I’m experiencing some discomfort when I breathe deeply, and I can’t figure out why. Tonight, Meg and I went to visit some friends of ours for dinner and shopping in Charlottesville. (Well, Meg went shopping and I enjoyed a tall, frosty beverage). As we were saying goodbye to our friends in the parking lot of the bar we had patronized, I started to feel a dull pain from what felt like under the lower part of my ribs on my right side. I had just gorged myself on some delicious food from Lord Hardwick’s (I highly recommend eating there if you’re in the area), so I figured it was something to do with how stuffed I was, and that it would subside later in the evening. It still hasn’t.
To me, it feels like I’ve bruised something inside, and when I breathe deeply enough, there’s pressure on whatever is sore which causes the pain. I’ve had a fairly good track record at diagnosing my injuries throughout my life, but I just can’t pinpoint what this could be. I’m going to sleep on it, and hopefully things will feel better in the morning. Google wasn’t very helpful (though I’m not even sure how to describe my symptoms), so I may end up having to consult a doctor if things don’t get better. Is it possible to bruise something on the inside without taking a direct hit on the outside? Maybe a killer sneeze?
December 6th, 2007 at 11:44 pm
I have reasently encountered somethig similar to your case. I am 14 tears old and i was lifting weights with our football coach one day doing dead lift and i experienced some pain in my ribs (lower right side). I didnt say much to coach just a brief man my ribs hurt a little. but as i went back the next day to do my squats i was on rep # 18 when all of the sudden this excrusiating pain hit me in my ribs, and i immediatly stopped and told coach he sat me down to look at me and he asked me how it hurt. I told him that when i exhaled that it hurt really bad and also when i would bend over or tighten my chest so i went to the school office and called my mother but she was about 30 mins away so she called my grandmother to come get me and my grandmother brought me home as i layed on my bed in horrable pain and waited on my mother and father to take me to the hospital. I went to the local hospital where they x rayed me and said that they didnt find any evedance of a break of fracture but they did find that i had torn the cartlidge between two of my ribs and also that it was inflamed prety badly i am still in pain but the doctor prescribed me a muscle relaxer and it is helping a good bit sorry to here about you accident i hope you feel better and you might want to go let a doctor check you out well hope you feel better
November 15th, 2007 at 1:47 am
Well at least my broken or bruised ribs don’t hurt as badly as they would if I wasn’t using a Fentanyl patch for another injury. In fact it’s enabled me to discover that the best thing for bruised ribs is to stay active as possible. THEN at night when there is alot less activity I can really appreciate the difference in the lessened severity of pain.
November 13th, 2007 at 5:39 pm
I went to see a friend the other day who hugged me & picked me up off the ground an inch or 2 when he did. Nothing hurt at the time. I was a little sore when I got home, really sore when I went to bed, and worse by morning.
I asked the doctor while at an appt. for something else the following day, and he said he wouldn’t bother taking X-Rays, since they don’t tape people up anymore, (it causes more trouble than it helps.) He said if it was a bruse I should start feeling better in 5-6 days, if it was a break or fracture, then 5-6 weeks! Apply moist heat, and sent me on my way.
It DOES hurt though, you don’t want to think about a sneeze!
November 12th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
A question in the category of bruised ribs. I dropped 250 lbs of weight on a barbell about ten inch onto my chest. It knocked the wind out of me. The Doc perscribed me Vicodin, which has been helpful. Its been two weeks since I’ve done any chest exercise. I’ve kept up with all other exercises except any pressing motion off the chest, i.e., close grip tricep press, bench press. The muscle seems to be fine, now the side of my ribs have slight pain, sometimes greater than slight. My question is, after two weeks am I safe to go back to my chest routine in a moderate manner although there is still the small degree of pain. Can I tough it out and be fine without further injury?
November 10th, 2007 at 10:08 am
Hi, Guess i’ve joined the gang as i was injured while my husbard was trying to avoid a car accident a couple of days ago and i was thrown into the armrest and injured the left side of the ribcage just under the breast and the pain seems to be getting worse instead of better. I tossed around the idea of going to the doctor but after reading all of the above i think i will just wait it out. I was just worried about doing any damage to the heart as there is so much pain when i breathe, move or cough in that area. The pain is worse today than it was yesterday. I don’t like medicine but i may have to resort to a pain killer of some sort.
October 9th, 2007 at 12:01 pm
This seems to be a common problem. Last year i was playing rugby when i got caught at the bottom of a ruck with the ball under my body. The weight of the pile of people on me pushed the ball into my ribs which in turn pushed inwards which hurt like hell for about 5 minutes. As has been said already, the pain subsided for a couple of days, but on the third morning i woke up and literally couldn’t even sit up in bed. I actually had to roll out onto my hands and knees and get up that way. Strong painkillers helped, but the pain spread from one point at the front all the way round my back until breathing was painful. Overall it took 3 weeks to get well enough to play sport again.
Ironically, i now have the same injury again , this time from being elbowed playing football (I am in the UK so you would call it soccer!) . The injury is in the same place and the symptoms are the same, but i have had a bad cold so the sneezing has been agony. It seems to be taing a little longer to heal , but then again i am a year older now (31).
I think recovery time very much depends upon age, and complete rest (the doctor above must have been mad to say you should keep playing sport through an interciostal injury, no wonder it won’t heal properly). The last thing you want is to develop scar tissue in the area, as this will cause further problems.
October 3rd, 2007 at 1:12 pm
I know exactly how I cracked? bruised? broke? my ribs, tripped on my grandson’s skateboard. Didn’t go to dr. because everything on web says they don’t do anything for any of the above, just rest and immobilize. It’s now two weeks and I sill hurt but not as sharp as originn=ally. Any idea how long this lasts?
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:15 pm
Heyas, I was wrestling/tickle fighing with my girlfriend over the weekend on my bed when at one point i went for her feet and she ended up kicking me in the side of the chest. I think I heard a pop or noise of some sort and was in really bad pain. The pain subsided a bit but was still pretty bad so she called one of her relatives who’s a doctor and she said it probably isn’t cracked or broken b/c I would be in alot more pain and it would hurt when I took normal breaths, whereas it only currently hurts when I take deep breaths or move certains ways/bend over.
This happened Saturday and yesterday, Tuesday, I tried to go back to the gym for the first time. I started out doing some cardio on the eliptical to get the blood flowing and my chest started hurting, I don’t know if it was from the movement or the rapid breathing. I then went to start lifting, biceps, and was in even more pain so I stopped.
My question is how long should I wait until I go back to the gym? I hate to stop going at all but I don’t want to irritate my chest more and prolong this, since I seem to be in more pain today then I was before I went to the gym yesterday.
Thanks
April 30th, 2007 at 3:27 pm
There seem to be a lot more questions than answers here but hopefully I will get lucky….I was in an altercation over 8 days ago. I dont remember anything specifically happening to my ribs but in the heat of the moment, you dont always remember. About two days after I noticed pain and slight bruising on the left rib cage. Breathing is minimized, coughing and sneezing unbearable. The pain has now radiated to my back and I also have a strange neck pain which may or may not be associated. I have not been to the doctor. Please give me some insight…thanks
April 30th, 2007 at 4:42 am
Hi
I was doing stretching for about 30 mins and towards the end I felt a pain in my rightside, which I thought was just a stitch. The pain got worse and even lifting my Right arm above my head is unbeareable, and coughing and sneezing is a definite no no. It’s now been a week since it happened, and I can now breathe and cough a bit better, but the pain is still there. I can’t do any stretching, and tried swimming yesterday, but woke up this morning with severe pain. It’s so frustrating as I want to get back to my exercise and stretching, oh and be able to sleep without pain (my right side is my favourite). Any ideas and what my injury is and how long it will take to subside?