Massive stack that ended with the boom in my rib cage. Hurt &@&!?$&????? at the time but kept sailing and by the time I came off the water had forgotten all about it. Few days later, sudden, sharp pain in my chest - alternating between front and back. Eventually got in to see physio and he diagnosed rib cartilage damage and 3 months of rest to fix. I didn't want to believe it was true, so I got second opinion from GP. He confirmed same. Usual story with soft injuries - 'you would have been better off with a break - they heal faster'. They both said there was no point in getting anything scanned to make sure that's what was going on because there's nothing you can do for ribs.

It's now 5 weeks after the injury and it hasn't improved in the last 3 weeks. It's gotten worse this last week. Still very painful to do the most basic things. Like roll over in bed.

I've never had any serious injuries before this year, but after already missing 6 months with a knee (torn MCL) and DVT complications, this rib thing is crushing me. Daylight savings in a week. Noreasters pumping. Ugh. I just want to sort it as quickly as I can.

Has anyone had any experience with rib cartilage injuries or anything similar? Any estimates for recovery time or advice to help recovery?

I have so much admiration for people who deal with long term illness and pain. Stronger people than I.

Very grateful for any advice

i did something like that but shattered 6 ribs instead. sucked a bit. its rare i do things by half.
took about 3 months to be at the point i could sail again but the doc said they havent healed correctly and said he wanted to break and pin them.
i ran away. quick.
dont sneeze

Is this why you were hobbling around Maui?

I've had rib injury a couple of times, the worst from a surfboard rail smashing into my side mid-chest level.

Annoyingly slow recovery.

Ice packs & slow stretching seemed to help. I think I managed a windsurf after 3 weeks but kept the harness
lower & favoured the unijured side.
.
After a month it was manageable but still noticeable, probably 6 weeks + for proper recovery.
.
My wife says I'm pretty intolerant with pain (3 kids & she's an expert!). I reckon I'm about average.
.
Only a couple of NE so far, plenty of season to go!!

shear tip said..

Is this why you were hobbling around Maui?

Hehe... sort of. The night the chest pain started I didn't know how to fix it, so I asked renowned medical expert - Dr Google. It said popped ribs and to do these special stretches. While doing the exercises, I put my back out. Can't move, can't get up, can't walk. The crooked torso old woman hobbling for the next week was my back more than the ribs. Once I got home, the physio popped 2 ribs back in for me and helped get my back good as new pretty quick. But unfortunately stuck with the rib pain. How embarrassing. I feel so old and broken. And Maui was my big return to sailing after my knee. Do you think the universe is trying to tell me something this year? I swear I'm not usually like this!

Thanks so much for sharing your stories. It's even just comforting to know that this is normal and there's not anything else I can be doing. Guess I've just gotta suck it up and be patient. Great to hear that even though it's slow, people come through good as new. Thank you

Good luck Sailhack! It's hard not knowing what's going on or what you should be doing to fix it.

In case it helps, the pain started suddenly a few days after the stack while lying on the ground on my side (?!?!?!!) - apparently not uncommon for side lying to cause trouble and for the pain to not be instant after impact. Pain is super sharp and alternates between front of chest and straight in the back around the shoulder blades depending on what I'm doing. Lying down, rolling over and doing anything with my right arm is worst. It hurts to laugh/sneeze/breathe deeply, but not consistently - apparently that's one of the diffferences between broken ribs and cartilage damage. Any breathing, coughing etc kills broken ribs. With cartilage, breathing doesn't always hurt and it's supposed to be more about movement. I had no idea just how much of our rib cage is made of cartilage til this happened! Ignoramus

Hope you can get it sorted fast

I popped a few ribs out after getting bucked off my horse and launched head first into the ground.Luckily all I needed was for the chiro to put them back in again and I think the pain was gone..( 7 years ago so memory faded- I know it was b painful at first ).

choco said..

best thing for that kinda injury is sniffing some black pepper the following sneezing will tell you how well it's healing

just takes a bit of time to heal, taking it easy is the way to go.

You meanie.. PS - don't read caption comps..

This stuff

www.health2000.co.nz/shop/weleda/arnica/symphytum-comp/p5065/c199

helps speed up recovery of bone fractures, and apparently cartilage damage.
Broke a couple of ribs (and bruised hip bone!!)after MTBiking accident 5 weeks before trip to Maui, cut back on the coffee, alcohol and took these and ribs were sweet as by trip. Hips another story though still tender after 5 months apparently normal for periosteal bruising.

WOW Murphenzo. That sounds SO bad. I will definitely do some more reading and look into it further if it doesn't improve. Thank you.

Since you were properly diagnosed, have you been given any rehab exercises to do or just advised to rest?

What a sucky year for you. Great to hear you're finally improving and hopefully back in action soon