Hard fall on Chest

Question

Hi Doctor, my kid who is 7 years old had a fall today while playing the adult Horizontal bars. He fell hard and landed on his chest. He was motionless on the floor but still conscious. Immediately, I carried him up and he kept telling me that he can't breathe. Thank God there was a man nearby, asked him to jump and see if he can catch his breathe back. He managed to breathe after a few jumps. His lips started to bleed. I wanted to feed him water but the man said don't. He told my kid that if his chest hurts at night, he must tell me. My kid seems normal now but I am still worried. Do I have to bring him to see doctor? Does he need an X-ray? Can he still continue to do strenuous exercise as he got Takewondo training tomorrow?

Looking forward to your soonest reply.

Thank you.

caregiver222 · Accepted Answer

As for Takewondo training, absolutely positively not. There is no reason to play Russian roulette. Probably it would be all right, but maybe not. The classes should wait. An x-ray causes radiation exposure and won't show anything. Your son is very lucky. A single blow such as he sustained can cause cardiac arrest. He is young and will heal, but these bruises to the cartilidge sometimes take a long time to resolve. The man was correct in advising no fluids. I would not have advised him to "jump up and down". Right now you are advised to follow a period of "watchful waiting" for at least six weeks. There is no special treatment for such injuries, except rest for a period of time after the injury, and then moderate exercise for the next few weeks. If he experiences any chest pain it would be adviseable to take him to a physician, but outside of an anti-inflammatory there is no special protocol for treatment. Splinting is contraindicated.

worriedmum123 · Answer

Hi, thank you very much for your prompt reply. My son had a little nose bleed the next day afternoon and complained about chest pain. We brought him to KK A&E at night, doctor did an X-ray and thorough check up. Thank God that everything is fine. The doctor mentioned about the hairline cracks which may not be able to see on X-ray report, asked us to monitor him for persistence chest pain for 2 weeks. She mentioned that he can resume his normal exercise actitvity.

Hard fall on Chest

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