Broken Ribs Treatment

Broken ribs or rib fractures refer to a break or fracture in one or more of the bones making up your rib cage. They are usually a result of direct blows or impacts on the chest region such as ones resulting due to a heavy fall or a motor vehicle accident. In most cases, if there has been a rib fracture, there will be a resultant pain - usually very severe. The pain worsens as you move or breathe in. However, it is not unusual to see cases in which there has been no pain involved. There have even been cases where the broken ribs were not detected until a few years later during a routine X-Ray.

Unfortunately, more often than not, broken ribs leave you with the worst kind of pain that you can possibly imagine. Sometimes the symptoms can also be a grating sound when breathing or during movement or a part of the chest moving separately form the rest of the chest when breathing in. The latter condition is known as flail chest, a far more serious condition which warrantees immediate emergency medical attention. However, in all other cases, broken ribs heal without any special treatment. It is most common in children since their chest walls are more flexible than adults.

There is no specific treatment for broken ribs. Chest compressions that were used previously too have been discontinued since they limit the expansion of the chest. This is the same reason why even braces or splints are not advised in treating broken ribs. These may keep the ribcage from moving and the pain worsens when you eventually take them off. If the pain is too severe to be endured, one might opt for over the counter pain killers. However, this is a temporary relief and is not really healing anything. The best thing you can do is just lie down and rest as much as you can, limiting your body’s movements. This helps the bones heal over time and prevents any further damage that may result form the splinters of the fracture.

Some people advise the consumption of Aloe Vera juice to expedite the recovery. Aloe Vera is known to be a good healing agent and helps the bones heal from within. In addition, milk also should be consumed regularly. The calcium in milk is vital for the health of your bones and supplementing your diet with this nutrient will greatly speed up healing.