Can you crack or break a rib from coughing?

I've cracked mine before coughing really badly, cracked two from leaning on objects too hard. My wife and I were, ahem, playing in bed the other morning and she cracked hers from basically tightening her muscles up too hard! (I wasn't putting any pressure on her chest/ribs) she felt a PoP! And then horrid pain for a few minutes. If you are sick and going to be coughing I've found the best thing to do is to hold a pillow snugly against that area to try and imobilize it during the coughing, this can help a LOT! Don't wrap your ribs or anything, they don't do this anymore because it reduces your breathing and can cause pneumonia, bad juju!! This IS going to take a while to heal if its cracked, two months isn't uncommon, longer if your not being careful with it. A cracked rib is just that, a small crack. Often they CANNOT see them on xrays! They have to be at just the right angle to see it. The bone isn't actually broken so it isn't jagged or splintered or separated (if its any of those get to the emergency room right away!!) So there is nothing to do but be careful not to make it worse and just wait it out. There is another cause or two that cause the same symptoms but I'm having trouble remembering them at the moment. Hope this helps!

Hi--I understand the pain you must be in.  I've bruised and cracked ribs from coughing.  But more importantly, you may have pleurisy which can occur from bacteria in the lungs from a cold or non-bacterially through an autoimmune condition.  Pleurisy is inflamation of the lining of the lung.  It is tremendously painful and may be make it difficult to get a full breath. It's difficult to ascertain exactly from where the pain is emmanating--lungs, sternum area, ribcage, etc.  I encourage you to see a doctor--they may wish to do a chest x-ray.  Feel better.

I had the very same symptoms, after 2 x rays and a CT,and a lot of nothing form DR, Went to Chiropractor and got immediate relief,after 5 weeks misery, not 100 % yet scal 10 to 0 I AM A 2,WAS A10 FOR 5 WEEKS.piano

I'm laughing as well, not at you guys because I've done the same thing. Tore my intercostals on the left side last week and just then coughed, not even the worst cough I've had, and felt a pop down near my right kidney. Cant take anti inflammatories because I've just started chemo. 

I AM SO GLAD TO READ ALL OF THE THESE.

THINKING MY LOWER RIGHT RIB PAIN POST BRONCHITIS ALLERGY ASTHMA WAS SUBSIDING, I MESSAGED THE AREA GENTLY WITH CASTOR OIL, AND FEW MINUTES LATER I SNEEZED ...WHOA, ITWAS LIKE AN INTERNAL POP..NEVER FELT ANYTHING LIKE THAT.

I THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE LIKE RELEASE OF INTERNAL NERVE GANGLION AFTER ALL OF THE COUGHING...

BASICALLY BACK TO RESTING AND DRINKING TUMERIC GINGER ANTIIFLAMMATORY TEA..I THINK A SONAR GRAPH MIGHT ME IN ORDER JUST TO GET A LOOK SEE.

THANK YOU FOR POSTS....ALSO A LITTLE HYPERICUM 30 C UNDER TONGUE HOMEOPATHY TOOK SOME OF THE NERVE PAIN PART AWAY.

I'm in the same boat. Right side ribs and all after coughing for 3-4 weeks.. went to the doctor and they said my chest x-ray was clear, gave me pain meds and sent me on my way. That was 6 days ago. Today, I sneezed and almost passed out. I swear I felt a pop but my doctor still says its probably a bruised or strained muscle. It's extremely painful though! I can't inhale deeply, can't cough, can't sneeze, can't lay down and certainly can't get back up without wanting to scream. We won't even talk about what it's like to carry my overloaded backpack around campus. I sure hope it heals up quickly!

Well..mine improving big time...no sneezing allowed...i put on a light back brace where the pain is...and also epson salt baths....castor oil messaged on with heat pack on for bedtime....no pills for me...hate them...

I don't like the meds either.. they gave me Ibuprofen 800 and Norco, but I'm not taking the Norco. I've been wearing a shaper, which helps some but not nearly as much as I'd like. I tried a heating pad but that only seemed to make it worse. I definitely need to try the Epsom salt bath though, thanks!

I dont know if I have the same thing or not but I'm pretty sure it is pnumonia that I've had for over a month now. We can't afford to go to the doctor, and the doctors around here arent worth going to anyway. Unlike most of these, mine is on the left side and it hurt for a while, felt the best it has felt this morning, and then after another smaller cough I got a horrible throbbing pain higher in my ribs. Kind of in my armpit almost, but a little lower. I get pain no matter if im sitting still or moving, but I'm at a loss. If it is broken, theres nothing that can be done anyway and I can't afford the $250 its gonna cost to hear "take some advil, thats all you can do". However, it is nearly impossible to take care of two toddlers in this condition. :( advice? 

Omg... had a same coughing problem.. mines different in that when I cough too hard I pee so I hold it in... plus my job requires me to talk on the phone all day long. Cough finally went away but the pain in my lower right side rib cage hurts still so bad. When I lay on that side or twist a little too much I still feel the pain. Really thought it was a pulled muscle but geeze how long does it take to heal? It's been over 2 weeks since the initial pain started...

I went to the doctor and he clinically diagnosed (meaning he didn't send me in for x-rays or MRI) two fractured ribs. Mine are up really high (like in my armpit) and they can pop out right where they connect to the cartilage between ribs and sternum. He and his wife spent more than 100k trying to figure out why she was in so much pain. Turns out, you can't see it on an x-ray and its really hard to see on an MRI, so instead of finding absolute proof, he pressed on the connections of rib and cartilage. First one made me grimace, second made me puke. Mines gonna take 6+ weeks to heal. If its fractured or broken, I'm sure yours will take that long too. If its a pulled or strained muscle it can take anywhere from a week to two months. Hang in there. You can always go get a pain med. I'm about to. I've sneezed one to many times. Sneezing and hiccups are the worst!

Emergency room. They cant turn you down rgfardless of financial sratus..you need to be checked. The very same thing happened to me today and thats why Im on this thread! Feels luke an ice puxk stabbing me under my right breast when I cough or move wrong! Ouch! :(

And I cant type..sorry for the mis spells

I am amazed to see how many people have the same symptoms as I have and all seem to be in a similar position, on the right hand side and low down. I hate to tell you but I have been suffering this pain for over a month now. When I first did it I couldn't sit up to get out of bed. I had to roll on my stomach and crawl backwards, my dog thought this was a great game! I have been to the drs twice but they say it's just a waiting game. Not even codeine gets rid of the pain. I am a self employed gardener so probably the fact that I am working through and not being able to rest it hasn't helped matters. Hope you all recover soon, it's really nasty.

My rib is sticking out since a couphing and sneezing fit I got during an unrelated major surgury. So mine is a little different then the posts I've read. I was told by a doctor that it would not be fractured if I can push on rib (and I can with minimum pain). Although he advised I probably had pulled my tendon and muscle as they are holding ot pulled rib out of place. I was told it could take two to three months to heal. I'm at 2 1/2 months and although I can breath and do most things better I still worry. I have to sit back or get severe pain that brings tears to my eyes and makes me forget to breath. I can't lift much still and can feel my rib 1/4-1/4 inch out further then others. Some say to wrap with coband (as an ace will not put enough pressure on my one rib) and others say not to. Dr I consulted was a surgion of another area but seemed familiar and said to do what was comfotable. Anyone had similar? Will my rib ever go back? Does it matter if it does the pain keeps getting less? What kind of Dr. would specialize in this?