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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Intense Pain At The Back And At The Site Of Broken Ribs, Under Breast, Labored Breathing On Walking, Had Taken Treatment For Pneumothorax. Cause?

A little over a year ago, I fell down a flight of stairs in the middle of the night, and broke 4 ribs.(#9-12) I had a very small pneumothorax , and was in the hospital for 4 days. It took a few months, but I felt they had finally healed, and resumed my normal activities. Now, for the past few weeks (maybe a month?) I have been having a lot of pain in my back where the ribs broke, as well as in the front, right under my right breast . It is painful to stand, sit or lay down. I was in the habit of walking 3 miles a day, but I can no longer do this. As I walk and my breathing becomes a little labored, the pain and pressure in the ribs become unbearable - especially in the front!?!. It is even getting to the point that sitting at my desk at work is extremely difficult. I don t think that I reinjured the ribs, so then why all the pain?
posted on Fri, 5 Oct 2012
Twitter Fri, 5 Oct 2012 Answered on
Twitter Tue, 9 Oct 2012 Last reviewed on
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Internal Medicine Specialist,  's  Response
Dear friend, welcome and thanks for entrusting your query here at HCM !

It is definitely related to your injury.
Was a CT scan of the thorax or spine done at that time?
Did the pneumothorax need drainage/ ICD then?
It may be underlying soft tissue trauma or sometimes a missed spinal injury that may be causing trouble now.
If it is electric like , intermittent pain , it could be intercostal neuralgia- a pain due to nerve injury to the rib related nerves.

You should get thoroughly evaluated by a physical, Xray chest PA and lateral and may be a CT scan thorax and spine if clinically appropriate.
Rib fractures usually unite in a month and the pain should go away.
So this could be something else.

Please post any old reports to give us more details to comment on.
Rare possibilities are a delayed hematoma, paraspinal injuries etc.


I hope you are fully satisfied with the guidance I gave.
I would be glad to answer any further queries.
Thank you and Good luck !
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Intense Pain At The Back And At The Site Of Broken Ribs, Under Breast, Labored Breathing On Walking, Had Taken Treatment For Pneumothorax. Cause?

Dear friend, welcome and thanks for entrusting your query here at HCM ! It is definitely related to your injury. Was a CT scan of the thorax or spine done at that time? Did the pneumothorax need drainage/ ICD then? It may be underlying soft tissue trauma or sometimes a missed spinal injury that may be causing trouble now. If it is electric like , intermittent pain , it could be intercostal neuralgia- a pain due to nerve injury to the rib related nerves. You should get thoroughly evaluated by a physical, Xray chest PA and lateral and may be a CT scan thorax and spine if clinically appropriate. Rib fractures usually unite in a month and the pain should go away. So this could be something else. Please post any old reports to give us more details to comment on. Rare possibilities are a delayed hematoma, paraspinal injuries etc. I hope you are fully satisfied with the guidance I gave. I would be glad to answer any further queries. Thank you and Good luck !