First, a thank you to the 40 - 45 male (pink cap) at IMCA that kicked me in the ribs at IMCA a couple of weeks ago.
The healing process for that was easy as I took a couple of weeks off after the race to heal the total self. A couple of days ago I re-injured the rib so now it is even worse; hurts to breathe deep, lay down, cough, sneeze, etc. I need to get back working out; I am starting my 13 week IM training program coming up in a couple of weeks.
Medicos: Is a bruised rib further damaged by swimming, biking or running. I swam 1100 yards today and most of the pain was due to heavy breathing. I haven’t tried to run or bike yet. Any advice on working out. Any advice on speeding up the healing process.
Cervelo Guy, you are a chiropractor right? any thoughts. I have a regular chiropractor I visit… would he be able to help?
My doctor told me working out while it still hurt would just slow down recovery and to expect it to take about 4-6 weeks on it’s own (my injury that is). I decided to swim less but still train and it has healed in 4-6 weeks anyway. The simple motion of swimming did not really hurt, it only hurt after swimming for more than a few minutes. Running hurt the most and it would always be worse in the morning after laying down all night.
I did the same thing surfing over the weekend. Took my board square in the chest rolling a wave. Ouch. Last time I broke a rib it was skateboarding. This is just kid of super- sore but not like the broken one from skating.
OCTriGeek, any update on your healing process? I sustained a similar injury…took a shoulder in the ribs playing basketball a couple of weeks ago. That wasn’t so bad in itself, but then I evidently aggravated it 2 or 3 days later, and it’s been pretty painful since then. Sitting up, rolling over in bed the wrong way, putting on shoes or socks, deep breaths, and especially sneezing–all very painful. I’ve done a few light runs and rides and one swim, all of which hurt a bit but not too bad, and made it somewhat more sore for a while afterward. Anybody have any advice as to how to best manage this thing? I saw a nurse practitioner about it, but didn’t get any definitive information. Thanks… Nate
I cracked two ribs in a fall this past weekend. My doctor’s advice: “if it hurts, don’t do it, oh and don’t catch a cold.”
Coughing and sneezing hurt like hell. Deep breathing hurts, laying down hurts. Sounds familiar. Have you had x-ray’s to confirm there’s not a crack? I would want to confirm that prior to trying chiropractic treatment.
Swimming hurts, especially with any kind of hard effort. I’ve been able to use my trainer without any problem, even aero, as long as I keep my breathing in check. Running on soft surfaces has also been ok, but I have to go very slowly.
So no swimming for a couple of weeks. I’m going to try riding the road bike outside tonight and see how that goes, otherwise it’s lot’s of trainer time and very easy running.
It’s kind of like having a built in aerobic threshold monitor, but it looks like I’ll be able to maintain my aerobic base over the next couple of weeks while it heals.
For sleeping at night, perhaps your doctor might be able to prescibe some pretty good pain killers. When I broke ribs two years ago the worst part was trying to sleep at night. I didn’t get anything for pain except just took 1000 mg advil at night. Didn’t train much for a couple of months 'cause it hurt like hell to do anything. sneezing and coughing were the worst!
after a couple of months did a century bike ride, did an OL triathlon…running was the worst part. Took me 2:38 to complete the OL, then ran Chicago marathon in 4 hours…just shuffling along trying not to breathe to hard…call me crazy…i know
Hey Natrin, sorry for the delay, I was away from my computer last week. My rib healed within about 3 weeks of me noticing the pain. I found the worst was sleeping. It hurt like a bitch just to lay down. As for working out, swimming was the worst. I had no problem biking or running after the first week of rest. I am back to my overtraining ways now looking forward to my next injury.
My ribs are messed up right now from a surfing wipe-out three weeks ago. They still hurt like a bitch. Over the weekend I raced and I was like, “Oh shit… this REALLY hurts…” I couldn’t breath normally.
It takes 8 weeks to heal I am told. No way around it I guess.