Bruised/fractured ribs

dejawills15

What's a good way to work your way back into working out after a rib injury? I took a hard fall a few weeks ago. Ive rested the past 2 weeks & although its not 100% healed I want to slowly work my way back into working out but I cant think of any cardio I can do without reaggrevating my ribs?

Madwife2009

I recently had two broken ribs but had no idea that they had been broken as apparently the x-ray was "misinterpreted". I found out about four weeks later.

As for exercise, I just walked. And walked a bit more. And then a bit more. And then faster.

But I had other complications, like a head injury and other issues to consider, so I took it fairly slowly.

The first walk I took after the accident, within the first week, was very slow and quite short as it was a real struggle.

Within three weeks I was able to walk several miles. I also started cycling again, which was reasonably gentle on my injuries.

Three months on and I'm doing everything I did before the accident albeit at a reduced level.

I don't think ribs take that long to heal so you'll soon be back to the cardio.

Please remember to breathe deeply now and again to ensure that you are fully inflating your lungs though, even if it is uncomfortable. As I didn't know that my ribs were broken, I didn't know to ensure that my lungs were fully ventilated and ended up with more problems as a result.

Hope you recover soon.

Machka9

Quite a number of years ago, I was rushing around in the morning, rammed my left foot into something and screamed in pain. One of my toes was so painful, I had to wear stiff-soles shoes to work.

After work, I decided to go for a bicycle ride because we wear stiff-soled shoes, so I figured it would be all right.

The friend I was cycling with stopped right in front of me and I hit his wheel. We were going slowly enough that I would have normally put my left foot down, but my brain said, "No!", so I tipped over and landed directly on my left ribs, cracking them.

I rode home and then got myself into a walk-in clinic. The Dr told me that ribs just have to heal ... they don't wrap them or anything, and while I was there, I also mentioned my toe. One glance and he knew it was broken too. He noticed it was scraped and asked when my last tetanus shot was. I hesitated.

Moments later I was getting a tetanus shot in my left arm.

Left toe.
Left ribs.
Left arm.

All in one day.

I tried to cycle the next day but made it about 50 feet before I nearly threw up from the pain. So I took that day and the next day off ... and then I was back on the bicycle again. I found the position on the bicycle was more comfortable than walking, standing, sitting or lying down. I could actually breathe! At home, I even sat on my trainer to watch TV because leaning forward and letting my ribs just hang was comfortable.

Just my experience. You may want to consult with your Dr.

spiriteagle99

I had a couple of falls when running where I landed hard on my ribs on the left side. Nothing broken, but it was painful and I ended up tearing my rotator from rolling over onto my shoulder. I was lucky though: I took about a week off running, though I continued to walk, then was able to get back into it, slowly. After a month there was no pain. My husband has broken his ribs several times in falls and he continued to walk.

NorthCascades

Don't do any cardio until you're healed. If it means gaining weight for a month, so be it. Broken ribs are one of the most painful things you can go through, breathing deeply will make the pain worse, and could slow your healing.

I hope you have good pain medicine. If not, demand some from your doctor. There's a time and a place for everything. On that note, take 3 ibuprofen every 4 to 6 hours for inflammation, you'll be surprised how much it helps.

I broke a rib (and collapsed a lung) in August, you have my empathy, but that and $5 will get you a latte. Hugs. 🤗

tinkerbellang83

As tempting as it is to get back to working out, it is rarely a good idea before you're fully healed unless you have your doctors approval.

Speaking from experience, trying to go back to working out too soon, prolongs your healing and could cause further injury.

I wish you a speedy recovery!

777Gemma888

Ask your PT. Back when I broke my ribs, they'd put a cast (around my chest area) ... Bed rest was recommended. My PT appointments didn't start until after the cast came off. The cast gave me a sense of false reassurance, as I recall. It hurt to just lift my arms above my head.

I wish you a swift recovery.

lalalacroix

I just finished healing from a rib crush injury. Walking is fine and I've done some light running. I've also done planks and push-ups, just to test how the ribs feel. I asked when I could return to exercise and the doc said I could exercise when I'm up for it. So very lame answer there. It took me about 4 weeks before I was ready to try light exercise.

As far as ibuprofen, never take more than suggested by your doctor. Too much can lead to internal bleeding (husband went through that. He needed transfusions, surgery and can never take Ibuprofen or aspirin again).

lorrpb

I think ribs generally take 6 weeks to heal, so don’t rush it.

ironhajee

Agree w/ previous reply, wait until you're healed then try" low impact" activities such as the following:

Swimming
walking
walking on treadmill
easy variations of yoga
lifting but very lightweight
les workouts(calf raises, body weight squats)

Jthanmyfitnesspal

|/\/\/\/\/-> What's the doc say?

AnnPT77

Were you diagnosed by a doctor as bruised and fractured? If yes, follow the doctor's recommendations, annoying though that may be.

In terms of what you can do, it matters whether they're broken or not.

I took a hard fall on mine over the summer, not broken. Besides caution about exercise (pain is a reasonable guide if no broken bones), it helped a lot to see my osteopath. Some stuff in there was jammed and needed work to be moving properly. That made a major improvement.

aokoye

See your doctor. Also swimming with a potentially broken rib sounds like an impressively bad idea given how much you use your torso when you swim.

sijomial

If you can walk without pain then walk - if you can't walk without pain then don't.

BTW - the last time I cracked a couple of ribs having my chest taped by a physio helped pain levels enormously.
I went from "I'm only in pain when I breathe" (think about it!) to being completely managable.

Avoid pepper and other causes of sneezing, a sneeze really reveals if you are healed or not but the pain can be quite spectacular.