So, a training buddy of mine was hit by a truck, and I crashed into him. (It was a hit and run and we didn’t get the asshole’s tag number.) Easily could have been a VERY bad situation. The guy that was hit is fine.
I flipped over him and landed on my right side. Right ankle, knee, ribs and shoulder were very sore. Everything has healed but the ribs are still sore. X-rays showed no fractures, thank goodness.
Not sure how much, if anything, I should try and do. I’ve take two weeks totally and completely off.
Anyone with experience with this stuff or advice, I’d like to hear what you did to speed the process along.
I have an athlete who was involved in a bike accident and is in a slightly worse condition than you.
What I recommended to her was to first see a PT in order to get some rehab going. Namely, the PT can teach you some simple exercises that help you get your breathing mobility back. Stuff that includes deep breathing while lying down, breathing while moving your arms, stuff like that.
Bruised ribs suck. They take weeks to get better. You’re actually putting a lot of pressure on them when you sleep. The other thing is that they get worse before they get better, although if you’re at the 2-week mark you may have passed the worst of it.
The only thing I do that helps is to take a claritin every morning. The idea is to sneeze as few times as possible. Anyone who’s had bruised ribs should understand this.
I’m starting week 7 of doing nothing after my not so fun encounter with a guard rail at 30 mph… I just met with a PT this am and looked at his anatomy books of all the soft and connective tissue around the ribs. Sounds like once my breaks have healed, it is important to keep that connective tissue moving around by deep breathing with one of those breathing machines and mild stretching movements. I find that laying on soft ice packs helps makes mine feel better. I don’t know if this is a good thing to do, but it gives me some relief. Hang in there…seems to be a slooooow process. Wish I had more advice for you…
Nice to hear that SAC. Too many coaches like to rush their athletes back as fast as possible, usually to the detriment of the athletes long term health.