Ribs

[Retro]

With it being worse at one side it may be the way Little Miss is lying. Unfortunately ribs are designed to move anyway, but only to expand and contract to help breathing and creating space for babies. Ours just go ping when and where they're not supposed to and it's one of the most painful injuries possible (according to medical bods) and takes weeks to settle down.

LIndsey x

[sammyb]

is that what that is, i've been having the same thing for months but never mentioned it cos ithought i was going nuts lol

[Rosie]

Hiya nick

I had that pain for the last few months of carrying DD2. We always joked that it was where she had her foot stuck cos it started when she settled head down (about 28 weeks I think). When she arrived, she had a red patch on the back of her left heel that looked exactly like it had been rubbing on something. Looking back on it, it was almost certainly my ribs causing the pain. In my case she had settled head down with her bump slightly right of centre, my bump looked a little lopsided!



Rosie

[fiona25]

hi everyone
I didn't know where else to post this but my costochondrisis has flared up and am feeling lousy, and I just wanted to reach out for support really. It hasn't been too bad recently but yesterday morning I had an attack and now my rib cage, in particular my sternum and diaphragm feel awful. This is such a hideous pain, it makes me feel really scared.

Hopefully it will be better soon as I am resting and applying ice etc. I just feel miserable in the meantime! I am going to Austria in 2 weeks so I hope I feel better for that.

I hope everyone else is ok. I am lucky in that I am not doing anything at the moment (waiting for my next Ou course to start) so I can rest!

Fiona x

[hannah]

I find that when my ribs are really bad, alternating ice and warmth helps most - part of mine is the ribs slipping slightly and stuff spasming and keeping them 'wrongly' placed. so the warmth helps coax them back to sensibleness.

I really hope they settle down soon.

H

[fredboy]

A warm massage (I REALLLY LOVE MY WIFE) or soak in the spa sooths the stabs of pain, breathing problems and even the arm numbness (anybody else get this when there ribs are "out?") every time. I am very fortunate to have access to both therapies, daily. Wow, never thought of myself as lucky on this forum, before...

My thorasic ribs have been dislocating for years, since fracturing t4 and t3, moving in and out daily. I have a couple that I have not been able to reduce for months. Makes typing exceptionally difficult.

One of my doctors suggested removing one of the ribs!

Oddly enough, it is something that I am managing to live with. God, how many times have I said that to myself before...

[TED]

Hi all, I've just been today to the dr( local gp) for rib problems with my 7 year old daughter. For around the last 6 months she has been complaining of extreme pain from her ribs. She feels a sharp pain and movement and thinks they are going to pop out of her skin. The dr is going to refer her to the physio I asked for, which is good but he said that they do not actually come out and will not come through the skin. I did not think they would come through the skin but know my dd feels the sensation like they are trying to do this. (Why is it gps make you feel like an idiot?) i do however know they are moving more than normal and are really hurting her and causing extreme pain.

Hopefully the physio can help in some way when we eventually get seen!!!!! Goodness knows when that will be?!

TED

[Shadowlady]

Just read this whole thread looking for info on costo for my non-bendy mate at work, and realised I'd never posted to say that I've figured out what sets my ribs off!

Muscle tension and immobility in my spine. Which has only ever been spotted by the fabulous Prof. G. My ribs play up far less often than they used to because I've been a good girl with my pilates to better support my spine, and because I've been doing back release exercises, both from my old osteopath and from pilates. Better, more even mobility in my spine and stronger core muscles = much happier ribs. It's taken ages to ease up, and I reckon I can still improve some more, but... but... Ooooh - so much better!

Exercises to help - Pilates - once you've mastered the basic moves and are getting stronger, try the spine 'cycling' or 'wheeling' exercises that promote segmental control of the spine. And my fave back release exercises, I typed out somewhere ... Here. Beware - Trying to improve mobility in your spine without having strong enough core stability to support it will result in pain, much pain, and instability. Take it easy!

Best wishes,
S

[nonyanomemory]

Just had to say excellent excellent informative post Shadowlady, you deserve a medal for perserverance and totally agree with the core stability comments in last paragraph. Prof G really supports his patients and gets all smiley who work on pilates and all core stabilising work. Brilliant post thankyou/
nonya

[fredboy]

very good advice. thankyou shadowlady

[jax]

totally agree with the stabilizing / core stability programmes. They really do seem to help.

A wonderful exercise for ribs is to lie down (neck supported on pillow), knees and thights facing you, feet flat on floor, and twist
gently from left to right. (not to full range)

Also in kneeling position, body upright, arms folded, turning gently to one side with head following
almost if you were looking behind you. Do each side.

Jax

[jax]

Should add above as a caution - don't try at home unless you have done at least a few months
of core stability exercises to strengthen up the trunk area.

Thanks
Jax

[fredboy]

thanks, jax

[jax]

anytime...hope it is of some benefit for you.


Jax

[Shadowlady]

Cheers guys.

Nonya - dunno about that medal love! I have plenty of 'off days' and I'm well aware I could be doing better than I am if I were more persistent with daily exercises, rather than most days (sometimes I can be a right moody moo about it all!), but I seem to be doing my exercises often enough to make a difference, so I'll just keep chugging along and hoping for the best.

Oh - I was thinking - I made it sound like you have to make a lot of progress with core stability before results can be seen. Nope. Just doing pilates breathing can help loads, especially with the lower ribs. You breathe down out out into the lower ribs so they expand out to the sides, and when you breathe out you pull up your pelvic floor, and pull in your belly and waist gently, so long as you start gently and force yourself to take it slow and steady, you can really ease up those lower ribs and start building up the muscles that stabilise them, just by lying on your back and breathing. Ace. Tis definitely worth getting a decent pilates book I reckon, so you're working the right muscles, as using the wrong muscles really defeats the point! From the experiences I've had, I should think a fair few folks will need to see a professional, either a physio, or a pilates tutor to begin with, and maybe every once in a while, to make sure you're getting it right. Can't tell you how long it took me to train my 'six pack muscles' to relax and quit joining in when I exercised, they were all 'overactive' and spoiling the effect of the exercises, not to mention the time it took to get my pelvic floor fully activated and strong . Just takes time to get over these things though, then it's onwards and upwards!

Take it easy,
S