'm glad that it wasn't worse.


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## PlutonicPlague (Jan 19, 2014)

I just read thru this entire thread, and now I don' feel so alone. I've been nursing a shoulder injury I sustained during a nasty hydraulic thrashing, after a faceplant in the pit of an overhead wave that I took off on a little too late (for a slow old man). That was around the end of Oct. I was in pretty decent shape until then. I tried surfing some small clean waves in Dec, and it was still sore, and then I started getting short-lived attacks of a weird numbness all along the top of that shoulder. Those finally stopped.
I was getting out of shape, but I went surfing again in the first week of January when we had some small clean waves again. I surfed for two hours. MISTAKE! should have cut it short after the first hour. I got nailed in the back of my rib cage by my board on a wipeout. Hardly felt it, and didn't think anything of it at the time.
Next day my abs and lower back felt overworked, and it kinda felt like I had bruised a rib where the board had hit, but not bad.
A couple of days later, I took a 30 minute ride on my SS and was warmed up enough to feel like going for a thorough ab and core workout. 
I overdid it. Next day I cramped up like I'd never felt in my entire life. All of my abs and lower back and side muscles cramped up tighter that I thought possible, and they would not relax. They were spasming in places, and I could barely keep from crying out. I could not lie down nor sleep all night, but had to stand leaning in a corner, or else stand leaning over my kitchen table supported by my arms with my palms flat on the table top. My feet even swelled up.
I made sure that I was drinking enough water, and I was eating raisins, bananas, satsumas, and potatoes, etc (all supposedly decent natural sources of electrolytes). Too late already!
The cramping was also pulling on my bruised rib, sending sharp pains. I was eating 600mgs of ibuprofen every 4 hours, so my supply would last until the next day (I was low). Finally let up a bit by mid morning and I was able to nap in my easy chair.
Next night same thing, but not quite so bad, except that I noticed a sharp pain on the front of my ribcage, directly over the spot where I had broken two ribs back in 1975. That's right, 1975...a bodysurfing accident at Sandy Beach on Oahu when a wave slammed me onto a tourist. One of the broken ribs had punctured my right lung, which had collapsed by the time I made it to the beach, and the doc had inserted a tube thru an incision so as to drain any fluid between my lung and ribcage. There's still a 3/4" scar there.
Well, my abs continued to cramp up badly, and during one bad episode, it felt like those ribs under that old injury were being torn apart, right where that scar is. I was getting sharp pains from my old injury of 40 years ago! (I turned 63 last Sept).
I finally got over it after a few more days, and both spots on my ribs are still tender.
Now I am carefully and slowly starting to stretch and work out very lightly again. 
Today I walked a couple miles on the beach for a warm-up, and did some light sitting rowing and light upper body stuff. I have to be careful not to overdo it again. So far, so good.
My Pugs is nearly done, and I hope to take my first ride on it tomorrow, if it doesn't rain. I need to work on my legs.
Gettin' old ain't for wimps!


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## danmtchl (Sep 18, 2004)

I just fractured my rib on Saturday on my 43rd birthday. My doctor said I could ride but take it easy, so I basically have to stay on the bike trail rather than off road. When I fractured it, I had to ride 8 miles back to the truck and it was not really that bad. Just when I sat down on the couch or in bed is the absolute worst.


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## swoodbrn (Oct 5, 2005)

Welcome to the club. Yes, ride, don't sleep. You may find that riding (and any other position where the ribs are 'hanging' from the spine), is more comfortable than static/reclined activities, where the ribs are planted and compressing (ouch).


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## GnarBrahWyo (Jun 4, 2012)

My ribs hurt for a long, long time. I started to think I might have something going on internally in my abdomen like cancer or something because I thought there was no way these ribs would take so long to heal. Eventually though, pain went a way. Breathing heavily was the worst though.


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## sooshee (Jun 16, 2012)

Quarter mile from the finish line riding in 2nd place at a race this weekend I decided to somehow have a major wreck (I still don't know how it happened) and I went from about 15mph to 0mph in a matter of seconds on a big boulder and scratchy bush and cactus face down. Since I was racing, I jumped immediately up and got back on my bike and headed towards the finish. My arms were all road rash and I was mostly concerned with how much my breasts hurt (I'm a girl, tender area!). It wasn't until the next morning when I woke up I realized it really hurt to breathe, cough, laugh, move. Skipping the doctor visit since I know they won't do much, but I'm guessing I have at least a bruise, if not some finely cracked ribs (I'm an orthopedic RN so I'm comfortable with my assumptions). Very tender on my right side over two ribs. Been doing some road rides, and it's ok but wearing a heart rate monitor over the area isn't comfortable. Just really have to concentrate on deep exhales out. 

Oh well, I'm racing again tomorrow night. No rest for the broken!


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## Betarad (Oct 24, 2009)

Well, sign me up. Here's what my front wheel looked like after a large stick somehow got thrown into my spokes at speed while flying down a root garden a few days ago. I was OTB and on the ground so fast, I didn't know what just happened. Landed right on some nasty roots, totally bruised my entire right side. Funny how utterly painful bruised ribs are to sleep on. I've broken both collarbones before, I'm almost thinking this is worse. Almost.

I've got a 3 week mtb road trip starting in 4 weeks, including Mountain Bike Oregon in July. Gotta try to keep getting rides in until then, but having a hard time envisioning that right now. Hoping once all my arm and leg bruising subsides and I'm just left with the ribs, things will settle down enough to get back at it.

Oh well, after analyzing what went wrong and where it happened, it could have been a whole lot worse. Pain is temporary. Time to push on through.


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## philip5296 (May 15, 2014)

"...rope attached to the foot of my bed..." Hey I appreciate this suggestion. I broke three ribs on a high speed getoff a week ago and live alone. 

The morning after when I realized I couldn't get up and there was nobody to ask for help...well it sucked. 

It's pretty damn hard trying to get out of bed right now. I'll try the rope tonight. That sounds way better than ten minutes trying various methods until I wind up just sortof sliding my butt off the side of the mattress down the side of my bed into a seated position on the floor where I groan and catch my breath for a few minutes before trying to stand up from there. This method hurts like hell but that's better than trying to sit up IN the bed. Impossible right this minute...

Git the rope...


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## ladljon (Nov 30, 2011)

Zyflamend works great on bruised and fractured ribs...all natural, at the Health food store.


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## Surfdog93 (May 30, 2005)

Hang in there man, good luck, and get real pain killers from the Dr.
I had extreme pain for 2 weeks and the over-the-counter had little effect.
The healing took way longer than I hoped, but as most indicated, approx 8 weeks.
I'm probably 12 weeks now and riding a lot, but not the same as before the accident….still (dull) pain at full breaths…. frustrating.


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## GnarBrahWyo (Jun 4, 2012)

Bruised ribs are frustrating because you can't really do anything about it and it takes a long time for pain to go away.


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## GnarBrahWyo (Jun 4, 2012)

Went over my bars again last night. Riding around a berm and his a large root and flew over bars and landed on ride side. After the wreck I was shaken, but didn't hurt bad enough to stop my ride. 20 minutes later though the pain was so bad I had to lay on the ground. I drive a stick shift so my riding buddy had to drive me into town. Guess I get to look forward to another few weeks of pain every time I sneeze or laugh.


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## trhoppe (Sep 3, 2008)

Found this thread on Google. Guess I can add my story. Had a hard fast crash at the BME in Crested Butte last Thurs. Rode Fri, couldn't handle it Sat. Couldn't really breathe and everything hurt. Went back home (GA) a day early. Found out Mon that I had a fully collapsed left lung and some heavy bruising. Hospital for 2 days, reinflated lung, chest tube, and I've been out since Wed. Went for an easy road ride yesterday but can't get back on the mtb yet. Hurts to get *on* the bike. Hurts to sleep on that side and hurts to breathe hard. 

From reading sounds like I have a couple of weeks of pain left. Better than a collarbone I guess


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## GnarBrahWyo (Jun 4, 2012)

trhoppe said:


> Found this thread on Google. Guess I can add my story. Had a hard fast crash at the BME in Crested Butte last Thurs. Rode Fri, couldn't handle it Sat. Couldn't really breathe and everything hurt. Went back home (GA) a day early. Found out Mon that I had a fully collapsed left lung and some heavy bruising. Hospital for 2 days, reinflated lung, chest tube, and I've been out since Wed. Went for an easy road ride yesterday but can't get back on the mtb yet. Hurts to get *on* the bike. Hurts to sleep on that side and hurts to breathe hard.
> 
> From reading sounds like I have a couple of weeks of pain left. Better than a collarbone I guess


Don't mean to be there bearer of bad news but ribs can take a lot longer than two weeks to feel better again. Just take it easy and don't get on the bike until you are totally ready.


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## swoodbrn (Oct 5, 2005)

GnarBrahWyo said:


> Don't mean to be there bearer of bad news but ribs can take a lot longer than two weeks to feel better again. Just take it easy and don't get on the bike until you are totally ready.


Oh, yes, much longer than a couple weeks. And, if they're not broken, "just" separated (ie, damaged cartilage), they can take even longer. Funny thing is that they usually feel pretty good while on the bike because they're 'hanging', so, you need to be ready to fall (without doing more damage), not just get on the bike. Also, this is the broken ribs thread - no sympathy for collapsed lungs.


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## trhoppe (Sep 3, 2008)

GnarBrahWyo said:


> Don't mean to be there bearer of bad news but ribs can take a lot longer than two weeks to feel better again. Just take it easy and don't get on the bike until you are totally ready.





swoodbrn said:


> Oh, yes, much longer than a couple weeks. And, if they're not broken, "just" separated (ie, damaged cartilage), they can take even longer. Funny thing is that they usually feel pretty good while on the bike because they're 'hanging', so, you need to be ready to fall (without doing more damage), not just get on the bike.


Mine is definitely damaged cartilage. Been through a million x-rays with the collapsed lung and the docs said nothing is cracked/broken. Just bruised. I've healed up a LOT in one week. Went from not being able to even get up, to now being able to sit up, get out of bed, lift not heavy stuff, etc. I'm kind of surprised, but I'll take it I guess. Or maybe they aren't as bruised as I thought and all my initial pain/suffering/etc was from the collapsed lung...

As far as riding the bike, planning on doing the road bike for this week to get the legs continuing to work, then MTB next week on easy XC style stuff. Taking a week off after my 25 hour ride week 2 weeks ago was actually good for my recovery. Have a 6 hour race on Sept 27th that I was hoping to do. We'll see.



> Also, this is the broken ribs thread - no sympathy for collapsed lungs.


:lol: :lol: :lol:


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## trhoppe (Sep 3, 2008)

Dammit. Yesterday I felt like a million bucks. Woke up today, and I guess I rolled over on it at night or something else. Faaaack it hurts. Commuted to work again on the commuter, but this time it hurt over bumps where yesterday I was starting to bunny hop. Dammit. 

Any ideas on that? Did I roll over on it and dislocate something that was in a happy place? They aren't broken as far as I, and the doctors, know. Should I go see a chiro?


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## GnarBrahWyo (Jun 4, 2012)

trhoppe said:


> Dammit. Yesterday I felt like a million bucks. Woke up today, and I guess I rolled over on it at night or something else. Faaaack it hurts. Commuted to work again on the commuter, but this time it hurt over bumps where yesterday I was starting to bunny hop. Dammit.
> 
> Any ideas on that? Did I roll over on it and dislocate something that was in a happy place? They aren't broken as far as I, and the doctors, know. Should I go see a chiro?


I think best thing to do is just stay off the bike for a while, don't lift anything and let it heal on it's own. Going out for rides may just aggravate your ribs and delay healing time. I am not doctor but when I bruised my ribs, I would go out for rides and notice I was setting myself back by not letting them heal properly.


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## HitmenOnlyInc (Jul 20, 2012)

I had a bad OTB back in the end of June. I thought for sure I'd cracked a couple ribs. Had a 8 hour drive home from the trail in incredible pain. I always heard there isn't much that can be done for ribs, so I just tried my best to go about my business. Lots of pain for weeks. And now almost 3 months later I still have a tender spot and light discomfort at times.


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## GnarBrahWyo (Jun 4, 2012)

I wonder if I maybe collapsed a lung last ride I got hurt. My right side seemed to not get any oxygen an I was in extreme pain and had to have my buddy drive my truck home for me (thank God he could drive a stick). From what I have read you can collapse or partially collapse a lung it will re-inflate naturally.


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## swoodbrn (Oct 5, 2005)

GnarBrahWyo said:


> I wonder if I maybe collapsed a lung last ride I got hurt. My right side seemed to not get any oxygen an I was in extreme pain and had to have my buddy drive my truck home for me (thank God he could drive a stick). From what I have read you can collapse or partially collapse a lung it will re-inflate naturally.


Get a buddy to give you mouth to mouth to re-inflate it. Btw, I am not a doctor.


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## Appalachian_Kamper (Jul 18, 2014)

I used to be an rank amateur boxer throughout my twenties until age 32. I had badly bruised ribs on more than one occasion. I was also tee-boned in my 1974 F-250 4x4 by a cargo van about the size of a large UPS delivery van. The cargo van hit me hard enough that all four of my wheels wobbled from being bent due to the cargo van pushing my 5,200 lb truck about six feet sideways. The impact was great enough that my ribs were slammed into the drivers door with such force that my head followed through with the impact and broke the drivers window out, and it was completely up. 

The bruised ribs from the accident were far worse than anything I every suffered from boxing, and I took plenty of beatings 'cause I was rank like I said. In each case, it took six weeks for my ribs to heal to the point where I could function normally with only annoying discomfort when I flexed, bent, or did something I wasn't supposed to. Again, it was 6 weeks start to finish, and after that, I could do most things normally, including boxing with only occasional mild discomfort. 

Your experiences may vary. 

good luck with your recovery,
appalachian kamper


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## trhoppe (Sep 3, 2008)

GnarBrahWyo said:


> I wonder if I maybe collapsed a lung last ride I got hurt. My right side seemed to not get any oxygen an I was in extreme pain and had to have my buddy drive my truck home for me (thank God he could drive a stick). From what I have read you can collapse or partially collapse a lung it will re-inflate naturally.


If you are still having trouble breathing, go see a doc. I waited 3 days. Turned out mine was 100% fully collapsed. Docs thought I should have been passed out, but said my biking, being in shape, and acclimated to elevation all helped out.

It will naturally re-inflate at 2% per day. So even if you're 20% collapsed, you're talking almost 2 weeks vs an overnighter in the hospital.

Source: I talked to the docs ALL about them during my hospital stay.


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## trhoppe (Sep 3, 2008)

My follow up is good news. It's been 3 weeks since I got out of the hospital and 3.5 weeks since the crash. I'm pretty much 90%. The bruising still hurts a bit when I use my core, but I can do a situp, get off the couch, get out of bed, etc. Got in 10 hours on the bike last week including some gnarly downhill and a Strava KOM so I'm back. Cross racing was out as I was still having pain lifting the bike and running, but I think I'm in for Cross this weekend. So much better than a collarbone/separated shoulder.....


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## GnarBrahWyo (Jun 4, 2012)

trhoppe said:


> If you are still having trouble breathing, go see a doc. I waited 3 days. Turned out mine was 100% fully collapsed. Docs thought I should have been passed out, but said my biking, being in shape, and acclimated to elevation all helped out.
> 
> It will naturally re-inflate at 2% per day. So even if you're 20% collapsed, you're talking almost 2 weeks vs an overnighter in the hospital.
> 
> Source: I talked to the docs ALL about them during my hospital stay.


I am feeling mostly better now. I can breath again so either I did not collapse a lung or it re-inflated naturally. All I know is that I could not breath and I almost passed out from what was really not that bad of a crash. I just landed hard and my right arm pushed into my rib cage pretty hard. 95% better now, thank goodness.


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## Mallet21 (Sep 24, 2013)

For me it was 3 full weeks of awful pain. By the 4th week there was significant improvement and by the 5th week I was back doing easy singletrack.


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## bowyer2002 (May 11, 2015)

Thankfully, I cannot join the ranks of MTB broken ribs, mine are just bruised.
I looped it wheeling my bike off my son's wooden jump (we made it) and fell straight onto my back hitting mostly my left side. This is the same spot on my body that I broke 6 ribs and punctured a lung 30yrs ago in a motorcycle accident. Knocked the wind out of me, as expected, but had immediate trouble getting up and around. Oh well it's just pain telling you you're alive!
They hurt pretty badly but are getting better each day.
I wish everyone a quick recovery - as I like to breath without pain!


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## Zoran (Jul 4, 2015)

Thanks guys.
I hit concrete barrier on Knight bridge in Vancouver two days ago. biked to work next day and then biked to to ER to have X-ray. Nothing is broken but looks like I have to wait 3-4 weeks pain to go away (according to you all who just had a bruise).

It hurts when I cough (because of air pollution in Vancouver due to forest fires my allergies and asthma giving me hard time). Can't cough because hurting my ribs. It sucks!


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## Sky2627 (Dec 29, 2015)

*Hello I am new!*

i bruised my entire rib cage a week ago when at 4:30am my 10 year old son had a stink bug flying crazy I his room. They are a problem here in the Eastern USA and very scary looking but harmless , yet hard to rid of! So me at 50ish on a high A frame ladder missed the bug and remember falling but got the wind knocked out of me and came to not wanting to move for ten minutes. Went to the hospital for X-rays and just have a badly bruised cage. We all got new bikes for Christmas and it was 32 but the last day for a ride so I did it. Well now my upper right rib hurts so bad I can't think! I took Motrin and I am on ice. I won't ever lift a thing till I m over this ! It is one bad pain! My ex has zero empathy and I am just laying here hoping this heals sooner than later as I have to boys to raise and we are active ! Man I feel for all of you out there and I now belong to the sore rib need a friend who understands club ! My sons care and are upset as they have never seen me I such pain. Hope in better in a least a month ! No more bug catching either! Don't know how they git I but everyone in a 2 block radius is trying to get rid of them !! I want my body back


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## angelo (Sep 3, 2004)

Sorry to hear that man-it's a club no one who has been there before wants to rejoin!

Take it easy, move slowly, keep the pain at bay with ibuprofen and/or zyflamend with the occasional double IPA thrown in for good measure. 

Look forward to the first ride and plan on bike path type riding to start and build from there-good luck and heal quickly!


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## GnarBrahWyo (Jun 4, 2012)

Took me weeks. Really sucks. Was off the bike longer than I would have hoped.


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## HitmenOnlyInc (Jul 20, 2012)

Took me a couple months after fractured ribs!


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## jimPacNW (Feb 26, 2013)

I get to post here now too, yay... I had a good crash a week ago (sunday) during a muddy/slick race, I thought I had grip on a side-hill descent but did not, the tires slid out to the left and I landed pretty hard on my right side on a smooth sidehill, but got up and felt good, finished well too. A bit sore and stiff the next day and much better the following day, continued hard mtb workouts on Tues, Wed, and Thurs, -feeling quite good Wed and Thurs. Thurs night, 4 days after the crash, I was getting out of my low-ish car, and something popped and I'm now in fair bit of pain, right side ribs, front ish center and also at the back near my spine. I've sneezed twice and it was excruciating!, coughing or blowing my nose is out of the question. There is movement in my ribs, clicking/shifting if I move certain ways. I got an xray on friday and they couldn't see anything broken, I also used an old-fashioned tuning fork (supposedly at a C128 that will rattle a broken bone and hurt like hell if it is broken, - no pain with the tuning fork), so I think I popped a rib out of the rear socket. I can't wait to see my chiropractor on monday, I have had a dislocated rib 2x before in my life, I have a lot of hope that she can help me. Luckily the next race in the series is in 2 weeks, -hopefully I improve by then. I did an easy ride with my son on friday, lots of rib pain when climbing (same hill I was hammering up just fine earlier in the week, until the 'pop' climbing out of the car). 
The first time I dislocated a rib was 25 years ago while mtb racing, I hit a rock on a downhill, went over the bars and down a bank landing on my back, got a tight knot at the edge of my spine. One visit to the chiropractor I was seeing occasionally at that time and it was instant relief.

One week later update; feeling much better. I took a full week off the bike, and have done a few hard workouts; feeling good! I feel some rib movement, which is kind of weird, and only a little pain when i sneeze, so I think I'm mostly good. At age 49 i don't expect to heal as quick as I used to, so this is good. My chiropractor thinks it was a sprain. Racing this Sunday, I don't think that week off set me back much at all.


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## GnarBrahWyo (Jun 4, 2012)

jimPacNW said:


> I get to post here now too, yay... I had a good crash a week ago (sunday) during a muddy/slick race, I thought I had grip on a side-hill descent but did not, the tires slid out to the left and I landed pretty hard on my right side on a smooth sidehill, but got up and felt good, finished well too. A bit sore and stiff the next day and much better the following day, continued hard mtb workouts on Tues, Wed, and Thurs, -feeling quite good Wed and Thurs. Thurs night, 4 days after the crash, I was getting out of my low-ish car, and something popped and I'm now in fair bit of pain, right side ribs, front ish center and also at the back near my spine. I've sneezed twice and it was excruciating!, coughing or blowing my nose is out of the question. There is movement in my ribs, clicking/shifting if I move certain ways. I got an xray on friday and they couldn't see anything broken, I also used an old-fashioned tuning fork (supposedly at a C128 that will rattle a broken bone and hurt like hell if it is broken, - no pain with the tuning fork), so I think I popped a rib out of the rear socket. I can't wait to see my chiropractor on monday, I have had a dislocated rib 2x before in my life, I have a lot of hope that she can help me. Luckily the next race in the series is in 2 weeks, -hopefully I improve by then. I did an easy ride with my son on friday, lots of rib pain when climbing (same hill I was hammering up just fine earlier in the week, until the 'pop' climbing out of the car).
> The first time I dislocated a rib was 25 years ago while mtb racing, I hit a rock on a downhill, went over the bars and down a bank landing on my back, got a tight knot at the edge of my spine. One visit to the chiropractor I was seeing occasionally at that time and it was instant relief.


Get well.


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## db440 (Jul 1, 2014)

Somehow it' comforting to read about everyone's pain. I injured my ribs back in November in Moab, otb wreck, I landed chest first on a large rock. I think there was a smaller stone inbetween that and my ribs, or it could have been my hydration valve. Either way it didn't take me long to realize something wasn't right at all. It was another ten miles out of technical terrain back to my truck, and it wasn't much fun, but I went into survival mode and toughed it out.

I never bothered getting x-rays or anything, so who knows what happened. Otherwise you all know the drill: sneezing, coughing and the wrong moves hurt like hell. Three weeks off the bike until I got in a short ride, and probably six till it was mostly healed. I can still feel it a little bit. I also did something to my hand on that crash, it still hurts if I push it the wrong way. My face hit the ground too, but thankfully not hard enough to do anything but bruise it a bit. 

All because I decided to practice my switch footing at a very bad time. Oh well, live and learn. I'm still a little gunshy this season, but i'm getting close to back at my former confidence level.

Rib pain sucks! Be careful out there.


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## laraboom (May 6, 2016)

Blerg...came here this morning to see if it would be too soon to ride 5 days out from a rib bruising I got from go karting...smashed right into a wall going pretty fast, and my rib cage got hit first. Hurt like crazy. 

Makes me feel hopeful that so many are back on your bikes!

It's definitely on the mend but still sucks...my commute is about 7 miles each way AND I start training for track cycling on Sunday, so I think I'll hop on the trainer this morning to avoid any bad ideas/give it a test run. Going 5 days bikeless is DRIVING ME CRAZY. Time to get back on...or at least try!


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## River19 (Jul 3, 2007)

Joined the club this weekend as well.

Soft silty part of a berm, front wheel dug in and over I went landing on my arm which jammed into my right rib cage. Finished the next climb and downhill and the waited for soreness to ensue.

Been a few days and 2 ibuprofen every 4 hrs or so is keeping things at bay. Can take deep breaths, and was able to the whole time. Can soft cough without too much pain, but first thing in the morning until some drugs kick in....damn I am tender. I think a bunch of muscles are also banged up over there as well.......but I can stretch my arm over my head and generally move around at like 50% speed. I had 2 weeks planned off the bike....but I will spin the trainer instead for a while.

We shall see. I'm thinking in 3 weeks I will be at 75% if all goes well. I don't do downtime well.......so hopefully I don't do something stupid to prolong this.


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## GolfMike (Jul 28, 2016)

lobolator said:


> My ribs and the muscles around them are so sore. How long before they start feeling better. I'm looking for the answer that includes riding with the healing time. Unless I really shouldn't be riding(yeah right). I feel ok when I'm riding but at night....ouch where's the ibuprofen.


I'm here for the same reason but just noticed this post is 10 years old. I can't believe it happened in the most ridiculous circumstances either, on my return from a long ride, just lazily breezing through the park enjoying the weather and then wham front wheel out. Handle bars straight into ribs. I expect everyone's recovery rate will be different and more so if over 50. It's two weeks now and I was straight back on after a few days but my Lat Muscles are hurting just as much if not more than my chest, very frustrating, still back in the saddle and keep going.


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