Recovery Tips for Recurring Rib Injury?

[muaythaimagikarp]

Hey All!

Thanks in advance for any info & assistance! So I've been training for 9 months. At about month 4, I got kicked during sparring in the upper ribs just below my pectoral muscle. It didn't feel broken but was just super tender for a few days. After that it just settled in to a low ache, but then the low ache never went away. It would feel like it was starting to fade, but every time I'd go to practice muay thai I feel like I'd re-up the injury a little bit. It ended up lasting for probably 10-12 weeks until I took 2 or 3 weeks off from training after my first fight. Getting back in to training after the fight it was gone! Hurray! But then I got kicked again about a month ago and its the same story, just a constant low ache that never goes away. Its frustrating because I feel like I'm always holding back a bit during training and I'm always trying to protect that spot during sparring.

I've heard and read about all kinds of little injuries from muay thai, but never something like this. Has this happened to anyone else? Does anyone have any tips/exercises I might do to help it go away?

Thanks a lot!

[bbf3]

Have you gotten a scan done to check for fractures, etc? I've had achy and occasionally sharp sensations in the ribs from kicks but nothing that didn't go away in a week.

Might be a good idea to tell your sparring partners not to kick you on that side, or if they do to just tap their kicks on your arms.

[NewThai]

I cracked a rib once and it took a good 6-8 weeks to feel better. I second the advice of no spar and/or no kicks thrown at you for a while to let it heal up. Sorry you’ve got this nagging injury.

[Fighting Frog]

I would say get it properly checked out for a crack, muscle damage, or damage to the deeper tissues. Then give it a good rest and let it recover.

Then try and avoid getting hit there again! But definitely get it checked out.

[Joseph Arthur De Gonzo]

I have the same problem. 

It happened to me maybe 4 or 5 times. I got x-rays, but it was never broken and its pretty rare anyways to broke upper ribs as they are really solid. 

It just happened to me a month a go. Getting better but I received a punch yesterday and it really hurt.

I heard chiropractic really helps. Have not tried it. But bottom line, it's a condition I have to live with. I keep my hands a little lower than others because of that and catch kick with the opposite hand instead of letting the kick enter my ribs area. 

If you ever find a "cure" please let me know. Otherwise. good luck. 

[muaythaimagikarp]

Thanks for the replies all! I never got any scans or xrays because the pain was never sharp or piercing. I did a little digging around online and it was sounding like my rib was probably bruised, but even if it the xray told me it was cracked I knew nothing could really be done.

However, I'm happy to announce I think I found a workable solution! A while back I started to get tennis elbow from typing at my job. I got an elbow compression sleeve that I wear while typing now and the pain went away. So I thought, why not try that on my ribs?

I ordered this rib brace https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00W963QT0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1from Amazon and I've been wearing it during practice for a week or so. It still hurts a tiny bit when I press on it, but most importantly it doesn't feel like the healing is regressing each practice. I think the brace helps stabilize the area and muscles around it. It also gives a bit of extra padding to the area. I'm still letting my sparring partners know about it though, as a direct hit probably still wouldn't be good.

@jenseb99 I will DM you the link to the rib brace. If you end up trying it lemme know if it works!

[ShinCheckin]

i have had rib injuries, one that took nearly a year to full heal. Your injury is not fully healed, even once the pain is gone, you keep re-inuring it in your training/sparring. you need to let it heal. once the pain is gone, give it another 3 months of rest. You can still train, just dont spar, or spar very lightly with a trusted calm partner that will not do any type of body shots. 

[Kaitlin Rose Young]

Sounds like it may be an intercostal injury. Do you do pull ups as a part of your training regiment? If not, adding them might help.