Symptoms of a broken rib
Introduction - symptoms of a broken rib
A broken rib is unquestionably associated with very severe pain. For this reason, a broken rib is not to be missed and should be taken very seriously in any case, as vital organs such as the lungs and heart are located in the area of the ribs. Without the protection provided by the ribs, these structures are also exposed to a very high risk. You will learn the most important symptoms so that you can act as quickly as possible in the event of a broken rib, in the following article.
At this point it is also important to obtain general information on the subject of "broken ribs". Read the main page for this: Broken ribs - the most important points in summary
Discomfort / symptoms of a broken rib
In the case of a broken rib, the main focus is on severe pain. These are intensified again and again by the movements of the chest during breathing.
Deep inhalation or a cough increase the pain even more. Due to the severe pain, the person concerned often looks for a position in which the pain is particularly low.
Similar symptoms can also be seen with bruised ribs.
Breathing is also significantly restricted and the patient breathes shallowly. In this situation he often finds himself in a conflict between severe pain and the urge to breathe. If a patient then breathes significantly too little, the oxygen content in the blood can become too low. This is first visible through a blue coloration (cyanosis) of the lips, fingers and toes. The broken rib can lead to a kind of shortness of breath.
Often times, fractures in the front of the chest limit the work of breathing much more than fractures on the side. These symptoms occur with all forms of broken ribs, even if only a single rib is broken.
If several ribs are broken (series of ribs fracture = at least three broken ribs), one paradoxical breathing occur.
Here, due to the broken bones, the chest pulls inwards when you inhale and arches outwards when you exhale: in contrast to normal breathing.
Serial rib fractures in particular can lead to numerous other internal injuries. With their pointed ends, the broken ribs can damage numerous organs, such as the heart or the main artery (aorta), injured.
The lungs are particularly often affected. The lungs themselves can be injured and lead to blood accumulation in the chest (Hemothorax).
This worsens the breathing situation massively. (Further information can be found at: Hemothorax)
Another more common complication is a pneumothorax. Air penetrates through the injured chest wall into the chest cavity and removes the physiologically existing negative pressure in the chest cavity. The affected side's lungs collapse (collapsed). If the air can escape from the hole in the chest wall, the lungs can expand again when inhaled and breathing is still possible.
However, this form of pneumothorax must be treated with drainage.
The much more dangerous form of pneumothorax is tension pneumothorax. The air can no longer escape from the chest, but enters the chest with every breathing movement. The chest area fills with air and constricts the lungs, they can no longer expand. If the tension pneumothorax progresses further, the accumulated air pushes the entire chest cavity and the organs in it to the opposite side and kinks the large vital organs.
The patient then suffers from severe shortness of breath and quickly becomes unconscious. If this situation is not recognized and treated quickly enough, it is a life-threatening condition.
Other symptoms of a broken rib include tenderness over the affected rib. An open break leads to the impaling of the skin. The end of the break is visible from the outside.
If multiple ribs are broken, the entire rib cage can be unstable and movable.
In addition to the individual main pages that are linked in the text section, you can also use the following articles to obtain important information and thus educate yourself further about broken ribs:
- Pain in a broken rib - what should be considered?
- How dangerous is a tension pneumothorax?
Figure broken rib
As already mentioned, a broken rib can appear in different forms. A single rib can be affected by a fracture once or in several places or even several ribs at the same time. You can also use the following illustration to visualize the different manifestations of a broken rib.
A rib fracture (rib fracture)
B - pneumothorax (collapsed lung)
C - rib series break
D - broken rib
(Broken ribs)
- Collarbone - Clavicle
- Rib - Costa
- Ribs 1-7 (true ribs) -
Costa 1-7 (Costae verae) - Costal cartilage -
Cartilago costalis - Ribs 11
(rudimentary ribs) -
Costa 11 (Cost. fluctuantes) - Ribs 8-10 (false ribs) -
Costa 8-10 (Costae spuriae) - Sternum handle -
Manubrium sterni - Right lung -
Pulmodexter - Sternum body -
Corpus sterni - Left lung -
Pulmo sinister - Sword extension -
Xiphoid process - Ribs 12
(rudimentary ribs) -
Costa 12 (Cost. fluctuantes) - Costal arch -
Arcus costalis
You can find an overview of all Dr-Gumpert images at: medical illustrations
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Pain in a broken rib
If you have a broken rib, very severe pain is a perfectly normal symptom. This pain increases when you breathe, especially when you breathe deeply, as well as when you cough and sneeze. If pressure is applied to the broken rib area, the pain is also increased. In addition, certain movements should be avoided to prevent severe pain.
When a rib breaks, parts of the ribs penetrate into the surrounding tissue. In addition, vascular nerve cords run directly above each rib. By stimulating the surrounding nerves, the brain is signaled to feel pain.
In addition to the typical pain sensation from nerve irritation, injuries to the surrounding organs can also occur. In this case, the lungs and the heart are particularly at risk. If the rib breaks, both organs can be injured. In addition to the heart and lungs, in rare cases the diaphragm and the organs adjacent to the diaphragm are injured. These include the liver, the stomach and the spleen. Such injuries or the simple exertion of pressure on the organs can cause enormous pain.
Different therapies can be initiated depending on the cause of the pain.
In the case of worse injuries to the internal organs, intervention must be made as soon as possible, including operations if necessary.
If the pain is caused solely by irritation of the surrounding nerves, simple painkillers or local anesthesia can usually relieve the pain and help heal.
If you suffer from severe pain in the rib area, fear that you have a broken rib or it has already been diagnosed, you should immediately deal with the treatment of the broken rib in order to avoid serious consequences and to alleviate the pain:
- Treatment of a broken rib - what should I do?
- Broken Rib Pain - How To Relieve It?
Back pain with a broken rib
The ribs extend from the spine to the sternum. If a rib fracture occurs in the back of the rib, this can cause pain in the back area.
Vascular nerve cords lie directly on the ribs, which are irritated when a rib breaks and thus lead to a sensation of pain. If these nerve cords in the back of the ribs are irritated, the brain associates this with back pain - a feeling of back pain arises, although the back is usually not affected at all.
In general, however, it can be said that broken ribs in the back area tend to occur less often, as they are well protected by the strong back muscles. The pain of a posterior fracture is usually less intense than that of an anterior fracture. This is because the back muscles stabilize the area around the broken rib and therefore the rib is little moved.
Back pain is not uncommon in everyday life and can have a wide variety of causes. It is therefore important not to underestimate back pain and to look for the cause. To do this, read the following article: Causes of back pain
Swelling with a broken rib
In addition to pain when moving and breathing, swelling can also occur with a broken rib.
This swelling can occur due to the fracture of the rib itself, if the bone bulges outwards, or it can arise as a result of bleeding. If the blood vessels or internal organs are injured in a broken rib, a bruise (Hematoma) that spreads under the skin and causes swelling in the area of the injury.
The skin over the swelling then appears tense and red-bluish in color. This region is often very sensitive to pressure and very painful when touched. For medical treatment, the swelling is an indication of the location of the injury.
To avoid swelling, the affected side should be adequately cooled immediately after the accident. This prevents excessive blood or fluid from flowing into the tissue, as the vessels contract when it is cold.
Swelling is common after injury, but it can be caused by other causes. You may also be interested in the following article in this regard: Swelling - what's behind it?
Symptoms of a broken rib from coughing
In extremely rare cases, a rib can break from coughing too hard. The cough is often an involuntary process. For this reason, the muscles can only partially prepare for the sudden expulsion of air, which makes the ribs more flexible.
This extreme force can break the ribs more easily than with tense muscles. The risk of a broken rib due to coughing is particularly high in people with low bone density, such as people with osteoporosis.
The symptoms of a broken rib caused by coughing are similar to those of a normal broken rib. The pain is also triggered in the same way. An example of a break caused by coughing is that the pain intensifies immediately after the cough. This pain can be enormous and should be examined by a doctor under certain circumstances.
Our main page on the subject of "broken ribs due to coughing" provides you with detailed information and explains the most important things: Broken ribs from coughing - is it possible?
How do the symptoms of a broken rib differ from a bruised rib?
A broken rib and a bruised rib are difficult to distinguish from one another at first glance.
The doctor first tries to determine whether it is a broken rib by palpation. As a rule, a small step within the rib can be felt, while the rib bones are intact if the rib is bruised. X-ray examinations are carried out to determine with absolute certainty whether there is a bruise or a break. In exceptional cases, CT or MRI can also be done.
In general it can be said that a rib bruise is less painful than a broken rib. Correspondingly, the bruised ribs heal within two to three weeks, while broken ribs take up to eight weeks to heal completely.
Both bruised ribs and fractured ribs cause pain when inhaling deeply, coughing and sneezing. Depending on the severity of the bruised ribs, bruises may occur, which can also be seen from the outside. These bruises are also a side effect of a broken rib.
However, in order to be able to differentiate with complete certainty whether it is a broken rib or a bruised rib, an X-ray must usually be taken.
The symptoms of a bruised rib and a broken rib differ very little. However, on the basis of the severity of the pain and simply palpating it, a suspected diagnosis can be made, which with a high degree of probability will agree with the diagnosis from the X-ray image.
They have the typical symptoms of a broken rib or a bruised rib, but do not know exactly what the injury is. Find out more about this topic at: Broken rib or bruised rib? - What is it?
Symptoms of a broken rib in the child
When children are injured or have an accident, it not only frightens the child but also the parents are faced with a challenging situation. Since children are often not able to express themselves exactly where they are in pain and in what way the pain is expressed, parents must firstly ask specifically where it hurts and secondly they should observe the child closely.
Children can also experience broken ribs from a fall or accident. The child, if it is a bit older, can possibly describe that it heard a click.
Broken ribs can be very painful, even in children. An indication of one or more broken ribs may be shallow breathing. The injured child no longer breathes in normally deeply because it is in greater pain. Any kind of movement can also cause pain, so the child should be kept calm and calm until medical attention is received.
Furthermore, internal organs can be injured by the broken rib. Some broken ribs can therefore lead to a deep bruise. In any case, the child should be examined more closely by a doctor.
Read more on this topic at: Bruise in the child
Healing time of a broken rib
The time it takes to heal a broken rib depends on the severity of the break and the number of broken ribs.
Uncomplicated rib fractures that affect one or two ribs usually heal within the next six weeks.
Stable broken ribs that affect three or more ribs and are on the same side of the rib cage take a little longer. In the first four weeks, the destroyed bone tissue is broken down at the break point. A callus then forms first. This callus consists of soft bony material and is less resilient than the actual bone. But already after the callus formation, the patient's pain is significantly less.
Read more on the subject at: callus
In the further course the soft tissue is replaced by the actual hard and stable bone matrix. It can take up to twelve weeks until full resilience is achieved. The healing time still depends on the age of the patient and the location of the fracture.
In younger patients who are also growing, fractures generally heal faster. In older patients, however, the healing time can take significantly longer. Healing becomes problematic if osteoporosis is present in addition to the broken rib. Surgical treatment of the fracture is then necessary here to support the body in healing.
Surgical treatment is also required in other circumstances. These include, for example, serial fractures, i.e. when several fractures are next to each other. Furthermore, severely splintered fractures or ribs broken several times must be reconnected in one operation. Surgery can speed up or lengthen healing. After all, this depends on the surgical technique and the complexity of the fracture.
Some broken ribs are reconnected with screws and metal plates. Depending on the type of fracture, these plates can remain in the body or are removed again after healing. Healing usually takes a little longer for such treated fractures. When the ribs are fully resilient, the metal plates can be removed again. This means that another operation takes place, but the wound is usually very small and healing progresses quickly.
The main page around the topic of "Healing time for a broken rib" can be found at: Healing time of a broken rib
