Ribs

[debbiedo61]

i get it
its another aspect of this condition that my g,p says is all in my head as he knows nothing about it.(time to change my g.p me thinks)
Anyway i have been having this chest pain for a few years and i thought it was stress causing it untill i started getting very sharp pain when sneezing or coughing.I have to hold my ribs tight where they meet the sternum,im afraid they may sublax or dislocate,if this happens what do i do as its not happend yet,so i have no idea what or how to sort it out.
many thanks all and good luck,Debs xx

[Sandy L]

debbiedo61
Pain in the area you describe is most likely to be from the junction between the end of the rib and a short segment of cartilage that joins the rib to the breast bone (sternum). It hurts, but doe not betoken a life-threatening condition. If you can find a very sore point along the rib when you push with a finger, the pain is not originating from inside the rib cage. THe usual treatment is anti-inflammatory drugs and time.

[louloutinks]

When I went to see Prof G, I told him that I get rib pain and on that day, it was just in one specific point in between my ribs on the left - so he said that I must have broken it - don't think he understood or maybe I didn't make myself clear enough (as I am not very good at explaining things) that the pain radiates around my whole bra area underneath my breasts and it feels painful and tender to touch like I have a huge bruised area or am being squeezed real hard. Mine also radiates round to my shoulder blades.

[Sandy L]

louloutinks
That kind of pain most often comes from a dislocation of the joint between the rib and the lateral process of the spine. The nerve at each level runs right along the under side of the rib, so when the joint is out of place, it stretches the nerve, stimulating various fibers within the nerve. Pain can then be perceived as originating at any point along the length of the nerve. A few things that might help are:
1. Fold your arms across the chest and twist sharply toward the side away from the pain;
2. Hang from a door or some other overhead support (but be careful if our shoulders dislocate easily--this may not be a good idea in that case);
3. Tie a tennis ball in the middle of a nylon stocking, lay it on the floor, and using the ends of the stocking to position the ball, lay so that the ball is right under the rib, then put your weight on the ball. That may spring the rib away for the lateral process just enough to allow it to return to a normal position;
4. Have a family member or friend reach around you, lay the base of a thumb along the rib, make a fist with that hand, then reach around from the other side and cover the fist with the other hand, then give you a firm hug. It takes a little practice to find out how firm;
5. Hold your arms at your sides with your elbows bent. Have a robust friend or family member stand behind you and lift sharply on the elbows;
6. See a chiropractor or osteopath trained in manipulation.

[debbiedo61]

Thanks Sandy.
That sounds quite possible and,yes its very painfull,im using antinflamatries(woopsspelling not good) Thanks for your reply its very helpfull.
Take care Debs xx

[trekster]

I've got an asymmetrical rib cage and my bottom rib jutts out. The compression vest seems to be pushing it back into place.
Is there anything i can (or shouldn't do) to put it back in place when it pops out?

[Sandy L]

trekster:
Unfortunately, I don't know of anything that can be done. There may well be an answer, but if there is, I don't know it.
Sandy L

[loosebones]

Since my ankle has been dislocated and shows no sign of recovery I have been having to use both my crutches all the time. This has resulted in a permanently dislocated rib between my shoulder blades. Does anyone have any solutions to this? Thanks

[serenity79]

I have had a really bad cough for a couple of weeks and my poor ribs feel like I've gone 12 rounds in the ring with the heavyweight champion I feel battered and bruised, I'm sore to the touch although thankfully I don't think I popped any *touch wood* I just wish I could kick this stupid cough! Is there anything I can do to ease my ribs in the meantime?

[trekster]

Anyone managed to sub lux a rib pushing their manual wheelchair? I think i bent over strangely.

[Superstottie]

I am not sure what is going on with my ribs, so any input would be gratefully accepted!! Basically I have a click in the lower right side of the back of my rib cage. I had been getting occasional achey type pain for the last few years on and off, but last week I had a change in my pain meds and suffered a lot of pain in all areas, but especially in this area. It had cleared up with upping the dosage of the new meds, but last night it started coming back. This makes me think that maybe I injured the area, rather than it being covered up by my previous meds. The pain is horrible, especially as I have to sleep on my back due to my pevis and shoulders subluxing, and it's agony, so im getting very little sleep (im a tad grouchy!!) I am on morphine, codiene and paracetamol, and still it's causing me massive pain, where I am unable to sit still and can't sleep. Does it sound like it could be a rib subluxing? Every time I move my back in a certain way (bending slightly and the straightening, only by about 5 degrees) it goes click. I also am getting a lot of the pain that feels like the bottom of my ribs are rubbing on my pelvis, if that makes sense? It's a pain right at the bottom of my ribs which gets worse when I sit, feels like they are squashing against my pelvis! Sorry for the twine, I don't do pain very well and the lack of sleep is really getting to me now!

Thank you! x x

[Rosie]

Hi all

SUperstottie, there is quite a gap between the lower ribs and the pelvis, see this picture.
If the pain is to one side of the spine in the lower back it could be the sacroiliac joint (SIJ)? There is a picture here. I had pain in my SI joints for years before I realised what it was

Rosie

[Superstottie]

Thanks Rosie! I know that there is a pretty big gap there, but what I meant is that it hurts when I sit, like my ribs are being squashed at the bottom by something. I get a horrible sort of pressure feeling there too, like being squashed, it does not make sense to me what is causing it! Also the pain in my back is the bottom of the back of my ribs, I have pain in my SI joints already, but this is higher up, in the bottom of my ribs. I get all sorts of crunching noises from my pelvis and SI joints, but that is a whole different thread!!

Sorry if my post was a bit garbled before and didn't make much sense, It was late and I was seriously lacking in sleep! Basically what I was trying to say is that the pain and clicking is in the lower part of my ribs, just off to the side of my spine, which is making me think I may be subluxing a rib? What is the best thing to do if it is? Any tips on the best sleeping position, where basically I am on my back as that's the only position that the rest of my stupid body can tolerate (well before this problem anyway!) as I am now resorting to sleeping sitting up, but that ends up hurting other things!

Thanks!

(hope it makes more sense this time!! )

[trekster]

My left rib sticks out more than my right side. Should i be worried? I know it can be a sign of HMS.
Sometimes im a little breathless but thats less of a problem when im using my wheelchair.

[shen]

Heres a new one for me...

Yesterday I fell asleep in a weird position in the afternoon, and my shoulder came out the other way than it usually does. I.E I was laying on my left side but my right shoulder fell out backwards.

For some reason now I have intense pain down my sternum on the right side. It starts just above the breast, and goes down a few inches. It is incredibly tender to touch, like its bruised kind of thing and it feels like something is sat on my chest. It's uncomfortable to breathe in too deeply If i move my right arm it hurts but forwards or across my chest, it REALLY hurts. I can't weight-bare on that arm, like if im getting up from a chair because it feels really unstable and painful around that area. I can't tell if one of my intercostal ribs have subluxed of if my sternum has. I have some tight kind of pain around the same area on my back, but I don't know if thats fron my shoulder blade or ribs. My breast gets in the way of really being able to feel if there is anything out particularly, and also the fact that it hurts to touch but I have never had this kind of pain at all before. I thought when I woke up that it'll have settled down today but it actually hurts more.

The pain in my chest is slightly worrying but since i'm quite sure its this, I don't see how the hospital will be able to do anything other than give me the painkillers I already have.

Anyone else had this kind of thing?