{"id":51321,"date":"2025-04-25T21:49:49","date_gmt":"2025-04-26T01:49:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hancockhealth.org\/mayo-health-library\/broken-ribs\/"},"modified":"2026-02-04T11:57:40","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T16:57:40","slug":"broken-ribs","status":"publish","type":"mayo","link":"https:\/\/www.hancockhealth.org\/fr\/mayo-health-library\/broken-ribs\/","title":{"rendered":"Broken ribs"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"container mx-auto   wordpress-block wordpress- core-\">\n<p>A broken rib is a common injury that occurs when one of the bones in the rib cage breaks or cracks. The most common causes are hard impacts from falls, car accidents or contact sports.<\/p>\n<p>Many broken ribs are simply cracked. Cracked ribs are painful. But they don&#8217;t cause the problems that ribs that have broken into pieces can. The sharp edge of a broken bone can harm major blood vessels or lungs and other organs.<\/p>\n<p>Usually, broken ribs heal on their own in about six weeks. Pain control is important for being able to breathe deeply and avoid lung issues, such as pneumonia.<\/p>\n<p>The following can cause pain with a broken rib or make pain worse:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A deep breath.<\/li>\n<li>Pressure on the injured area.<\/li>\n<li>A bend or a twist of the body.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>When to see a doctor<\/h3>\n<p>See a health care provider if part of your rib area is tender after an accident or if you have trouble breathing or pain with deep breathing.<\/p>\n<p>Seek medical help right away if you feel pressure, fullness or a squeezing pain in the center of your chest that lasts for more than a few minutes or pain that goes beyond your chest to your shoulder or arm. These symptoms can mean a heart attack.<\/p>\n<p>Direct impact &mdash; such as from a car accident, a fall, child abuse or contact sports &mdash; is the most common cause of broken ribs. Ribs also can be broken by repeated impact from sports such as golf and rowing or from coughing hard and long.<\/p>\n<p>The following can increase the risk of breaking a rib:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Osteoporosis.<\/strong> This disease in which bones lose their bulk increases the risk of breaking a bone.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Sports.<\/strong> Playing contact sports, such as hockey or football, increases the risk of injury to the chest.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cancer in a rib.<\/strong> Cancer can weaken the bone, making it more likely to break.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A broken rib can harm blood vessels and internal organs. Having more than one broken rib increases the risk.<\/p>\n<p>Complications depend on which ribs break. Possible complications include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Tear in the main artery of the body, known as the aorta.<\/strong> A sharp end from a break in one of the first three ribs at the top of the rib cage could pierce a major blood vessel, including the aorta.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Tear in a lung.<\/strong> The jagged end of a broken middle rib can punch a hole in a lung and cause it to cave in.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ripped spleen, liver or kidneys.<\/strong> The bottom two ribs rarely break because they can move more than the upper and middle ribs. But the ends of a broken lower rib can cause serious harm to the spleen, liver or a kidney.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>To help keep a rib from breaking:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Protect from athletic injuries.<\/strong> Wear protective equipment when playing contact sports.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Reduce the risk of falls in the house.<\/strong> Remove clutter from floors. Wipe up spills right away. Use a rubber mat in the shower. Keep your home well lit. Put backing on carpets and area rugs to keep them from sliding.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Strengthen bones.<\/strong> Getting enough calcium and vitamin D in the diet is important for strong bones. Get about 1,200 milligrams of calcium and 600 international units of vitamin D daily from food and supplements.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>During the physical exam, a health care provider might press gently on the ribs, listen to your lungs and watch your rib cage move as you breathe.<\/p>\n<p>One or more of the following imaging tests might help with the diagnosis:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>X-ray.<\/strong> Using low levels of radiation, X-rays allow the bones to be seen.  But X-rays might not show a fresh break, especially if the bone is only cracked. X-rays also can help diagnose a lung that has caved in.<\/li>\n<li><strong><abbr title=\"Computerized tomography\">CT<\/abbr> scan.<\/strong> This often can find breaks that X-rays might miss. <abbr title=\"Computerized tomography\">CT<\/abbr> scans also make it easier to see injuries to soft tissues and blood vessels.<\/li>\n<li><strong><abbr title=\"Magnetic resonance imaging\">IRM<\/abbr>.<\/strong> This scan can look for harm to the soft tissues and organs around the ribs. It also can help find smaller breaks.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bone scan.<\/strong> This is good for viewing cracked bones, also called stress fractures. A bone can crack after repetitive trauma, such as long bouts of coughing. During a bone scan, a small amount of radioactive material is injected into your bloodstream. It collects in the bones, particularly in places where a bone is healing, and is detected by a scanner.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Most broken ribs heal on their own within six weeks. Being less active and icing the area regularly can help with healing and pain relief.<\/p>\n<h3>Medicines<\/h3>\n<p>It&#8217;s important to relieve pain. Not being able to breathe deeply because of pain can lead to pneumonia. If medicines taken by mouth don&#8217;t help enough, shots can numb the nerves that lead to the ribs.<\/p>\n<h3>Therapy<\/h3>\n<p>Once pain is under control, certain exercises can help you breathe more deeply. Shallow breathing can lead to pneumonia.<\/p>\n<p>Because car accidents often cause broken ribs, many people learn they have a broken rib in a hospital&#8217;s emergency department. There&#8217;s no time to prepare. But if you break a rib because of repeated stress over time, you might see your primary care provider.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s information to help you get ready for your appointment.<\/p>\n<h3>What you can do<\/h3>\n<p>Before you see your primary care provider, make a list of:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Your symptoms,<\/strong> even those that seem unrelated to why you made the appointment, and when they began.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Key personal information,<\/strong> including recent accidents.<\/li>\n<li><strong>All medications, vitamins and supplements<\/strong> you take, including doses.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Questions to ask<\/strong> your care provider.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Take a family member or friend along, if possible, to help you remember the information you&#8217;re given.<\/p>\n<p>For broken ribs, questions to ask your provider include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>How long will I be in pain?<\/li>\n<li>What treatments are available, and which do you recommend?<\/li>\n<li>How can I best manage this with my other health conditions?<\/li>\n<li>Do I need to restrict my activities?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Don&#8217;t hesitate to ask other questions.<\/p>\n<h3>What to expect from your doctor<\/h3>\n<p>Your care provider might ask:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Where is your pain?<\/li>\n<li>Are your symptoms constant or do they come and go?<\/li>\n<li>How bad is your pain?<\/li>\n<li>Did anything happen to cause it?<\/li>\n<li>Does anything you do make the pain better or worse?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This common injury happens most often because of falls, car accidents or contact sports.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","tags":[1686,1685,1682],"class_list":["post-51321","mayo","type-mayo","status-publish","hentry","tag-anatomical-structure","tag-condition","tag-person-group-concept","content_type-diseases-conditions"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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