My friend has Left Rib Pain

[smoker86]

Hello.
I have a friend she's a female and she is turning 18 years old this year.
She some months ago fainted after taking a hot bath, fell and apparently hit her rib cage on the ground, and since then she's been experiencing pain in her rib cage area, the type of pain she explains, it feels like if you were to touch the rib it feels like it is cut off or chipped and orverlapped.
She says it hurts when she coughs or when she has hiccups, and it pains a little when she sits down sometimes. Also it seems like the pain gets worse at night time or when she wakes up.
A while after she experienced this pain, it went away for a while, but a few months later, recently, the pain came back and it seems like it's getting even more painfull, and even painkillers don't seem to completely erase it.
One thing that caught my eye was the fact that it seems like it started to hurt again when she restarted school, and came back one day saying her back hurt because of the weight of her backpack.
She is a smoker, but she doesn't smoke all that much and only started smoking last year or so, which makes me think it has nothing to do with the case. Another thing that makes me doubt that is the fact that she says it doesn't hurt when she breathes normally.

I think it might be some kind of crack in the rib, but i'm not sure and that's why i'm looking for more and experienced oppinions.

Also i'd like to know, if this kind of thing will heal on its own, if there are some faster methods to heal it and what should NOT be done in order to prevent the case to get worse.

If i need some additional information please inform me and i'll get it as soon as possible, as it is of my and my friend's best interest.

I hope anyone can help me.

Thanks in advance.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,

Such kind of rib pain can be due to either sprain or costochondral separation(tearing away of rib from the cartilage ) or due to fracture of the ribs.

An X-ray chest can help in diagnosis of costochondral separation and fractures.Ask your friend to give rest to the part and apply ice packs on the site.She can also take anti-inflammatory analgesics(pain killers) like ibuprofen(motrin) or diclofenac.They are available over the counter.She can also wear a rib belt. The belt works as a girdle for the chest and helps support the ribs. It limits movement of the ribs when one coughs, breathes, or moves the body. This helps decrease pain.

Bruised ribs and a costochondral separation usually take 3 to 4 weeks to heal. Broken ribs take 6 to 8 weeks to heal.Pls ask your friend to consult an orthopaedician and get x-ray chest done.

Ask your friend to abstain from chest pain as it can also cause such kind of pain.Smoking puts an extra pressure on the heart for which heart has to pump more and hence pain.

Hope it helps.Take care and pls do kep me posted on how your friend is doing.

[caregiver222]

Rin injuries such as this almost always heal, by themselves, although the healing can take a long time. Needless to say you need an M.D. to take a look, but nine hundred and ninety nine times out of a thousand the pain will eventually go away and the injury will heal naturally without intervention.