Broken rib :(

f1redshoes

My side/back was really sore in one particular spot during dance lifts a couple of weeks back and we figured I'd just pulled something, so we carried on. I have a very high pain threshold anyway and when I'm dancing it's even higher because I seem to be able to just block pain out and not really "feel" it. Anyway, since then we've had more rehearsals and a show, and after another class on Tuesday I was starting to be in more pain. By last night I was sure it was my rib and by today I was worried that the wide spread of the pain meant it might be a rib causing damage.

The doctor didn't x-ray it because of the position but said he's fairly certain there's a small crack. He said I can't make it worse physically by exercising and I'm going to be that idiot who trains full-out on an injury just for 2hrs a week for three weeks until my gymnastics competition, but other than that I'm going to have to just walk around in dance classes to mark my spacing until I'm in less pain. Sadly, I know I'll do too much too soon if I don't decide NOW that I won't.

Essentially, this is just so you guys can make sure I only do my 2hrs at gymnastics until my rib feels a bit better. I won't be able to lie to you so I'll be scared to do anything else because I'll have to tell you and you'll shout at me! I'll still be at classes and rehearsals to learn dances but I won't be doing much of anything.

Oh, and if you want something else to add to my "idiot" status - I turned down the high-strength codeine because it makes me so dizzy I fell down the steps of a bus and flat-out on the pavement last time the hospital gave me some. I only have low-strength painkillers, which don't even work on me. The doctor said "yes, I can imagine that happening, you're very... er... slight and that's a very high dose!"

uconnwinsnc

You have to hold yourself accountable. I injured my quad about 10 days ago and I didn't do anything demanding until I knew that I could ease back into it. I don't want to sound mean, but it isn't our job to check up on you every day to make sure you are following doctors orders. You're 25 years old and need to watch out for yourself. We'll be here to support you, but we can't micromanage your life.

Take the time you need to heal, otherwise you might as well just quit dancing because you'll completely jack up your ribs if you don't heal.

Vune

Just wanted to let you know that I understand exactly where you're coming from. I was back onstage a day after getting a screw in my foot. Granted it wasn't dance, and I went back to the surgeon for morphine, but sometimes we have no choice but to work through it. Especially as performers. Good luck!

f1redshoes

Just wanted to let you know that I understand exactly where you're coming from. I was back onstage a day after getting a screw in my foot. Granted it wasn't dance, and I went back to the surgeon for morphine, but sometimes we have no choice but to work through it. Especially as performers. Good luck!

Thank you! I don't know if it's just the parts of the dance world I've encountered but there's an awful lot of pressure to keep going. As an example, a TEACHER once told me, "If you can still physically do it, you're not in enough pain NOT to do it." Plus, if you're already committed to a show, you're pretty much going to need crutches or a cast to get out of it even if it's just amateur!

uconnwinsnc - It's a hard mindset to get out of and I find it just that little bit easier to do so if I've got support outwith that world where people actually understand about resting an injury properly. I'm not asking for micromanaging or checking up on me, just for there to be this topic here where I have to own up if I've done something I shouldn't. I freely admit I'm not quite strong enough to do this sort of thing on my own yet, but I'm learning and trying and I hope to get to the stage where I don't need to ask anyone else for help with it.

It was only when I started spending more time with non-dancers that I realised how mad it all is. Like the time I danced for months with a muscle tear so bad it felt like my arm wasn't attached properly, just because I was too afraid to admit I was hurt for a second time that term (that happened more than once, actually). Or the girl who broke her foot in front of us, got up and finished the day because the principal made out she was weak and suggested a "sore foot" wasn't bad enough for a hospital visit. Even when she had a cast on it the next day he acted like she was making a fuss about it. I dance with a girl now whose knee is so unstable she CAN'T dance without strapping her kneecap tightly into place.

When you've been immersed in that your whole life, it does seem perfectly normal. The last time I broke ribs (as a kid) I still did a dance exam like that! It's only once you get to see it from the outside that you realise it's completely insane, by which point you've already got a lot of undoing to do in terms of your brain. I mean, my face and voice don't even respond to agonising pain properly any more - it's only since I've been doing gymnastics, where the hard work is allowed to show on your face, that I've started to undo that.

uconnwinsnc

Kid's heal broken bones easier than people in their mid-later 20s. I've seen some of my friends play through injuries and it destroyed their dreams of playing D1 sports because they were too stubborn to let their body get better. Sometimes you need to let your body heal to prevent further injury.

f1redshoes

Kid's heal broken bones easier than people in their mid-later 20s. I've seen some of my friends play through injuries and it destroyed their dreams of playing D1 sports because they were too stubborn to let their body get better. Sometimes you need to let your body heal to prevent further injury.

I'm already working on an alternative plan of action to keep me moving but still being careful. For example, this might finally me the time my right ankle catches up to my left in strength (hours sitting down with a resistance band?) or I finally get my splits back after a previous injury (sitting around doing the leg stretches I always make excuses to get out of). Other than that, I'm just going to test the waters to find out what hurts and what doesn't.

I think the reason it got worse was because a lot of what I was doing involved lifts, ie. being picked up by the injured area (which may even have been how it got injured in the first place) so I'm thinking even just not doing lifts will make a big difference. If there's no crack, I'm hopeful I won't need too much rest if I'm just not getting prodded in that bit all the time!