What is the Difference Between Bruised Ribs and Fractured Ribs?
As far as feeling, often times, bruised ribs are more painful and make it harder to breathe. That is not relieving. Bruised ribs can also take longer to heal due to the fact that your activity level is not as limited by them. Fractured ribs can be identified by x-ray and may require a brace to help the injury set.
With either injury, breathing becomes difficult as the rib cage expands with each inhalation.
Rib Mechanics Simplified
When we inhale, the rib cage expands slightly and the diaphragm moves down to the belly (click here to learn more about breathing techniques). Some of us breathe by expanding our rib cage more than the diaphragm. This movement of the rib cage out and in, or in and out, with breathing, along with the pull of the diaphragm, can irritate a bruise or fracture on one of the ribs. This is why breathing with either bruised ribs or fractured ribs cause symptoms with breathing and deep breathing.
The ribs connect in the back along the thoracic spine. one rib meets with two spinal segments. So moving the thoracic spine (example) can cause increased symptoms as well.
Causes of Rib Injury
Bruised Ribs
Car Accidents
Falls
Sports Injuries
Excessive Coughing
Fractured Ribs
Car Accidents
Falls
Sports Injuries
Repetitive Trauma
Child Abuse
As you can see, for the most part, the way you get each injury is very similar, it is just related to you. Each person will respond differently to each cause and thus have a different injury.
How to Treat Your Ribs
If you injure your ribs, and you have trouble taking deep breaths, it is highly recommended you get an x-ray of your rib cage in order to rule out a fracture (or rule it in). A fracture or break of a rib can lead to serious injuries if left unchecked. The rib can move and puncture some internal organs if not address properly.
Once the x-ray is done, if it is a minor fracture, most likely rest and bracing is the treatment for up to 6 weeks to let the bone heal. You may or may not have symptoms anymore at this point, but that is how long it takes for a bone to heal. It may take longer if you have any bone issues such as osteoporosis.
After the bone has time to heal it is okay to resume normal activities and build your tolerance back up to where you were before the injury.
In the case of bruised ribs, no rest and bracing is required, but is often recommended in order to not keep aggravating the injury (like we said before, breathing hurts with this injury). You can start by gently moving the thoracic spine (see the example link above). Once the symptoms subside, you can return to normal activity in order to build back up to where you were at before the injury.
Questions?
If you have any questions, please reach out to us by phone (425-202-5687) or email (info@bodyfixpt.com). We welcome all questions and inquiries, even if they are not about your ribs!
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