Description

A broken rib is a common injury that occurs when one of the bones of the rib cage breaks or cracks. The most common causes are hard impacts from falls, car accidents or contact sports.

Many broken ribs are merely cracked. Cracked ribs are painful. But it is not the cause of the problems that the ribs that have been broken into pieces. The sharp edge of broken bone can damage major blood vessels or in the lungs and other organs.

Usually, the broken ribs heal on their own in about six weeks. The pain control is important to be able to breathe deeply and avoid problems of the lung, such as pneumonia.

Symptoms

The following factors can cause pain with a broken rib or make your pain worse:

  • A deep breath.
  • The pressure on the injured area.
  • A curve or a turn of the body.

When to see a doctor

See a health care provider if a part of his rib area is sensitive after an accident, or if you have difficulty breathing, or pain with deep breathing.

Seek medical help right away if you feel the pressure, fullness or squeezing pain in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or pain that goes beyond your chest to the shoulder or on the arm. These symptoms may indicate a heart attack.

Causes

Direct impact — like a car accident, a fall, or child abuse contact sports — is the most common cause of fracture of the ribs. The ribs can also be broken by the repeated impact of the practice of sports such as golf and rowing or cough long and hard.

Risk factors

The following factors may increase your risk of breaking a rib:

  • Osteoporosis. This disease in which the bones lose their volume increases the risk of breaking a bone.
  • Sports. Contact sports, such as hockey or football, increases the risk of injury in the chest.
  • The cancer in a rib. The cancer can weaken the bone, making it more likely to break.

Complications

A broken rib can damage the blood vessels and internal organs. Have more than one broken rib increases the risk.

Complications depend on the ribs are broken. Possible complications include:

  • A tear in the main artery of the body, known as the aorta. A sharp end of a break in one of the first three ribs in the upper part of the rib cage could drill a major blood vessel, including the aorta.
  • Tear in the lung. The teeth of the end of the rupture of a middle rib can puncture a hole in a lung and cause a cave.
  • Ripped the spleen, the liver or the kidneys. The bottom two ribs rarely break because you can move more of the upper and middle of the ribs. But the ends of the rupture of a lower rib can cause serious damage to the spleen, the liver or the kidney.

Prevention

To help you keep a rib of the rupture:

  • Protect from sports injury. Wear protective equipment when playing contact sports.
  • To reduce the risk of falls in the home. Remove clutter from floors. Clean up spills immediately. Use a rubber mat in the shower. Keep your home well-lit. Lay the backrest on the carpets and the floor mats to prevent slipping.
  • Strengthen the bones. Get enough calcium and vitamin D in the diet, it is important to have strong bones. Get around 1,200 milligrams of calcium and 600 international units of vitamin D a day from food and supplements.

Diagnosis

During the physical exam, a health care provider may press gently on the ribs, listen to your lungs and watch your rib cage move as you breathe.

One or more of the following imaging tests may help with diagnosis:

  • X-ray. The use of low levels of radiation, X-rays allow the bones to be seen. But X-rays do not show a sweet rest, especially if the bone is only cracked. X-rays can also help to diagnose a lung that has collapsed.
  • CTscan. This can often find breaks that X-rays might be missing. The TC also make it easier to see the injuries to the soft tissues and blood vessels.
  • The magnetic resonance imaging. This scan can look for damage to the soft tissues and organs around the ribs. It can also help you find more small breaks.
  • Bone scan. This is good for the display cracked bones, also called fractures of stress. A bone may break after a repetitive trauma, such as the long bouts of coughing. During a bone scan, a small amount of radioactive material that is injected into the bloodstream. It accumulates in the bones, particularly in places where a bone is healing, and is detected by a scanner.

Treatment

The majority of rib fractures heal on their own within six weeks. Being less active and the formation of ice in the area on a regular basis can help with healing and pain relief.

Medications

It is important to relieve the pain. Not be able to take a deep breath because of the pain can lead to pneumonia. If the medicines are taken by mouth does not help enough, vaccines can numb the nerves that lead to the ribs.

Therapy

Once the pain is under control, certain exercises can help you to breathe more deeply. Shallow breathing can lead to pneumonia.

Preparing for your appointment

Due to car accidents often cause broken ribs, many people find out that you have a broken rib in a hospital emergency department. There is No time to prepare. But if you break a rib because of repeated stress over time, it is possible that you see your primary care provider.

Here is the information to help you prepare for your appointment.

What you can do

Before you see your primary care provider, make a list of:

  • Their symptoms, even those that seem unrelated to the reason for the appointment, and when they began.
  • Key personal information, including the recent accidents.
  • All the drugs, vitamins, and supplements you are taking, including dosage.
  • Questions to ask your care provider.

Have a friend or family member, if possible, to help you remember the information they give you.

For fractures of the ribs, questions to ask your provider include:

  • How long will I be in pain?
  • What treatments are available, and which do you recommend?
  • How can I better handle this with my other health conditions?
  • Do I need to limit my activities?

Do not hesitate to ask other questions.

What to expect from your doctor

Your health care provider might ask:

  • Where is the pain?
  • Are your symptoms constant or come and go?
  • How bad is the pain?
  • Did all that happens because of it?
  • Do everything you can to make the pain better or worse?
Symptoms and treatment of fracture of the ribs