Read my x-ray! Help

Here is one of the x-rays. Thank you for looking and commenting. This is my first time posting.

Hi again, well they have all come up now but to be honest unless your a radiographer then it wouldn't be possible to comment, is it possible the fractures are from previous breaks.

You say you have pain, could this be from the muscles and not broken bones.

On this site we are not here to diagnose but to give support and advise on how to best cope with things related to health and life.

Your best bet would be to go back to your GP and get advise on how you should deal with the pain.

Has he mentioned costochondritis to you.

Hi, Thank you.

I have been diagnosed with costochondritis a few years back. This pain is different. Being that I had broken ribs before and the pain is localized to one rib in particular, I'm confident that it is broken.

This happened before where I went to urgent care for a broken rib. They did x-rays and said no breaks and I must have strained a muscle. I told them no that they were wrong. I went to an Orthopedic Doctor where they did the x-rays and confirmed a significant break. Thus, I'm feeling the same thing is happening now.

It is possible for them to get it wrong, that's why I advise you to go back and query there diagnosis, also the fact that its localized to one area doesn't rule out muscle problems completely.

Can I ask how you broke your ribs previously.

Yes, I reached out to the imaging center and asked for a different radiologist to read it, which they did and concur with the original reading. I'll be getting more xrays from a different location on Friday.

I had a slip and fall accident where I broke 5 ribs completely in half on my right side in 2011. I've never broke a bone in my life until then and I'm almost 55 (and healthy). Since then I broke a rib on my left side in 2014 from whooping cough, then broke another in 2015 on the left side as well from simply trying to climb in a boat. This time I was perched on a ladder leaning over a metal bar (my ribs were) and I stretched and hear and felt the break. It seems my ribs are unstable since the first break of the 5 ribs.

I had a bone density scan in 2012 and it showed normal wear and tear for my age. Nothing significant.

I can't figure out why I break rib bones so easy now.

I am now presuming your in the states because in UK we cannot ask for further xrays in another area.

If you feel they are wrong then obviously its your right to ask for s second opinion but even if you have broken another rib what would be there course of action, in UK they don't even strap them now.

I was diagnosed with costochondritis after a head on car crash, previously told it may be cracked ribs.  Eventually 2 years later I got an MRI, which showed a bad fracture to the serum. Its now secured with 2 plates and 26 screws. 

I'd try and get a CT or MRI scan if I was you.  If it is fractured ribs, ask about getting them secured with plates, so your recovery will be much less painful and quicker.

Wow! Glad you are better! I'm going back to the doctor and requesting new xrays. I'll ask about an MRI. Thank you!

I wish I was better.  I had a CT scan done in June, doctor wasn't happy with the radiologists report, so waiting for another review. Pain was reduced a lot after the sternum operation, but still something wrong with my ribs. My best advice is to never take "I think its" as an answer. I hope you get better soon.