Broken Rib

[OBIO]

I am pretty sure that I broke a rib yesterday. I was starting my shift in my new department, unplugged the ride on pallet jack that I would be using for the day, checked the battery and added some water, hopped on, rolled forward, stopped.....and having not used a pallet jack in a while since I have been driving a fork lift...I forgot how torquey and zippy the pallet jacks are....I put in WAY to much throttle twist....the pallet jack shot backward WAY fast, I lost my balance and came crashing down across the hand hold rail...my entire body weight...all 220 pounds of it...on my left rib area. You know how your ribs all join that inner "ring" of bone...well....about half way down that "ring"....it hurts like bloody 'ell and there is a definite notch there. It hurts bad....bad enough that even 5 Captain and Colas and a Bob Marley (one shot each of Jagermeister, peppermint schnapps and something else...pretty potent drink) did not kill the pain. It really hurt when the gal I was out with last night gave me a really tight hug at the end of the night.....strong country gal, arms rapped around me...and SQUEEZE....major OUCH!

It might be a good idea to head to the hospital this afternoon and get an x-ray. There's really not much that can be done for a broken rib...other than wrap it.....just want to make sure I don't have a bone shard or something that is going to pierce anything vital.

Tim

[ViperPilot2]

Tim,

OUCH!

Good idea to have an x-ray just to be safe. If you do, and after you have it wrapped, remember this tip...

If you have to cough or sneeze, bend over at the waist beforehand. That takes the pressure off your rib cage and reduces the pain (a little).

I broke a rib a few years ago, and the first time I sneezed standing upright I almost fainted from the pain!

Hope you're OK...

[TeaSea]

One of the greatest embarrassments of my life was slipping on ice and falling on the #10 coffee can I was holding under my right arm (in front of a crowd of people). Cracked that rib as quick as you please.

Docs just wrapped it for a couple days. Nothing else for it and I was fine in a couple of weeks (took and Army PT test about a month later).....but there is chance of infection, so you should really have it checked out.

[AckAck]

You might want to mention it to a supervisor for Workman's Comp reasons...since it was on the job, and I'm assuming you are a legal employee.

(You don't mention it, but I would assume that if you had done so, they would have suggested the X-Ray already.)

[beana51]

Ribs..HURT!....so too toes,fingers....All ask "How Ya fell' we all lie..OK....These things hurt....At 81 rarely fall, good thing is I still bounce OK....But my toes? Here in the Fla. bone Yard I wear no shoes...Bear feet like some aborigine in the jungle..Which begs the question How They Do it? No shoes?..Miss my Sorels!..Hope You Heal soon ..Vin

The story is Chuck Yeager cracked his ribs ..and yet,with that, broke the Sound Barrier...How Did He do It ??

[Dangerousdave26]

Been there done that twice and don't want to do it again.

Go get the x-ray just to be sure it is broken although you are probably correct it is.

What you really want to know is it in place to heal correctly. If not it could puncture a lung.

When I did this the first time after 3 days I started feeling pretty good so I went back to working. I just used caution while lifting and exerting myself. That turned out to be a bad idea. Monday after I started working again it broke again while getting out of bed. This second break kept me from working for 3 months while it healed. It hurt when I broke it the first time when it broke the second time it was more painful than before.

Bottom line don't do any lifting or exerting yourself until it heals 6 to 8 weeks.

That was my experience.

[Rudyjo]

I had two broken ribs about 10 years ago.
I agree.... no not sneeze. The first time I did, it felt like I was hit full force by a baseball bat.

The hardest thing to get through in the first couple of weeks is getting in and out of bed.

[OBIO]

So far the hardest part of this "broken rib" or whatever it is....is that hug last night....good gosh she really had her arms wrapped around me...and being a country gal....she put some grunt behind that hug....felt great and hurt like the dickens at the same time.

[Terry]

So far the hardest part of this "broken rib" or whatever it is....is that hug last night....good gosh she really had her arms wrapped around me...and being a country gal....she put some grunt behind that hug....felt great and hurt like the dickens at the same time.

Those gals learn how to squeeze from entering the greased pig contest at the county fair.

[OBIO]

Those gals learn how to squeeze from entering the greased pig contest at the county fair.

If you knew Tricia....you'd know that she IS the kind of gal who would do that.....which is one of the many things about her that I like. We've been out maybe 16 times over the last few months....everything from a trip to the ice cream parlor to a nature hike and picnic, from burgers and fries to drinks and karaoke....getting to know each other, becoming friends. After last night...looks like we may soonish be moving beyond friends.....yeah.....it's a good thing.

[Ferry_vO]

Actually a broken rib is a good thing if it really is broken, as it is less painful than a bruised rib. A 'bruised rib' refers to damage to the tissue around the ribs as you can't bruise the bone itself (It will break first). I know how that feels, as I've torn a small muscle in my back just below my right shoulder. First time it happened I was in so much pain I stood in my living room for an hour and a half, unable to move anything. For the next six weeks or so I couldn't stand, walk, sit, lay down, sleep or even breathe without severe pain. Took months for it to go away completely, only to come back a year and a half after that first time, in the exact same place... Almost another year has passed since, and it still can be painful at times! Have to be careful with everything I do, especially with lifting things.

And to top it off I now also have a case of bursitis in my right knee... Guess it comes with growing older..

[aeronca1]

Guess it comes with growing older..

It usually comes from a "misspent" youth. I was wild in my youth, and broke almost every bone in my body at one time or another. No dare or challenge evaded this idiot. Now I pay for it. The Weather channel? No need, I know when the weather is going to change. Winter in a cold damp climate like we have here in Ottawa equates to 5 months of pain. Would I change anything if I could go back? Not on your life!

[KellyB]

My dog did it! No, really, he did. Wrapped his long lead around one leg without my noticing, and when I lifted up the other leg to avoid getting wrapped (!) the unnoticed leg also got lifted so fast there was nothing I could do; I hit the ground on #6 and#7 and heard the crunch.

It wasn't so bad until day two, and then, Crikey! pain so sharp I couldn't stop a yell. Poor dog didn't know what to make of that.

A little Vicodin and 6-8 weeks to OK.

Good idea to xray to rule out complications, and then try to take it easy. If you don't, your bod will probably remind you.

If they don't mention it, remember to breathe slowly and deeply a dozen or so times several times a day. Helps prevent possible pneumonia from not ventilating the lungs properly.

Good luck. I fell your pain.

[Ferry_vO]

It usually comes from a "misspent" youth. I was wild in my youth, and broke almost every bone in my body at one time or another.

Not here! Never broke a bone in my life, just a few cuts and bruises and one concussion, but that was way past my youth..

It wasn't so bad until day two, and then, Crikey! pain so sharp I couldn't stop a yell. Poor dog didn't know what to make of that.

Same thing here.. I hurt myself on a thursday morning, but it wasn't all that bad until sunday afternoon! I usually don't watch soccer games, but now I had no choice as I couldn't move a muscle for almost the entire duration of the game! Just stood there with my left hand on my ribs, trying not to breathe in too deep..

[OBIO]

Well....go to the doc this afternoon.....she did a manual exam first.....she was a doc in a trauma center for 14 years and believes in hands on examination prior to x-rays.....working her fingers up my left rib cage.....found 3 rib areas that are bruised....and one rib that is BROKEN. When she pressed on that rib....OMG!!!! The pain was INTENSE to say the least. She looks at me and goes, "Did you feel that?" And I was like, "YEAH I FELT THAT!"

After finding the broken rib...she ordered two x-rays...one to confirm what her finger had told her...and one to check my lungs since I am a smoker. The x-rays did confirm the broken rib. They also showed that there are no cancer or pre-cancerous areas in my lungs...they are clean and clear. Great news there.....my next goal is to stop smoking!!!

The x-rays also showed that I have degenerative arthritis on every vertebrae in the x-rays...which is basically the upper half of my spine. I knew I had it in my lower spine...had x-rays of it done about a decade ago when I injured some back muscles moving a 400 pound office desk by myself....and it is stuff like that....the heavy lifting stuff that I have done my entire life.....that has resulted in the degenerative arthritis. I have been a brute force worker my entire life basically....started doing farm work at the age of 6, worked in a saw mill at the age of 12...see the pattern???

The pain....much worse today than it was Saturday or Sunday.....trying to get into and out of my low sitting sports coupe is a real blast...and trying to lay down....not liking that at all.....

Tim

[Brian_Gladden]

Broke the lower two "Floating" ribs about 18 years ago. Jeep Grand Cherokee ran a red light and T-Boned me in the drivers door at about 60 mph. Was back when I was still on the Fire department (Vol) and working the Ambulance full time. Of course the intersection he hit me in is right next to the firehouse...

Got cut out of my car by my own Fire department and rode in the same ambulance I worked in...

I also have springtime alergys and this was in mid april. Sneeze city. NOT fun!!!

[Ferry_vO]

Well....go to the doc this afternoon.....she did a manual exam first.....she was a doc in a trauma center for 14 years and believes in hands on examination prior to x-rays.....working her fingers up my left rib cage.....found 3 rib areas that are bruised....and one rib that is BROKEN. When she pressed on that rib....OMG!!!! The pain was INTENSE to say the least. She looks at me and goes, "Did you feel that?" And I was like, "YEAH I FELT THAT!"

Once again, I know exactly how that feels.... My own doctor (Well, a replacement) was way too gentle and didn't really find the sore spot.. Unlike the lady at the hospital who needed to locate the right spot for the x-ray! When she poked her two fingers in the 'right' spot it almost felt like I lost all feeling in my legs..... Like Blackadder once said:"I think the phrase rhymes with 'Clucking bell"..

Then she put me in front of the x-ray machine and told me things like 'put your arm all the way over your head and take a deep breath' and a few other poses like that, which you don't really want to do in that situation!

And if you think sitting in a car is painful, try driving around and over all the speedbumps and roundabouts we have...