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Broke a rib on Sunday (not bike related). Assume its a simple fracture though have absolutely no idea as the NHS appears to be broken as well.
Roughly how long can I expect to be off the bike? Specifically my commute which is 25k each way road and SDW.
No reason to be off bike as long as you take it easy.
6-8 weeks if you've done bone and not just the intercostal muscles. They're quite painful in the morning but get easier as the day goes IME. Sudden unexpected loads from riding off road are far from pleasant. Remember to breathe deeply from time to time. Go steady.
Been here. The casualty nurse who made the initial diagnosis after me breaking three ribs caught me out on the bike two days later. She gently explained that any further impact to the already busted ribs could result in a punctured lung. I'd give it a few weeks to be on the safe side.
Was around 4 weeks for me before I was commuting again. Longer for MTB as it was still painful. Take it easy.
If you go slow enough (so you don't need to take big deep breaths) you'll be back on the bike pretty soon - a few days.
I broke 4-5 ribs, a shoulder blade and compressed a lung early in June. I was back on the cx bike in four weeks then back mtbing 10 days later.
At 52 I count myself very lucky to have healed so quickly but wont regard myself as 100% bone healed until then end of the year.
When the pain stops when taking deep breath then that good indicator.
GTW soon
Deep breathing isn't actually that painful but sneezing and coughing almost makes me pass out.
Took me about 6 weeks after busting a couple of ribs. Being jumped on by an enthusiastic 4 year old a few days after the crash was more painful than the crash.
Probably not the best for advice on this, as i tend to keep riding, not much you can do for broken/cracked/bruised ribs, last couple or so years i've had 5 of them, in 3 accidents (all bike related unfortunately).
Was advised to just keep going on with life, ribs take a long time to heal as we are always using our lungs and muscles due to breathing and so on, your body will tell you what it can and can't do, but as others say, you are susceptible to further injury if you land badly on a broken rib, then again you can do the same without a broken rib.
The flip side is you never really know when they've actually healed fully, have you had x-rays, are they complete fractures, cracks, etc, etc?
Had nothing. Had a fall on a concrete floor which sounded like a crack. Hurt a huge amount but not bad enough to go to a& e. Then a couple of days later I was lifting something and I heard a massive popping sound and felt something tear. Massive pain. Telephone appointment told me to go to local hospital (minor injuries unit) so went there. They wouldn't even let me in and just talked to me on intercom. Basically said there was nothing to be done unless I developed breathing problems and then to go to A & E.
Could be intercostal, similar happened to me when i had a small tear turn into a full on tear when playing golf, unfortunately that's the amount of treatment you get for rib injuries.
All you can do is protect that area, the cycling issue is due to increased breathing, which slows the recovery, but again, they're all unknowns, i'd just let your body tell you what the limits are, never had an issue with commute or easy xc style stuff with broken, cracker ribs or intercostal tears.
I cracked a rib in July (bike related) and was away from MTB for about five weeks. Riding on the road or biking with the kids was manageable, but any pumps or hops were painful.
The sneeze I did the week after the fall was up there with the most painful experiences in my life.
I would say that's limited by how much pain you are in. Think I stayed off bike a week or two before commuting again (hilly route on a fixed gear) until I could manage without too much pain - did take months to be pain free.
The only time I've had ribs heal fast and pain free is when I broke my spine badly, and 4 ribs, right 9,10,11, and 12. Over six weeks in hospital and my ribs were pretty pain free on coming out - same can't be said for the back.
Done my ribs 3 times now and its always been about 6 weeks of breathing and sleep discomfort . It for me ,felt like a light switch and was niggling for the time and then went away, weirdly. Watching the rib fall forward when sitting up and sinking back when lying down was a little un nerving. But codeine was on offer from the hospital on a couple of occasions I had pointless checks after the times I went as there isnt much they can do anyway. I was pretty apprehensive on getting on the bike afterwards, but after a few miles the smiles came back.
Hope it heals quickly and you can get out again !
Thanks all. To be honest though its painful and the sneezing is a killer its still not as bad as when I did my back - that was proper morphine based pain killers which turned me into a space cadet for several weeks. Just pissed off as I had King Alfred's way pencilled in for the week after next.
^^^^ sounds like minimal pain for a broken rib, do you know you have broken one ?
No having read a load more plus people's experience on here , I think I have torn or damaged my intercostal. But the pain is pretty bad - its just that when I popped a disc it hurt more!
I have had broken ribs and also strained and once torn intercostals (all hospital diagnosed). When I tore an intercostal the recovery was the longest by a mile, about 2 years plus. Strained was 6 weeks or so till I wasn’t aware of it too much.
Broken ribs (I broke 2 at same time) was agony for about 10 days and then easier gradually and again, about 6 weeks till I wasn’t aware of it. I did all mine in my late 40s..