Bruised ribs after a fall

keepingquiet

Finding the right painkiller is essential and I'm surprised they didn't give you any at the hospital.

Head pads around your chest may also help.

There are also analgesic creams you can apply too.

It will get better.

Good advice here, also keep a flat-sided jug near the bed, in case you are caught short - why prolong the pain. I did this when recovering from hip replacements and DH was not offended that I 'went' in his proximity.

Just a heads up, I saw my Gp last week with general aches and pains, he told me that he does not advise older peoole to use Ibuprofen regularly as it can damage your kidneys. Occasionally as a one off is fine, but not regularly

Ouch- trips and falls- one of the greatest hazards as we get older. I had one earlier this summer and at first self medicated back pain and arranged some physio- but she was not happy so saw GP- who order x ray- which showed 5 spinal wedge fractures.

Like you Ormand56, I try to sleep upright to help breathing and pain. I developed other symptoms so then had ultra sound scan then a CT scan because that showed a lesion and a hernia had developed caused by compression fractures. So don't dismiss any signs of things not improving or any new symptoms and go back to GP

Just heard this morning from hospital lesion not malignant so huge sigh of relief. Now just wait for surgery for hernia repair and removal of growth and keep up with spinal recovery/physio.

Yes, water by side of bed- I have a metal bestead so that helps lifting and turning in bed. When sitting .e.g to watch TV I have a stool/couch same height as sofa seat and put soles of feet on that and knees drawn upwards in V shape, if that makes sense, as that relieves pressure on ribs/spine. Also try putting your hands on a wall, shoulder height, legs slightly apart and bend slowly forwards then back- that may help? Heat pads as others have said helps. Also on kitchen island I will bend my elbows onto island, legs part, then sway slowly side to side- that reduces pain- remember doing this in labour.... No citrus drinks in evening to minimise risk of having to get up several times in the night to to the loo- but remember to have bulk of daily fluid amount up until 6pm...

Distraction is good when you're not able to do all the things you usually do and if youre at home more than usual. I joined Gransnet and have enjoyed reading posts, answer some and it takes your mind off any pain/discomfort.

Take care and I wish you a speedy recovery 💐

My ribs were bruised after a fall. I worried that my heart stents might be affected but after putting my question on BHF website I was reassured .
A small hot brandy with a little brown sugar helped sometimes to take the edge off the pain when it was particularly bad.
5 or 6 weeks later it will be over.

I too had a similar fall backwards down a step that I hadn't seen. I fell onto the edge of a concrete step. The pain was unbelievable, we were on holiday, in Cornwall. I went to hospital but was told no radiographers were on duty that day. We came home early and my gp sent me for an xray, only to be told they don't xray ribs! I found out some time later i had broken 6 ribs. Paracetamol and a lot of tea and rest are the only cure. Horrible thing to happen.
on

Ormond, I have no advice except what others have said, but I feel your pain, and hope you recover soon, it's so easy to fall, especially as we get older, and when we fear falling,,,that's when it happens

Please, get some Witch Hazel to bath it with, it's really cheap from savers and the bruise will be gone in no time.

I feel your pain. Did a full frontal plank when on holiday in July. One side of face bruised and swollen, hands/wrists bruised. Ribs, oh just awful. No Dr or hospital. Same as you, it's difficult to lie down and move. I had twin beds in room so they were pushed together, I had space for pillows to prop me up to sleep. Getting up from bed, a chair was awful as were laughing, coughing, sneezing. Sorry, I can only say pain relief, sitting up straight, wriggling to edge of chair to get up and standing/walking was only way I coped. Took 5 days to ease a bit but a full six weeks for all symptoms to disappear.

In February this year I fell going into the post office and badly broke the top of my humerus and bruised my ribs. I started palliative radiotherapy a week later which was agony lying flat on the hard bed. I took morphine ten minutes before my appointment to help with the pain. I finished radiotherapy in April and ended up in my cancer hospital for 3 weeks. The break had started to heal when I fell again and rebroke my humerus and damaged my ribs again 😂 I would say the damaged ribs hurt as much as the break and took a long time to heal. I am terminally ill and when I came out of hospital I was lent a Mattress Genie which raised and lowered my mattress which really helped. I’ve fallen since and fortunately didn’t break anything but the ribs again took ages to heal.

You are courageous, seeming to accept all you have had, and continue to cope with. Hopefully you will have all the care available to make your time as easy as possible.

Ikiesgranma, you,ve been through such a lot, I hope you're feeling better now ,

Thank you for your kind words. I had every chemo I could even though we knew they were unlikely to work. The consultant said there was nothing more but I told them I wanted to try radiotherapy. It brought its own problems but things seem to have slowed down. I was having a lot of input from MacMillan, our local hospice and the district nurses. My diary was full with appointments. I suddenly decided that I was doing okay and just wanted to live as normal a life for as long as possible and enjoy my 5 grandchildren ( the youngest was a few days old when I was admitted to Christie’s and given a DNR) although I’m not the grandma I was when my eldest two grandsons were little we do as much as we can. We’ve had several long weekends away as a family…there’s 12 of us 😂 it’s like the Clampets have arrived 😂 but we want to make as many memories as possible. I’m feeling optimistic that I’m going to be here for a few years yet.

everything crossed and prayers for you,enjoy your weekends away x

Thanks for more useful info I’m trying it all! My doctor said holding a pillow and pressing against the bruised side really helps when getting up so trying that. Ikiesgranma please take care of yourself.