Anyone Ever Strained or Dislocated a Rib?

[Jason 65]

In my game on Sunday, I was hit from the side (sort of from the back) and my upper body twisted pretty severely and I felt a "pop" in my side. I got up and was in considerable pain. I went to the bench and shook it off. Tried stretching it out. I noticed that when I would bend my upper body to the right side that my rib would pop out of place again. I sucked it up and finished the game (scored two beauty goals too), but I knew that I would be hurting for the next few days after.

Sure enough, Wednesday is here and my rib is still moving around whenever it feels like it. I looked up rib injuries on the web and found a bunch of info. Looks like I have an intercostal strain with the possibility of torn cartilage and/or a stretched ligament.

Has anyone had an injury like this one before. If so, how long before I can get back to playing?

[hocckey77 0]

Maybe you should go get an xray to make sure it won't puncture your lung, and to actually see whats wrong with it

[sdcopp 1]

sounds painful and I'd go get it looked at. My sis-in-law had a rib shift a little and it pinched down on a nerve making her basically an invalid. She has to go to the chiro for the time being, so I'd definitely get it checked

[Jason 65]

I guess I forgot to mention that I did see my doc. He is just not very thorough. I really should seek new care. He examined me and said that if it was fractured that would have to be ever so slightly. Something that may not even show up on an X-ray. He said that the rib is maybe out of place and that some physiotherapist may suggest putting it back in place with some sort of painful technique. I don't mind the pain as long as it fixes my problem. It is moving around slightly less than it was on Sunday and Monday, which is a good sign.

I just thought if somebody had the same type of injury they might be able to shed some more light and let me know how long they were out for.

[gman 0]

I had the same thing happen to me. I assume yours is out in the front by your strernum and not at your spine right? When I would lay down on my back to sleep it would pop every time I breathed. It was aweful. Unfortunately it took several weeks to quit popping and several months before it was completely healed.

The hassle is that there is nothing that can be done for it. You cannot splint or cast a rib. Also, there is little blood supply for cartilege, so they notoriously heal slow. I would strongly suggest rest and more rest. I also tink it would be a good idea to get an x-ray to make sure nothing is broken. If it is popping over the top of your sternum you won't have to worry much about a lung. If it is going under the sternum and whatever cartilege pulls off you could conceivably have a sharp-ish bone bouncing around in the general vacinity of your lung.

Sorry to hear about this, it does indeed suck.

[Hobbes_86 0]

I’ve had ribs out before and to take care of the problem I would go see my chiropractor. After just one visit I could breathe 100% better and within a few visits it felt almost totally healed.

Good luck!

[Jason 65]

Hobbes_86,

My friends dad is a chiro. I was planning on going to see him soon. He's helped me with alot of other things in the past.

gman,

Thanks for the info, but actually my issue is at the spine. Where I feel it "popping" is in my right side more towards the back rather than the front. Luckily, it doesn't pop when I breathe. I can comfortably breathe. However, coughing, sneezing and bending at all to the right cause it to pop out and become quite painful.

When the injury first happened, I went to the bench and every time that I leaned over sideways towards the right, it would pop out. When I went back straight it felt like it would kind of pop back. Seems like the cartilage is torn or the ligament that attaches the rib is streched or torn. Hopefully not completely torn. I doubt it is. I think the pain would be worse. Thanks again for your help though.

[jrhky36 1]

during my senior yr in high school i busted 2 ribs on my right side and strained 3 on the left. the busted ine were fom football and the strained ones were from a car chrash. i made the mistake of playing through the injuries and pain. because i did not not give them the time they needed to heal i was unable to play basketball. but i was able to play basebale in hte spring.

if the doctor says rest i'd say follow those instructions you'll heal alot faster than you would if you don't.

[gman 0]

Hobbes_86,

gman,

Thanks for the info, but actually my issue is at the spine. Where I feel it "popping" is  in my right side more towards the back rather than the front.

YIKES!

It does not sound too bad based on your description, but simply because it is at your spine, I think you should have it x-rayed. Even if nothing is broken, you can perhaps see what direction it is popping.

There are so many little protrusions and muscle and ligament attachments on the vertebra, especially the thoracic, that you need to take your healing seriously. You may be bullet proof now, but when you hit 40 you will feel every little "owie" you ever had.

Talk to your friend's dad and hopefully he is also a PT in addition to being a bone cracker. He may be able to set you up with a healing regimine that will work. If you jump in too hard too soon you may heal (loose) and never be as stable as you were before the injury.

Just one old guy's opinion....

[Jason 65]

Thanks alot gman.

I'm feeling a little better today, but she's still moving around in there pretty often. My friends dad is a PT as well. He is just a very knowledgeable guy all around when it comes to the body and nutrition. Great guy to know. I just haven't talked to my friend in quite some time. I feel bad calling him up just for my own personal needs. I guess I'll have to take a chance and hope he doesn't get offended. He's an easy going guy, so I doubt it will be a big deal.

Thanks again guys (and gals if you are out there), keep the insight coming if you have any.

Cheers,

Jason

[gman 0]

Glad you are feeling better. Not to jump into your personal life, but instead of calling your friend, call his dad directly. Don't know if that would upset your friend, but this is more of a professional matter than a personal one. This is all assuming your friend would get pinched in the first place. Keep updating if you think of it... Good luck