Rib/costal cartilage

[Mmll]

Hi
Ive hurt my lower rib area on the right side by something which was innocuous.. just fiddling around with my new 4 inch belt. I was adjusting its position and felt a sudden sharp pain while i accidentally shoved it up under my rib area while i was standing up. The pain went away quickly, and i then deadlifted a set of 375 which is my best so far. So i thought no big deal.

But then 2 days later at night it started hurting again in bed. I couldnt lie on ny right side without pain. I went to the gym next day and couldnt squat heavy cos it was too much pain. I benched heavy with manageable pain although it got worse on the 3rd set. And i tried some chinups and there wasnt much pain at all.

Its started hurting even more after this workout (which was yesterday). Feels worse now. Didnt sleep well. So i feel ive aggravated it.

Anyway after reading previous posts on the forum im guessing its my costal cartilage that ive hurt. I realise i need a 3 inch belt, but its likely gona take over a month to arrive here cos of shipping. I also saw rip recommended to someone previously that they should wear a knee wrap around their torso to support the area while training.

How should i deal with this injury, and how long do you think itl take to heal? Should i take time off until its feeling better? Should i avoid squats until its better? Should i squat at light weights if the pain is manageable? Should i bench and press if the pain is manageable? Should i deadlift? If i keep lifting with pain is this going to delay the healing time and cause the injury to linger for months? I dont know what to do. Ive worked hard to get to where i am...and its not particularly impressive anyway. I don't wana lose strength quickly but i also dont want a lingering injury for months that wont go away.
Fyi my most recent lifts are squats 5 reps 137.5kg then 4 reps, 4 reps and 2 reps at this weight, deadlift 5 reps 170kg, bp 3 sets of 5 at 106kg, press 3 sets of 5 at 65kg. Im 33, 6'3, and 225 lbs. Thank you.

[Mmll]

Got it checked out today. Its a cracked rib.

[Jr_Geezer]

Search function.

As Rip has pointed out a few times, ribs heal quickly because they are constantly moving due to lung expansion and contraction during breathing.

[David Hooper]

FWIW I did the same back in February. If you want to see how it progressed with me, it starts here in my log: Less weak than last week

Looking back on it:
- I didn't deadlift for almost three weeks. I was effectively fully back on the program in four weeks.
- I did lots of power clean days in absence of deadlifts. My weights were really low, though, so YMMV.
- Squats actually got back on progression pretty quickly. I was able to squat without aggravating the injury. (I did back off the weight and ease into it.)

Good luck! Fortunately, this is an injury that heals quickly. Sleeping's going to suck for a while, though.