What happens if you break ribs

Accessed Oct. Eiff MP, et al. Rib fractures. In: Fracture Management for Primary Care. Philadelphia, Pa. Bulger EM. Inpatient management of traumatic rib fracture.

Preventing falls and related fractures. Related Broken ribs. The doctor will easily be able to see any segments of floating bone on an X-ray. If the doctor suspects that the break has caused a lung injury, such as pneumothorax, they may suggest a CT scan or ultrasound. If the person has trouble breathing or severe chest pain, they should call or the local emergency number immediately.

Immediate medical attention may also be necessary if the pain does not get better after treatment or if the person develops a fever or cough. Simple fractures will usually heal by themselves.

Doctors may recommend resting to facilitate this. People should avoid activities that involve pulling, pushing, or lifting, as they might make the pain worse or cause more damage to the ribs. If a person has more than one fractured rib, severe damage, or flail chest, they may need surgery. During the operation, a surgeon will use plates and screws to fasten the broken ribs together. Doctors previously thought that the pain and other symptoms of broken ribs lasted no more than 6—8 weeks , but research suggests that many people experience pain for longer than this.

People with simple rib fractures can usually recover at home. In more serious cases, the person may need to stay in the hospital. During the healing process, clinicians usually recommend pain medications. These may include drugs such as acetaminophen or a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug such as ibuprofen. People with severe pain may need to take prescription pain medications such as opioids.

Alternately, a doctor may recommend an intercostal nerve block, which is an injection. Ice may decrease swelling and pain and help prevent tissue damage. People should cover an ice pack or bag of crushed ice with a towel before placing it on the injured area. How is it treated? To help manage the pain while the fracture heals: Put ice on the injured area.

Get extra rest. Take pain medicine such as ibuprofen or naproxen. Your doctor may prescribe a stronger pain medicine if over-the-counter medicines don't work. Pulmonary trauma. In JE Tintinalli, ed. New York: McGraw-Hill. Collier BR, et al. Injuries to the thorax section of Wilderness trauma, surgical emergencies, and wound management. In PS Auerbach, ed. Philadelphia: Mosby Elsevier. McGillicuddy D, Rosen P Diagnostic dilemmas and current controversies in blunt chest trauma. Emergency Medicine Clinics of North America, 25 3 : — The lungs and chest wall diseases.

In RJ Mason et al. Philadelphia: Saunders Elsevier. Credits Current as of: November 16, Top of the page Next Section: Related Information. There's good news and bad news about treating a simple broken rib. The good news is that it will heal on its own and probably not develop any additional problems. The bad news is it hurts a lot and there's really very little you can do for it. In the past, treatment for broken ribs included wrapping the chest with a wide band often called a rib belt.

A study in found no benefit from wrapping patients. Displaced rib fractures caused more problems in this study when they were treated with the belt than when they were not. Most emergency physicians today don't wrap broken ribs. The best broken rib treatment is simple pain medication.

The most common complication of broken ribs is not being able to take a deep breath because it hurts. If you don't breathe deeply enough, mucous and moisture can build up in the lungs and lead to an infection such as pneumonia.

Displaced rib fractures can damage other tissues or organs and sometimes lead to collapsed lungs pneumothorax or internal bleeding. It's important to keep your lungs healthy. As you heal, practice taking deep breaths. It's important not to be afraid of taking the pain medication as prescribed because keeping the pain under control is important for taking strong, deep breaths.

If you go to the ER, the doctor may send you home with a tool to encourage deep breathing. The tool is called an incentive spirometer.

It measures lung capacity so patients can see how well their lungs are recovering as the broken rib heals. Although broken ribs are painful, simple rib fractures usually do not require surgery.

In most cases, broken ribs usually heal on their own. Time, rest, and physical therapy can help you with the healing process, exercise, and maintaining your range of motion. Healing can take at least six weeks, so it is important to also exercise patience.

It is important to talk to your doctor about adequate pain control, physical therapy, and breathing exercises so that you can continue to breathe deeply, move around, and avoid lung complications, such as pneumonia.

A simple break or fracture of a rib will take about six weeks to heal.