Treatment for broken ribs

Bob when i was just 60 yrs old, I broke 6 ribs and a
vertabrae.. 3 ribs were separated and three cracked. I was
back on the bike in 6 weeks. The separated ribs somehow got
back together and mended... guess i was lucky.

Last year at age 66 i cracked 2 ribs and did a local 3 hour
X/C race and the following week raced at Bromont. Lots of
pain, but not enough to keep me off the bike. I was pretty
well healed by the end of the 4th week.

I don't know about the three choices you have... but the one
where the physically push the ribs back together sounds like
the 'least worst choice"

charlie

Bob Shanteau said:

I have some questions about recovering from broken ribs,
where the breaks have separated.

In late February, I was on the Hellyer Velodrome in San
Jose, CA, when another rider fell in front of me during a
training session. I ran into him and went over the
handlebars, landing on the right side of my head and my
right shoulder. I suffered a concussion and broke my right
scapula and 8 ribs on the right side. I spent 7 days in the
hospital, the last few with a tube inserted in my chest to
drain fluid. Due to my concussion, I don't remember the
crash or the events leading up to it. I am a 56 year old
man and my bones are more brittle and I heal more slowly
than 30 years ago.

There was a thread a couple of years ago titled, "recovery
from a broken rib." That guy only cracked one rib, and he
healed in a couple of months. I am not so fortunate.

For me it has now been 12 weeks and my ribs have not
mended. I am still in enough pain that I cannot ride and
sitting and standing are difficult. An X-ray a couple of
weeks ago showed at least 3 ribs that were still separated
(ribs 6, 7 and 8, IIRC). My orthopedic surgeon said that
the ribs may not ever form a union, in which case some
fibrous tissue will from between the ends. He said I have
3 choices:

1. Let the ribs heal as they may, probably ending in at
least one non-union.

2. Have a specially trained physical therapist try to
realign the ribs so they will mend.

3. If we were in Germany, I would have surgery where the
ribs are aligned with plates and screws.

Has anyone here had experience with any of these 3
alternative treatments? What were the results?

Dicing it up on the velodrome at 56. Racing mountain
bikes at 66.

My bike hat's off to you guys.

Robert