What Causes Rib Pain After A Fracture?

Posted on Mon, 29 Sep 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Mon, 29 Sep 2014 Answered on

Wed, 15 Oct 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : My 28 yr old son was playing football and got hit. Thru x-ray revealed 2 broken and 2 badly cracked ribs in the rear lower right side. This was 3 weeks ago. All was going ok. Pain was pretty bearable. Yesterday picked something up off floor and heard a pop now it is horrible pain. (like a 10) barely able to move. Breathing seems to be ok. I want him to go back to dr. and he don't want to go, says it may get better. My questions is - should he go. Could the fracture get out of line and cause this pain?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Shruti Rijhwani (25 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
He should see a doctor.

Detailed Answer:
Dear Madam,

Thank you for posting your query on HCM.

Well looking into your problem I would like to tell you that there is a possibility that previous fracture could have been displaced so a repeat X ray is definitely warranted and should be done . Plus the pain may worsen also rather than settling down so in my opinion seeing a doctor for this is not a bad idea .

Meanwhile he can take tramadol for pain relief and avoid moving about .

Take care.

Dr. Shruti

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T