recovery process for a broken rib?

smillion over a year ago

I broke a rib after being thrown from a horse and I am very curious about the healing process. I have not had a broken bone before, so I am clueless.

First, it did not even hurt. I got back up on the horse and rode for an hour. But, that night I could not get comfortable laying down. The next day, I went on a 3 mile hike in the woods. Not much pain, but I did not leap over the fallen logs like I usually did. Still could not lay down that night and felt some pain.

The third day, I went to work, a little pain, but not bad. But oh my, that night I was in such pain that when I would try to lie down, when getting back up I literally screamed. Worst pain I have ever had. After an entire night of almost crying, I went to urget care and they did x-rays; yep broken rib. Gave me Vicoden and said good luck, stay off of horses for a while.

My questions-why did it not hurt the first day? Also, I am about 9 days from the injury now, and while I have finally started being able to lay down and roll over to get back up with little pain, during the day I am not in much pain. Is this normal? But, I did accidently sneezed driving the other day and almost passed out from the pain.

Now my side with the rib injury is just very stiff. Not painful, just kind of uncomfortable. Is the bone starting to mend this soon? Also, I love to walk, but when I tried again the other day, I only got about 8 blocks and had to go home. Thought I was going to have to "phone a friend" to pick me up!

Just curious if anyone knows what my healing process will be. I am worried that I will try too much too soon-I am planning on visiting my horse at the stable next week-and want to stay off if it is dangerous for me.

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Nikols169605 over a year ago

Broken rib is one of the toughest bones to heal because it can't be immobilized so that the healing process would be uninterrupted - ribs move every time you breathe, let alone do anything else. If your rib is broken, not just cracked, you will definitely have to stick to the low activity level for a while - that is a way to speed up healing and of course, to avoid complications which can be very serious if your rib is completely broken - splintered bone can injure nearby organs. So, even if you do feel like you can do stuff, take into account the pain medications and the fact that it takes at least 6 weeks for a broken rib to heal.

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smillion over a year ago

Thanks for your advice, Nikols. Unfortunately, my rib is truly broken. The doctor showed me the x-ray. I was in total denial and he talked to me like I was 5 and said, honey, trust me, it is broken.

I don't like hearing 6 weeks-but some times the truth hurts too!. I was hoping, 3 maybe 4 at the most. I am a very active person and just sitting at home everynight is driving me insane.

Thanks again for your comments. Maybe next time I will bounce better when I come off the horse.

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Nikols169605 over a year ago

You're welcome, but I'm sorry to hear that it really is broken - even I was hoping it was just a crack... kinda get the weird feeling in my chest just thinking about this kind of injury :-( Maybe it sounds stupid, but not all activity has to be physical - I'm sure you have other interests or maybe you can look at this as a chance to discover some new things that don't necessarily involve finding the right way to bounce after a fall (really made me lol when i read that :-)). But, if you want to talk, I'm here - you can PM me whenever

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PRM227066 over a year ago

4 weeks ago i slipted in the tub landed on my leftside of my rib cage. It knocked the wind right out of me. Few hrs. went by and the pain really got worse. Ended up going to er. had x-rays taken found out i had to ribs broke 7&8 not sure which ones they are except i no they are on lower part of my rib cage. They gave me pain pills,they told me how long it would take to heal.Problem i have is that recovery time is diff. everytime i talk,some say 6 weeks some say 8 weeks some say 12 weeks ! not sure what to think. I take pain pills every 6 hrs. puy heat pad on in the evening seems to help but times i have sivere pain and i do not do anything. Please give me some advice. Thanks PRM.

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Guest over a year ago

smillion, trust me take it easy, my cat tripped me and broke my ribs. What I thought was taking it easy wasn't what the doctor meant by taking it easy. Thus almost eight weeks into healing I sneezed three times real hard and completely snapped the tip of my rib off with a jagged edge on each side. Now I am into week 4 of another 6-8 weeks of wearing a rib belt to stablize and doing absolutely nothing. Take care and let that bone heal so you don't end up like me. Going crazy from not being able to do anything but my own basic needs. Thankfully I have friends.

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Guest over a year ago

I have 3 broken ribs currently and your story sounds familiar with the increase in pain on the third day. This is why that happens:

The bone is broken and over the next few days swelling occurs and also some granulation bone tissue starts to form in order to heal the fracture. However, this causes the bones to push apart and that is when you get the full force of the pain. One tip: sleep with the injured side DOWN on the bed and make sure you are able to swing your legs over the side of the bed without much moving. Then you can push yourself up to sitting position with your arms. Do not sleep with your injured side UP and with your body facing away from the edge of the bed. That is what I did and ended up in the most dire circumstances with gripping pain, unable to move and unable to even call out loudly for help as I lay helplessly in bed. All the best!

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james over a year ago

Broke a Rib sking and am on third day. Stayed away from the gym and activity (although) I skied the following weekend - painful. Think another week or two.

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Guest over a year ago

I broke 2 ribs 12 weeks ago and they're still not together. How long before the bones give up trying to heal?

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Kat over a year ago

I have broken 3 ribs before in an accident and currently have another complete fracture. Sleep injured side down and the leg swinging will help you get up. Do everything deliberately....think it through before any activity, even the simple ones you take for granted. This will allow the bone to stay still and you will heal faster. Good luck!

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Bill over a year ago

I broke number six, number seven, number eight, and number nine complete. that's a total of four ribs on the 27th of May 2014. It was extremely painful I thought I only bruised my ribs so I went home took some pain medicine and went to bed, the following morning I woke up could not even move. I had my family take me to the emergency room to find out I had 4 ribs broken. I was informed it would take 4 to 8 weeks for recovery, of course they give you pain meds and they do help, but on day 3 and 4

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Guest over a year ago

i'm on the beginning of week 7 with two broken ribs and its still uncomfortable! day 5 was excrutiating and lots of gross grinding feelings, first 2 weeks i could hardly do anything except walking, i tried gardening 2 days ago and boy am i feeling it now i hope by week 12 its better! work not as understanding as time goes on, even though i broke them there!
To all the fellow breakees i wish you a speedy recovery!!

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Guest over a year ago

I broke 8 ribs on the right. Been around 10 weeks. The ribs have healed but am still unable to do activities like running, jogging, bending etc. Feel pain after working a lot.

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Guest over a year ago

I broke 3 ribs Sunday --- 3 days ago. Was bruised up & very sore but not in agony til Monday night. Now in excruciating non-stop pain. I have no job or insurance, so called my local county "low income" doctor. They wouldn't even let me come in to see me, just diagnosed me over the phone that I probably had broken ribs by my description of fall, pain severity/location. Told me it would take about 6 weeks to mend. My question is, during that mending process, does the pain start to subside as the 6 weeks go by? I have job interview next Monday, return to part-time classes Monday, & have a new puppy I'm trying to housebreak & get him outside of my apartment enough to take proper care of him. No family or friends to help & no car. Will the pain improve soon even though the ribs still have to keep mending?

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Amme over a year ago

Am in 8th week of rib fracture. Up until this time I could sleep and only had pain in day. Now it is reversed. What gives?

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