How Long Does A Rib Injury Take To Heal?

How long does a rib injury take to heal? A couple of days a go, I fell. Hard. I landed with my full weight on the side of a steel hull of a boat with the right side of my ribcage. I have problems breathing & painful catches as I breathe in & out. pain when I move my right arm around. Right now, roughly a week later, I am very sore, very tender and very stiff along my right ribcage. Coughing is painful. Sneezing is very painful. Sleeping is uncomfortable at times. Otherwise, I am mobile, . Everyone I ve spoken with (not doctors, of course) have been pretty universal with the comment If you aren t obviously in danger, there really isn t anything they can do for you even if you ve cracked or broken a rib. I don t know how true this is, but it seems to be a fairly universal response. So, to those of you who may have sustained a rib injury, just how long does the pain, tenderness and stiffness last? When can I no longer fear a sneeze? As for why I haven t been to the doctor yet...well...if it s true that there s really nothing they can do, I d really rather avoid paying out-of-pocket for the imaging my doctor would invariably order.