Bruised Feeling Left Side Ribs

Method 1 Method 1 of 3: Getting Immediate Relief

1. Ice the injured area on and off for 48 hours. Icing your ribs will help reduce pain and swelling so that the bruised tissue can heal more quickly.
2. Take pain medication as directed. If every breath hurts, controlling the pain will go a long way to helping you feel better.
3. Apply moist heat after 48 hours.
4. Avoid wrapping your ribs.

Bruised ribs are notorious for their long healing time. Unfortunately, unlike other bones of the body, ribs cannot be placed in a cast, which is why we need to wait for them to heal on their own. Typical healing time for bruised ribs is anywhere between 3 to 6 weeks.

Bruised ribs usually heal within a month or so, but that process can take longer if one or more ribs are actually broken instead of bruised. If you’re initially diagnosed with bruised ribs but the pain isn’t easing after a couple of weeks, tell your doctor. More imaging or another evaluation may be necessary.

Cracked or Broken Rib Symptoms Chest Pain: Mild to severe pain is experienced in the affected region. … Breathing Problems: The person may not be able to breathe, as functioning of lungs may get affected due to the injured rib. … Painful Breathing: Patient may experience pain while breathing due to the chest wall deformities that are caused as a result of cracked rib. More items…

Resting and restricting your activities are the main treatment options for bruised ribs. Ice may help relieve some of your pain and swelling. Since bruised ribs cause pain when you inhale — causing you to take more shallow breaths — your doctor may prescribe medication to help manage your pain.

The best broken rib treatment is simple pain medication. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen or naproxen are best. If you go to the ER for your broken rib, the doctor is likely to give you a prescription pain medication as well as a NSAID.

Broken ribs recovery is slow. It takes a good 6 to 8 weeks for fractured or broken ribs to heal. During this time it is imperative to observe for and treat any complications that could turn into emergency situations. Unfortunately, pain will continue throughout the entire recuperation time.

It takes about six weeks for broken ribs to heal on their own. During this time, you should avoid activities that could further injure your ribs. That means sports and heavy lifting are off the table. If anything causes you to feel pain around your ribs, stop immediately and hold off until you’re healed.

In most cases, the pain from a broken rib is instant, additional common symptoms of a broken rib include: Pain when breathing. Pain when laughing, sneezing, or coughing. Tenderness. Swelling. Stinging. Bruising.

Ribs that are fractured, broken or bruised will feel painful every time you breathe in or cough. This may make you feel like you can only take shallow breaths. You may also experience swelling or tenderness around the injured area, as well as bruising to the skin.

Put ice over the fractured rib. Apply an ice pack, frozen gel pack or bag of peas from the freezer onto your rib injury for about 20 minutes every hour you are awake for the first two days, then reduce it to 10 – 20 minutes three times daily as needed to reduce pain and swelling.

Broken bones take anywhere from 6 weeks to 6 months to heal. Broken ribs will usually heal by about 3 months after the injury. The biggest risk of rib fractures is that they are painful, and as a result, tend to make you breathe more shallowly. By failing to fully inflate your lungs as you normally would, you can be at risk for pneumonia.

Broken and bruised ribs are generally treated in the same way, so it’s not usually necessary to have an X-ray to determine what your exact injury is. You generally only need to seek medical advice if things get worse or don’t improve, or if you were injured during a serious accident.

Treating bruised ribs generally entails a combination of methods, such as administering pain medication, applying ice, and resting in order to avoid further strain or injury. Other than relieving the pain and allowing them to heal themselves, there is not much that can be done to treat bruised ribs.

Method 1 of 3: Getting Immediate Relief Ice the injured area on and off for 48 hours. Icing your ribs will help reduce pain and swelling so that the bruised tissue can heal more quickly. Take pain medication as directed. If every breath hurts, controlling the pain will go a long way to helping you feel better. Apply moist heat after 48 hours. … Avoid wrapping your ribs. …