Cracked/bruised ribs: how long to mend?

"Peewiglet" <[email hidden]> schreef in bericht
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Does anyone have any experience of how long it takes cracked/badly
bruised ribs to mend? I either cracked or bruised a couple of mine in
(I think) early July, when I tripped over when running. They seemed to
be getting better about 6 weeks later, but they've been getting sore
again during the last month or so: not at all agonising, but a bit
painful on sitting up, breathing right out or in, coughing etc. I've
heard they can take a long time to heal, but this seems a bit OTT. Any
ideas?

Seriously brused ribs can take up to half a year, sometimes more, to heal
and not give you anymore agony. It could also be the muscles between your
ribs. Because you've injured your ribs you adjust your upper body to feel as
little pain as possible. i.e. You use your muscles between your ribs
(important for breathing) in a different way then they're used to. That can
give you *ordinairy* musclepain.

BTW Did you see your PD ?

--
Theo
www.theosphotos.fotopic.net

On Fri, 19 Nov 2004 10:00:46 +0000, Malcolm
<[email hidden]> wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

Whilst there may well be people here who have suffered cracked ribs, as
I have, though it was a long while ago and I can't remember how long
they took to mend, wouldn't it be better to seek professional medical
advice? Particularly as you are obviously concerned about them.

I did seek medical advice at the time, and they told me that
cracked/bruised ribs can take "quite some time" to heal up.

They weren't able to say precisely how long that might be, though, and
actually it seems to me that before I go back to the GP or hospital to
ask what they'll be sure to regard as a trivial question it makes
sense to ask others whether they have any direct experience.

I'm not actually "concerned" about my ribs: I'm simply wondering why
they're now sore again when they appeared to be getting better.

You seem to feel I shouldn't have asked the question here. Apologies
for wasting your time and bandwidth. I'm no longer sure what's
actually on topic here, so perhaps it's best if I just bugger off for
a while.

Best wishes,
--
,,
(**)PeeWiglet~~
/ \ / \

On Fri, 19 Nov 2004 11:19:18 +0100, "theo" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Seriously brused ribs can take up to half a year, sometimes more, to heal
and not give you anymore agony. It could also be the muscles between your
ribs. Because you've injured your ribs you adjust your upper body to feel as
little pain as possible. i.e. You use your muscles between your ribs
(important for breathing) in a different way then they're used to. That can
give you *ordinairy* musclepain.

Thanks, Theo.

Quoted message said:

BTW Did you see your PD ?

PD = doctor? I went to the hospital at the time, as I could hardly
move and had to sleep sitting up in a chair. They said they weren't
sure whether my ribs were cracked/broken.

Best wishes,
--
,,
(**)PeeWiglet~~
/ \ / \

On Fri, 19 Nov 2004 07:54:05 +0000, Peewiglet <[email hidden]>
wrote:

| Does anyone have any experience of how long it takes cracked/badly
| bruised ribs to mend? I either cracked or bruised a couple of mine in
| (I think) early July, when I tripped over when running. They seemed to
| be getting better about 6 weeks later, but they've been getting sore
| again during the last month or so: not at all agonising, but a bit
| painful on sitting up, breathing right out or in, coughing etc. I've
| heard they can take a long time to heal, but this seems a bit OTT. Any
| ideas?

General rule about injuries and doctors.
They always ask how long have you been in pain? with good reason.
If it gets better soon, ignore the Doctors.
Otherwise off to the GP, it may just be serious.

--
Dave F

Peewiglet said:

You seem to feel I shouldn't have asked the question here. Apologies
for wasting your time and bandwidth.

My impression wasn't that you shouldn't have asked/wasted bandwidth,
just the suggestion that you may be better off asking elsewhere.
Particularly if "elsewhere" involves professionals who can examine in
person.

Quoted message said:

I'm no longer sure what's
actually on topic here, so perhaps it's best if I just bugger off for
a while.

Don't do that. But if you can get an X-ray then *photography* will be
involved, and thus you will instantly find yourself in downtown On Topic
City! ;-)

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Peewiglet <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

Does anyone have any experience of how long it takes cracked/badly
bruised ribs to mend? I either cracked or bruised a couple of mine in
(I think) early July, when I tripped over when running. They seemed to
be getting better about 6 weeks later, but they've been getting sore
again during the last month or so: not at all agonising, but a bit
painful on sitting up, breathing right out or in, coughing etc. I've
heard they can take a long time to heal, but this seems a bit OTT. Any
ideas?

Three weeks is the norm, but you have to be sensible, don't go playing
football (Beckham) or sleeping close to the ground in damp surroundings.
;-)
--
Gordon

On Fri, 19 Nov 2004 11:10:21 +0000, Gordon <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Three weeks is the norm, but you have to be sensible, don't go playing
football (Beckham) or sleeping close to the ground in damp surroundings.
;-)

:-)

Best wishes,
--
,,
(**)PeeWiglet~~
/ \ / \

"Peewiglet" <[email hidden]> schreef in bericht
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Fri, 19 Nov 2004 11:19:18 +0100, "theo" <[email hidden]>
wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

BTW Did you see your PD ?

PD = doctor?

Short for Physical Doctor ? I don't think you need a shrink ;-)

--
Theo
www.theosphotos.fotopic.net

On Fri, 19 Nov 2004 13:16:51 +0000, Malcolm
<[email hidden]> wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

No, don't do that, I was just concerned that you might not have sought
medical advice. As you have, then fine and why not ask here, where the
advice is probably as good as in your local pub, but then you've
presumably asked there, too :-)

Thanks, Malcolm. I think I was a little over-sensitive: sorry about
that.

Best wishes,
--
,,
(**)PeeWiglet~~
/ \ / \

Hi, hope you dont mind me putting in my tuppence worth about your ribs.

When someone injures their ribs and attends A&E, they have a clinical
examination conducted i.e. listening with a stethoscope for air entry to
ensure your lungs are ok and that you have no shortness of breath, we use
our fingers to gently bang the chest wall to listen for any consolidation
or dullness which may give us some idea if your ribs has done any damage
internally.

We don't x-ray anymore for ribs now as the treatment is exactly the same for
fractured or bruised ribs. Painkillers are advised on a regular basis not
just when pain present as it allows you to move much better. The impulse is
to take short shallow breaths because of the pain in the ribs but do take
deep breaths regularly as you could get a chest infection and even pneumonia
by not emptying your lungs properly. hold both your arms around your trunk
when coughing, sneezing, laughing etc it will help. The pain can last a
long time but usually we tell patients up to six weeks then you will always
be aware you have damaged your ribs as you will get the odd twinge where you
injured them. hope this has helped a little.
col x
"Malcolm" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, Peewiglet
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

On Fri, 19 Nov 2004 13:16:51 +0000, Malcolm
<[email hidden]> wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

No, don't do that, I was just concerned that you might not have sought
medical advice. As you have, then fine and why not ask here, where the
advice is probably as good as in your local pub, but then you've
presumably asked there, too :-)

Thanks, Malcolm. I think I was a little over-sensitive: sorry about
that.

Not a problem. Just hope your ribs cease to be sensitive :-)

--
Malcolm

Col said:

Hi, hope you dont mind me putting in my tuppence worth about your ribs.

<snippy>

Many thanks, Col 🙂

Best wishes,
--
,,
(**)PeeWiglet~~
/ \ / \

On Sat, 20 Nov 2004 22:14:58 +0000, Chris Street
<[email hidden]> wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

I cracked four when my car dropped on me when working.

Commiserations :-( I can barely begin to imagine just how painful
that must have been...

Quoted message said:

It was a good two
months before I could do anything more demanding than lifting a teabag and
six months before I no longer had problems.

I'm glad you were eventually better!

Quoted message said:

If you are still having problems then you should see your GP. If you are
worried about disturbing them unneccessarily, then ring NHS direct and ask
their advice first - 0845 46 47 or http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/

Ok, thanks. It's not a problem at the moment, but I'll do that if it
gets worse. I was really just looking for some anecdotal evidence
about what's par for the course 🙂

Best wishes,
--
,,
(**)PeeWiglet~~
/ \ / \

In article <[email hidden]>, Peter Clinch
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Don't do that. But if you can get an X-ray then *photography* will be
involved, and thus you will instantly find yourself in downtown On Topic
City! ;-)

Someone can fix you up in Photoshop :-)
--
Bill Grey
http://www.billboy.co.uk

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Peewiglet said:

Does anyone have any experience of how long it takes cracked/badly
bruised ribs to mend? I either cracked or bruised a couple of mine in
(I think) early July, when I tripped over when running. They seemed to
be getting better about 6 weeks later, but they've been getting sore
again during the last month or so: not at all agonising, but a bit
painful on sitting up, breathing right out or in, coughing etc. I've
heard they can take a long time to heal, but this seems a bit OTT. Any
ideas?

Best wishes,

I cracked four when my car dropped on me when working. It was a good two
months before I could do anything more demanding than lifting a teabag and
six months before I no longer had problems.

If you are still having problems then you should see your GP. If you are
worried about disturbing them unneccessarily, then ring NHS direct and ask
their advice first - 0845 46 47 or http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/

And then when you realise you are wasting your time, go see your GP.

(Sorry, had a number of v bad experiences with NHS direct. AFAICT they
are just a screening service for GPs, and based on some of the advice
and diagnosis I've had, not very good at even that)

--
Darren

Darren G <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

I>

Quoted message said:

If you are still having problems then you should see your GP. If you are
worried about disturbing them unneccessarily, then ring NHS direct and ask
their advice first - 0845 46 47 or http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/

And then when you realise you are wasting your time, go see your GP.

(Sorry, had a number of v bad experiences with NHS direct. AFAICT they
are just a screening service for GPs, and based on some of the advice
and diagnosis I've had, not very good at even that)

I rang them once. I live alone, and I had experienced a really bad
night with palpitations, missing heart beats at my pulse, etc.

It was about 5 am when I called, and what they gave me was time - time
to talk to a sympathetic listener as I gradually talked myself into
realising that the main problem was a panic attack. A slight heart
flutter can be alarming in the dark hours....

They asked a lot of questions, and because I was pain free they advised
seeing my GP for reassurance if I was still worried by morning.

Subsequently I have almost abandoned drinking coffee, and the problem
has gone away except when I have eaten a late meal and / or drunk real
ale, either of which affect my digestion adversely.
--
Gordon

On Sat, 20 Nov 2004 22:47:16 -0000, Darren G <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Peewiglet said:

Does anyone have any experience of how long it takes cracked/badly
bruised ribs to mend? I either cracked or bruised a couple of mine in
(I think) early July, when I tripped over when running. They seemed to
be getting better about 6 weeks later, but they've been getting sore
again during the last month or so: not at all agonising, but a bit
painful on sitting up, breathing right out or in, coughing etc. I've
heard they can take a long time to heal, but this seems a bit OTT. Any
ideas?

Best wishes,

I cracked four when my car dropped on me when working. It was a good two
months before I could do anything more demanding than lifting a teabag and
six months before I no longer had problems.

If you are still having problems then you should see your GP. If you are
worried about disturbing them unneccessarily, then ring NHS direct and ask
their advice first - 0845 46 47 or http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/

And then when you realise you are wasting your time, go see your GP.

(Sorry, had a number of v bad experiences with NHS direct. AFAICT they
are just a screening service for GPs, and based on some of the advice
and diagnosis I've had, not very good at even that)

--
Darren

An alternative resource web site for medical problems and possible
treatments can be found here:
http://www.prodigy.nhs.uk/

Norman

"W. D. Grey" <[email hidden]> schreef in bericht
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, Peter Clinch
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Don't do that. But if you can get an X-ray then *photography* will be
involved, and thus you will instantly find yourself in downtown On Topic
City! ;-)

Someone can fix you up in Photoshop :-)

Is there a doctor in the group ? O yes, there he is. It's that famous
surgeon, Doctor Paul ! :-)

--
Theo
www.theosphotos.fotopic.net

"Darren G" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

If you are still having problems then you should see your GP. If you are
worried about disturbing them unneccessarily, then ring NHS direct and

ask

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

their advice first - 0845 46 47 or http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/

Quoted message said:

And then when you realise you are wasting your time, go see your GP.

They've got a "walk in" centre where I live but on the two occasions I've
walked in with things I thought they might be able help me with I was told
to walk straight back out and see a doctor. The two things in question
being (a) "Can I get my cholesterol checked here?" and (b) "Can you tell me
what to look for regarding moles and skin cancer?" I'd have thought
preventative measures like that to stop people getting ill in the first
place ought to be exactly what they were about but apparently not.

On Sun, 21 Nov 2004 11:11:09 -0000, "AndyP"
<[email hidden]> wrote:

| (b) "Can you tell me
| what to look for regarding moles and skin cancer?"

I had one taken off *many* years ago, it grew slightly larger, changed
shape and itched. The result came back, "pre cancerous changes, had you
left it another 5 years, you would have had real problems"

--
Dave F