Rib pain/injury

So I know what you mean.I was on back of skidoo and we hit telephone post.Aside from 2 broken bones I received a bruised diaphragm.xrays revealed no broken ribs or tears in soft tissue.While I was laid up it took like a month at least to stop hurting when I coughed I kept extra pillow beside me for sneeze..you simply hug the pillow when you cough or sneeze .I wouldnt rule out an x-ray if it does not improve soon.A soft tissue injury will not improve perhaps if you keep aggravating it.

Have you had any kind of scan to detect whether it's just bruising of your ribs or whether a rib could be fractured? I would go to the doctors if I were you. I know I was in a car accident as a pedestrian in mid September. I started with mild pain at the time which built up to severe pain in my left ribcage 3 weeks later, and I have been told today through an MRI scan that I have a broken rib. I am now awaiting a dye injected bone scan to see what the extent of the damage is properly. I was led to believe that rib fractures can take months to heal, I don't know know about three weeks! Try to get your GP to do some scans on your ribcage, I know it can be difficult as they are all on budgets and don't want to spend any money unneccesarily, it's so strict now but be persistent and fight for your rights.

Good luck

I agree with evonne. You need to get proper treatment. A rib fracture can puncture surrounding tissue and organs such as your lung. Even if it was fractured and has healed it may have heal incorrectly resulting in life long complications. I have a rib that actually pops out of place, thanks to my youngest son being transverse (sideways)

Knowing for sure is always better! Let us know how things go!

The NHS has been quite good at allowing me to have the scans they've authorised as regards the rib injury. I just wish it was easier to get an appointment with my GP so that I could discuss the progression of all these scans. The GP has ordered another bone scan with dye to be done at the end of February. I just wish it were possible to know exactly where all this is heading. I always feel as though I am being kept in the dark about the reasoning behind these repetitive scans, why can't we be included more by at least being allowed easier access to GP appointments and seeing our doctor face to face as opposed to the way it's become. Too much communicaton between patient and doctor is done over the phone now. It just feels so faceless and inferior the way we are forced to be handled for our medical treatment now. There's too much ticking of boxes and no personal touch any more. Do other people feel disappointed in this way?

I think you ought to go to your GP and ask him or her for a bone scan with a dye injection at the nuclear science department. This will show up any damage you have done. I know I have a broken rib caused by an accident. Initially my GP said it was a twisted muscle but you must be insistent if you really want to know what damage you have really done by you falling off your motorcross bike and don't be fobbed off. If anything shows up it will probably be followed through by the radiologist who in my case recommended an MRI scan which then showed up the injury in more detail. Perhaps it is unwise to be doing any exercise which involves the ribcage until you know for sure what is causing the pain as you could be making the injury worse and not allowing it time to recover even if it is a damaged muscle injury. It's difficult to get these scans done I know because understanderably the NHS doesn't want to spend money unnecessarily and needs to be concerned enough about your pain to get to the cause of it. I hope you get to know what's wrong anyway and then you can get back to normal.