Pain in your ribs following a fall or other form of blunt trauma to your ribcage can be a sign of injury. Exercising with this condition may make your pain worse, especially if the exercise you are completing requires stretching of the muscles surrounding your chest and torso. If you have recently experienced a fall and believe that the pain you are feeling is associated with this accident, cease exercise immediately and consult your physician.
Soreness vs. Pain
When exercising for a period of time, you are likely to feel some level of minor muscle fatigue or soreness in your body. This soreness can usually be relieved or even prevented by proper stretching before and after your workout, according to a study published in the journal "This Week in BMJ" in 2002. However, shooting pains or localized intense pain in one area of your body, such as your ribcage, should not be perceived as "normal" muscle soreness. This is also true for pain that causes you to lose functionality in a limb or causes you difficulty breathing, as in a rib injury.
Rib Injury
Falling onto your ribs or chest area can cause serious injury in many cases. According to MayoClinic.com, a broken, or fractured, rib is an example of an injury that can occur following blunt trauma or force to your ribcage. While many fractured ribs are merely cracked, more severe injuries can include bone chipping or a piece of your rib puncturing your lung. Symptoms of a broken rib include intense pain, the inability to straighten your torso, difficulty breathing and bruising around your ribcage.
Muscle Sprain
You also have a large number of muscles surrounding your ribs and chest, which can become painful when injured or inflamed. For example, your intercostal muscles are small, individual muscles that attach to your ribs and can be rather delicate and susceptible to muscle sprains following accidents or falling. When inflamed or sprained, you can experience a great deal of pain in your torso especially when if you continue to exercise with this injury.
Considerations
Pain in your ribs should not be taken lightly as this may be a sign of a more serious medical condition, especially if you are experiencing this pain shortly after a fall. Continued exercise without first receiving the proper treatment for a rib can further damage your body and internal organs.
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