Broken rib??

[Soconfusedandbroken]

So I was out running on the weekend and spectacularly fell! Face planted the floor, sustaining lots of superficial cuts and grazes over many areas of my body.
I came home and had Epsom salts baths etc, twice a day.
Id fallen onto both arms (used them to try and break my fall and protect my face) and both were incredibly weak and sore for a couple of days.
The cuts have heeled nicely and my headache has gone now.
However, in the background I’ve had rib pain. This was overshadowed my the headache and neck and arm pain to begin with. But as the latter eased, my rib pain has become hideous. It’s on the side, prob 2 ribs up from the bottom. If I touch it, it moves and the pain is so bad that I feel sick for a while until it eases back.

could this be broken? Or would I have felt the pain to this extent immediately?
I don’t want to traipse to MIU to be xrayed if my history doesn’t support the need.

be grateful of any feedback

Unfortunately you won’t know for sure unless you go to A&E, broken ribs are painful, especially if there’s more than one that’s broken. I would go and get checked out, just to confirm as it’s likely to be painful while they heal.

Last time I went with a rib injury they just took the history and diagnosed a broken rib, no x-ray given. They gave me some advice on managing it and sent me on my merry (but pained) way.

I was 'diagnosed' with cracked ribs at A&E after falling during a run. Medic said they wouldn't x-ray as cracks are often hard to see if hairline, plus treatment is fundamentally the same as whether they were just bruised (so benefit of x-ray outweighs cost and risk...) Treatment being - pain relief and rest.

I feel for you OP. I was sobbing with the pain in A&E (which really hurt but I couldn't control it!) and they gave me codeine and naproxen. Took approximately 6 weeks to fully recover. 2 weeks of which I was on codeine but trying to stay as mobile and active as possible.

Sounds like you had a really bad fall!

Thank you for your messages. Yes it was a bad fall. And then once I’d got my self together, I ran the 1.5 miles back to the car. Probably out of embarrassment!

can I ask what your symptoms are? How can I tell the difference between bruising and broken?

As others have said, there's generally no specific treatment or surgery for rib fractures apart from very specific circumstances - flail-chest, protruding ribs or chest wall deformity.

It's more likely to be bruising if the pain came on over a few days, but things like a pneumothorax (punctured lung) or haemothorax (bleeding around the lung) can take a few days to show up, especially if it is s slow leak, and you are fit and well with plenty of reserve.

I would try to cope with anti-inflammatories and paracetamol, and physical splinting (cuddle a pillow or rolled blanket against the sore bit) while deep breathing and deep coughing.

If you have and shortness of breath, dizzyness/faintness, continuous chest pain you need to go to an A&E (not WIC) because if there's anything that needs treatment, a WIC wont be able to provide it. If it's just because the pain is bad, then your GP or WIC should be able to sort something stronger, but I'd probably get checked out in those circumstances.

They don't X ray ribs as there's nothing you can do apart from pain killers.

I found I had to keep moving as the stiffness just caused a lot of pain. But moving was also a bit painful.

You're meant to deep breathe to prevent infection. But I found that very difficult!

they don't x-ray unless they need to exclude internal injury.

when I had a broken rib the a&e dr poked and prodded a bit and said it's clearly broken. nothing to be done apart from resting. come back if you cough up blood.