It's more likely that you fractured a rib, since the intercostal muscles do not have a very long ROM and are hard to pull. It will heal in a couple of weeks. Wrap it if you need to so you can sleep.
Member
Intercostal Muscle Strain
Hey Rip,
I'm 95% certain I strained my intercostal muscle on the right side last night on my last rep of my squat workout. Its very painful to take a deep breath, or bend over, along with a lot of other movements. I tried benching with it after my squats, but once I got to my heavier warmups, it became impossible. It seems that this injury is in a spot that is going to limit basically every Starting Strength exercise.
I've used the search function to try to find out how to rehab this type of injury but came up empty. I would assume ice is a must, but what else should I be doing to have it heal as quickly as possible?
Thanks,
Bob
TMPHBITEU
It's more likely that you fractured a rib, since the intercostal muscles do not have a very long ROM and are hard to pull. It will heal in a couple of weeks. Wrap it if you need to so you can sleep.
Member
Rip,
What is the mechanism of injury here(if it is assumed to be a rib fracture)? Googling turned up a few rib fractures on a bodybuilding forum(confirmed on X ray) related to the leg press but did not find anything for the squat.
Thanks.
TMPHBITEU
Improper belt placement, over-breathing, and shitty ribs are the ones that immediately come to mind. Untrained people fracture ribs while coughing and taking a crap all the time, so it's not that difficult to do.
Member
It's getting harder and harder to tell when you're being sarcastic.Improper belt placement, over-breathing, and shitty ribs are the ones that immediately come to mind. Untrained people fracture ribs while coughing and taking a crap all the time, so it's not that difficult to do.
TMPHBITEU
That sounded sarcastic?
Member
That sounds like Hell. Thank God I squat.
Member
What do you mean by over-breathing?Originally Posted by Mark Rippetoe
Member
I had totally dismissed the idea, but is it possible that the pop in what felt like the border between my ribs and abs 3 inches south-west of my sternum while deadlifting was actually a rib fracture? It hurts still (2 or 3 weeks later) if i suck in and poke under my ribs - I thought it was an abdominal injury. When it happened it felt like something moved in there. After it happened it hurt to take a deep breath. It is nearly as sore to the touch now as it was when it happened, but breathting doesn't aggrivate it anymore. I still can't deadlift heavy, but I don't feel it with tiny weights anymore 135.
I just had no idea that one can fracture a rib without whacking it with something. I was deadlifting 265 (heavy for me) for my second set of 5 (had to drop squats for a few days due to shoulder injury not letting me reach back). The bar was going up with decent speed on my fourth rep of second set when it happened.
Member
At least if he fractured it, he did it doing something useful.
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