6 Do’s & 6 Don’ts To Recover From Broken Ribs

Here’s the symptoms of cracked ribs, how to sleep with broken ribs, how to cough with cracked ribs, and many other do’s and don’ts to recover from fractured ribs quickly and fully. Your recovery time from a broken rib can be heavily influenced by what you do… and don’t do. With busted ribs you need to find ways to not only to reduce the pain, but also look after your lungs. Rib damage can cause lung infection, pneumonia and serious issues like pneumothorax, so you need to take precautions. Should you ice broken ribs or put heat on them? Should you take anti-inflammatories for rib fracture? Do you need an x-ray for broken ribs? I cover it all in this quick video.
‘The 3 Essential Exercises EVERYONE Should Do’ …EXCLUSIVE video, only here: stefan-becker.mykajabi.com/3-...
GOT MUSCULOSKELETAL QUESTIONS? I answer questions here now: I’ve started a Facebook Group to help people achieve their musculo-skeletal goals. Join here… / bodyfixexercises
AND I’m developing a Coaching Program! Over 12 weeks, I help people with posture related issues-like neck, shoulder, & upper back pain-discover their root problem and correct it using science-backed mobilising, stretching, & strengthening exercises… so they can feel straight, strong, flexible, & pain free again (and get back to doing what they love). Find out more, and join the wait list here… stefan-becker.mykajabi.com/wa...
0:00 Intro
0:14 Symptoms of cracked ribs
0:24 DONT's for broken ribs
2:08 DO's for fractured ribs
3:02 Heat or Ice for cracked ribs?
3:33 How to sleep with broken ribs
4:54 Recovery time for broken ribs
Images attribution:
CT scan image: James Heilman, MD, CC BY-SA 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons
Pneumothorax lung x-ray: Hellerhoff, CC BY-SA 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons
Displaced ribs shown with red oval: James Heilman, MD, CC BY-SA 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons
#bodyfixexercises

[@BodyFixExercises]

Speaking from experience here! I broke my ribs recently slipping on ice in the Prague Christmas markets. Ouch!!😬

[@alswedgin9274]

i feel that.

[@PritamVerma-vy7or]

Sir please tell me what should I do to heal my rib please sir. I injured my sternum and surrounding one rib .It has little tenderness even after 11 Months, it continues to pain on a particular position while doing something, I am 17 years old boy. The injury was little but it not healed It hurts on twisting and on bending neck. I had ignored my injury for 8 months and continued playing. Sir I had played cricket and badminton with my injured ribs. In X- ray a little strain was found in the ribs . Now I am taking rest Sir, in how days my ribs will be completely healed? What should I not do? What should I do? Hope you will answer sir ! Please answer and help me sir😶

[@imitator939]

​@@PritamVerma-vy7orhellow pritam ..kaise lagi thi bhai leather ki ball lag gayi thi ya mark day night

[@abolethslayer117]

Just broke a rib last night. The pain is insane. Any movement and I'm done. I survived the night, but boy does it suck. I'm just shuffling around, trying to avoid going back to bed.

[@BodyFixExercises]

Hurts, eh? Everything seems to move the ribs. Try icing it a bit to reduce inflammation.

[@Skybabe1]

I just broke 3 ribs with 5 breaks.

[@MicheleE-rm8qn]

Just breathe ❤

[@NathanOxenfeld]

Great timing - I just fractured a rib 2 weeks ago snowboarding. I’ll follow these suggestions and hope to be all good by April! 🩻

[@randnemo9687]

Same with me 😂 It sucks

[@JDMChase]

same with me

[@azharadrees7739]

Hey . Do u recover now ? My dad has 5 ribs fracture that's why I'm Asking to you

[@SibylleLeon]

Been there, done that - I wish I had that video back then! Hope you're all better (both of you) by now 🙂

[@BodyFixExercises]

Thanks Sibylle!

[@lindaellis6937]

Great video! Organized and well produced. Shared this with my clients with rib fractures.

[@BodyFixExercises]

👍🙏 Cheers!

[@rrwoodyt]

I needed this 3 months ago!

[@BodyFixExercises]

🤷🏼‍♂️😆

[@nitro21983]

just fractured 4 of my left ribs , this has been good information to deal with pain and recovery

[@BodyFixExercises]

Ow! Good luck with it

[@intisarmohammed9520]

Great video. Thanks.

[@BodyFixExercises]

Thank you too!

[@carlapappalardo1901]

This was a great Thoreau but quick primer on the topic. I wish I'd found it last thursday when I bruised my ribs! Your info was better than what I got at a&e. The elbow raise to get out of bed would have been particularly useful and I will definitely try it in the morning

[@BodyFixExercises]

Hope you improve quickly!

[@k.jespersen6145]

Definitely saving this video for the next time someone around me breaks ribs (or in case it's me), because that seems to be a distressingly common injury. The stabilizing of ribs with a pillow while coughing is ingenius! Why don't more doctors recommend or know about that? I can really see that helping, both actually and psychosomatically. Are there specific exercises indicated for regaining motion and flexibility after ribs heal? Aftercare/therapy was particularly lacking for one of my parents, who now sometimes twinges when twisting the wrong way. I hope that your healing and your wife's have progressed smoothly, and that you will get to have a pain-free Christmas!

[@BodyFixExercises]

We are healing nicely thanks! Exercise is simply... rotating and bending more with time, including with your arm stretched up. Twisting, side bending, bending forward, reaching out progressively more over time within that 3/10 pain scale

[@k.jespersen6145]

@@BodyFixExercises Glad to hear that things are progressing well for both of you! Thank you for answering my question. I'll definitely be sharing this video, in that case. ^_^

[@wowjwalters]

Thank you for making this video. I had a fractured rib one week ago by reaching for a parking ticket, leaning out of my car to get it. As I reached it, I heard and felt a crack. That said, your video will really help. I'll be taking your suggested exercises one step at a time.☺

[@BodyFixExercises]

Wow. Did you lean against the car door? Or was just reaching right out enough???

[@wowjwalters]

@@BodyFixExercises, the window was completely down, so I leaned on the top of the door, stuck my upper body out, and reached for the ticket. Stretching out and leaning on the door caused the crack. Yesterday, I got a DEXA scan, so I'll find out if I have osteoporosis. Hopefully, I don't. Regardless of the results, I will be more proactive in keeping my body and bones as strong as possible.

[@lestergeez4349]

Hard to believe it's so easy to crack a rib. One time I reaching for something leaning on the edge ... ((( crack!!)))

[@emmanuelking9988]

Excellent, thank you 👌

[@BodyFixExercises]

Thank you too!

[@nelfasanez7313]

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIP

[@BodyFixExercises]

No problem!

[@alswedgin9274]

Everything said here, i agree with!

[@BodyFixExercises]

👍

[@cracker3088]

Great video. How long before its safe to do heavy lifting? My job requires being able to lift 50 pounds, and I cannot work until I can. I broke ribs 2 weeks ago and am wondering how much work I should expect to miss.

[@jtem1051]

The ice pack is a life saver. I just broke my ribs 3 days ago.

[@BodyFixExercises]

👍👍👍

[@imitator939]

how??

[@Matthew-zw9su]

​@@imitator939 anti inflammatory, also decreases pain.

[@alswedgin9274]

This man makes sense!

[@BodyFixExercises]

👌🤜

[@astrosmith6313]

Thanks brother just help me out with my diagnosis

[@BodyFixExercises]

👍👍👍

[@TheCatAteMyShoe]

I broke 2 ribs on Monday and I'm in pain! Thank you for this advice.

[@BodyFixExercises]

Glad to help! 💥👌

[@Iya-qf5wn]

After how many weeks is it ok to start stretching a bit,as you demonstrated it in the video? I tried to do just a little stretching after 4 weeks and after that, I was in pain again for several days even while resting. Often times I don't feel the pain while moving but only hours after, so that makes it hard to know what is ok to do and what not.

[@businessmiser8134]

I just broke 5 ribs yesterday slipping on black ice on my back (8-3) so this definitely gave me some good ideas thank you

[@BodyFixExercises]

5! Ooh! That's how I did mine! The first week is bad but after 7-9 days it improves to a much more tolerable level

[@azharadrees7739]

Hey how are you .. please tell me hoe much time it's take to recover in your case .. beacuse my dad has same 5 ribs fracture I'm very scar

[@adisugum167]

Is "gavez gel" good for broken rib?

[@trollol2215]

My pain got better actually working out. Waited 3 weeks and started going to the gym. It hurts still, but the pain is almost gone now.

[@niku10]

I got kneed in center of my chest during my kickboxing fight. Its 3rd weeks now, its improving and can cought and sneeze easily. Dont know if it was broken or just bruised. Thank God

[@mikem7529]

First off I hope you're feeling better? Is this the same treatment if you rip or seriously bruise the muscles between the ribs. I have managed to do this three times in my life, always the same side too.

[@BodyFixExercises]

Yes, recovering nicely thanks Yep, pretty much the same with muscle damage

[@norma2445]

Broken ribs r EXTREMELY PAINFUL....can't cry, can't laugh, can't cough, can't sleep, can't lay down, can't sit up....not without A HELL OF ALOT OF PAIN....AND drs won't give u pain meds...tylenols or motrin for pain....

[@BodyFixExercises]

It's really a special world of pain, eh?

[@lisa9867]

I agree. I broke 3 ribs a week ago. I'm 60 & this is by far the most pain I've ever been in. Tylenol & Motrin doesn't help and my Dr wouldn't give me anything stronger. Thankfully I have friends that brought their recliner over to my home for me to us.

[@user-qw6xn2if1f]

😂

[@user-xy1ll5mq4s]

Thanks my left ribs hurts after drinking with friends had no idea what happened i can notice that it had swollen abit i thought that i might have a heart problem but no 😂 ,very helpful being 3wees now ❤

[@smtz1966]

It's been 6 days since i slipped on tub and fell backwards on top of bathtub. I fractured 2 ribs. This is so painful and affects my breathing. It's slowly healing.

[@BodyFixExercises]

The first week is the worst. You should be feeling better very soon

[@ramanpreetsohi3961]

Mine to samething

[@brigham2250]

I just had 2 rib fractures on my left side with a slight displacement. I don't believe the fractures are in the front and the x-rays and doctor notes said that my lungs were fine. I have no trouble breathing. Really, my biggest complaint is getting in and out of bed. I hope to be healed in 6 weeks. My accident was a real freak accident. I fell and landed on my bowling ball, and like I said, I landed on my left side. Someone said that I should get rid of the ball. But I said, No, that the ball owes me a 300. The doctor told me to get an abdominal binder which I did. I'm not wrapping it too tight, and it does help when I get in and out of bed. This just happened on Saturday. I feel terrible about it. It has interrupted my life. I hope not for too long.

[@alswedgin9274]

Never create constriction or tension. I once had a Pneumo-thoracical trauma( from a plane flight) aKa a floating rib pierced my lung (apparently more prevelant with tall, skinny guys). A waterlock was administered. Normal breathing was needed. Gentle movement and free breathing seemed key. I'll never forget when they put the tube in. The Dr. was more concerned about the procedure than me. I told him: do what you need to do, you already gave me local anesthetics; just do it. No surgical pain is comparable to not being able to sleep because of the pain to breath.. Flabbergasted he went for it and thank the gods i don't believe in he did..

[@alswedgin9274]

It took 2-3 weeks to heal and remove the air from between my lung(s) and my thorax and for the wound to heal..

[@alswedgin9274]

Luckily i have a high pain threshold...this is not a boast; pain is needed to realise what is wrong with your body..

[@alswedgin9274]

Taking the X-rays was more painful than the treatment..

[@BodyFixExercises]

Wow, sounds like a very traumatic experience!!

[@PritamVerma-vy7or]

Sir please tell me what should I do to heal my rib please sir. I injured my sternum and surrounding one rib .It has little tenderness even after 11 Months, it continues to pain on a particular position while doing something, I am 17 years old boy. The injury was little but it not healed It hurts on twisting and on bending neck. I had ignored my injury for 8 months and continued playing. Sir I had played cricket and badminton with my injured ribs. In X- ray a little strain was found in the ribs . Now I am taking rest Sir, in how days my ribs will be completely healed? What should I not do? What should I do? Hope you will answer sir ! Please answer and help me sir😶

[@GSHants]

Thank you, really struggling with my one cracked rib at 60 yrs old after falling 😮 sleeping is a nightmare and hasn’t helped getting covid in week 2 so coughing a lot, which has been so painful,

[@BodyFixExercises]

😬 a nasty combination

[@Reelphresh]

I found, if you have a good car seat that's electric, that was the most comfortable place to sleep for almost 3 weeks. Getting in and out can be a little painful but it feels almost like a gerny once in and laying back. Put a pillow under your legs too for comfort. Getting out you can use the steering wheel and handle above the window. Sorry can't help with the coughing, that and sneezing are the worse.

[@lisa9867]

I never thought about sleeping in my car. I'm lucky my friends loaned me their recliner. I really don't know how I would have survived without it.

[@AmnaNoor366]

I had a small break in one rib from coughing so much when I had bronchitis. This was about 12 years ago. Ever since then, if I bend down in a certain way I get what feels like a spasm in that area. I can't do anything but sit there and breathe shallowly til it passes. Anyone know what this is?

[@BodyFixExercises]

Scar tissue as it healed, I'd say. Try my Rhomboid Pain exercises video to mobilise the rib cage. Start gently

[@AmnaNoor366]

@@BodyFixExercises Thank you for your suggestion! I will try it!

[@HarrySingh-yo2sp]

Hlo sir pls tell us if both ribs was fracture so what we can do🥺❤️‍🩹

[@KelticKate]

I broke 4 ribs 4 days ago. I'll be 70 in 4 months. I fell in my bedroom. Hurts horrible.

[@BodyFixExercises]

the first week is pretty bad, but next week you'll start to feel an improvement

[@azharadrees7739]

My dad has 5 Fracture Ribs ... kindly tell me how much time it will take to Recover and when the pain will b better beacuse he is in to much pain

[@BodyFixExercises]

After about 1 week the pain normally improves. For fracture (not displaced bones) the heal in 6-8 weeks

[@user-mc7mt4lx6c]

I think my rib was broken over a week ago,yet I can't stop the pain I can only sleep upraised on pillows

[@BodyFixExercises]

If pain has not improved in 1 week get an x-ray. My rib fractures improved a fair bit in 1 week. It may have broken & separated rather than just fractured, (or some other complication). Best get it checked

[@jvyeknom]

So basically just deal with it haha 😂

[@BodyFixExercises]

Magic wand not included. 😜

[@SeismicSales]

I got up from the bed and heard a light snap. Then got light headed. Walked to the toilet to go pee pee and passed out.. Dangerous...

[@alswedgin9274]

Yes; keep gently breathing..

[@BodyFixExercises]

Yes, as much as you can comfortably

[@austinplunkett5313]

An I’m still alive after 9 years thank god every day

[@BodyFixExercises]

🙌

[@austinplunkett5313]

I broke four ribs an doctors never treated me they didn’t care if I lived or died never took one pain pill just smoke weedd