Rehab for a Broken Rib

[Traktor]

Hei Mark : ) Julehilsen fra Norge.
God Jul og Riktig Godt Nytt ?r! (Christmas greetings from Norway. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year). I hope you are having a great holiday with family and friends.

I would appreciate your advice about when it is ok to start rehabilitating what I think is a broken rib. I wasn't sure if the same advice for muscle injuries applies for bone and cartilage. (The rest is optional reading if you are *really* bored).

I had been doing the Starting Strength program for about 6 weeks after a long layoff from proper strength training (been doing other stuff). I was very happy to have been referred to your book by a friend of mine at work. I was up to 110 kg squats and 160 kg deadlifts.

About six weeks ago I strained/damaged the cartilage somewhere around the connection between my 7th rib and my sternum (guessing - didn't see the doctor at that time). I hurt myself on a light warm-up set of squats after I had already warmed up on the rowing machine. My stomach was unusually bloated after a big lunch and little too much milk in the afternoon . I felt a little pop in my rib cage. That night it was smarting pretty good but I didn't think it was that serious given the way I had injured it.

So when the rib hurt I just trained through it for 2 weeks and it didn't get better. I hadn't found Strengthmill.com at that time so I hadn't seen your post on rehabilitating injuries. I took two weeks off went back and dropped 10 kg. After two more weeks of training I was just past the amount I had been doing when I hurt myself. I still hurt a bit but I felt strong.

I attempted deadlifting 165kg but on the first rep I felt a really good pop from the same place in my rib cage as I was about half way through the rep. It hurt but I locked out the rep and finished out the next 4 to complete the set. Within minutes it hurt so badly I could barely breathe. When I got home I tried laying down but it hurt too much. At this point I decided to see a doctor.

The doctor made an educated guess (no x-ray) that I may have further damaged the cartilage connection to the rib cage and perhaps cracked it near where it connects to the spine. Regardless of what is going on there something isn't right and it hurts to sleep. I just turned 40 and I don't seem to be recovering as quickly from injuries as I was ten years ago and it irks me a bit.

I have rehabbed a few injuries over the years. About 15 years ago when I lived in Canada I had a logging accident where my right leg was crushed and my back was injured. I ended up tearing all my ankle ligaments except for the one that tore the ball of my ankle off; I broke my tibia and fibula; and I ruptured my L5 -S1 intervertebral disc. After three reconstructive surgeries the ankle is more or less functioning except for limited ROM (Range of Movement) in my ankle's dorsiflexion (this buggers up my squat stance).

I rehabilitated my disc problems through weight training - I took a lot of painkillers at work and in the gym and just to get through the day. Eventually I was able to get up to 10 x 180kg x 3sets of squats and deadlifts of 210 kg. I can't say that I really knew what I was doing but at 90 kg bodyweight and the injuries I had, I think did alright. After 7 years I got pretty much back to normal and pain-free except for some residual nerve damage, but it sure could have been worse.

I have been under the impression that most of the time I could punish my body back into shape in direct proportion to my pain tolerance. But this last attempt didn't work out so well and I have wasted a lot of time and pain for nothing.

I would like to follow the injury rehabilitation program you posted. But I'd appreciate any advice especially when it's ok to start again.

Thanks for all the dedication to teaching people the art of strength training. It's appreciated.

Tusen takk,
Ole
[Oslo, Norway]

[Mark Rippetoe]

Costal fractures are the quickest-healing fractures in the body because of the fact that the fracture cannot be immobilized. It literally has to heal while it's moving, and the movement along the fracture plane provides a great incentive for the bone cells to repair the fracture. A costal chondral fracture is the same type of thing, and it iheals rapidly as well. Even at 40 it will heal very quickly. Follow the instructions from your pain, but train as much as you can stand it without doing any deadlifts for a while. It may be useful to put a knee wrap around your chest during your squats and presses. The injury sticky won't apply here, since the ribcage is involved in every single movement you do and there's no way to pick an exercise. This whole thing should be over in 2-3 weeks, so just be patient.

[Traktor]

Thanks Mark. I really appreciate the advice.
-=Ole