Rib pain can be miserable. I cannot tell you how many patients have come in to see me after visiting the Emergency Department because they suspected a heart attack or something serious. Pain in the chest, shortness of breath, radiating pain down the arm, nausea, etc. Sounds like a heart attack but all of the tests are negative. So what do you when the emergency docs send you home and tell you it is nothing? Most likely you are dealing with a rib that is either stuck or not moving in the way it is supposed to. Here are five things to do, and not to do, to help.

1. Heat and Ice. One of the biggest complaints, when a rib is out, is muscle spasming. Heat will help you endure a muscle spasm. There is a caveat, however. Heat brings blood to an area and if that blood is not flushed out, it will cause more inflammation. So, use heat for 20 minutes and then walk around for a while or ice it. Ice drives away inflammation. Ice for 20 minutes maximum. Always end with icing. For more information on heating and icing, go here.
2. Massage, but be careful. As mentioned, muscles are often tight when a rib is not functioning properly. massage can really help to calm down the muscles. Here again, a word of warning. Often times, the person giving the massage will feel a good sized bump and mistake what is really the head of the rib for a muscle knot. Rubbing this bump will not only be painful but can increase symptoms. Working on the areas around it can be quite helpful. Massaging after the rib is moving again is great.
3. TENS or Electric Stimulation. A great, non-drug option for killing a spasm and managing pain is to use e-stim, TENS or something similar. These are basically devices that send electrical pulses through wires and patches over muscles. There are several options of machines and can be purchased at various locations or from Amazon. Price and quality range drastically but I have found that the inexpensive units work pretty well.
4. Get it adjusted! At the end of the day, until the rib starts moving properly it will cause problems. Not all chiropractors are great at adjusting ribs as they can be difficult. Likewise, you really need to have the specific rib adjusted and not just do a general spine adjustment. Even after you get it adjusted it may still feel out. Remember that the muscles have most likely tightened around it and formed a knot. Symptoms can take a while to settle down.
5. Mind your posture and quit trying to stretch it. Typically, ribs go out because of a forward head and shoulder posture. So, why do we always try and stretch that same way to get it to feel better? Likewise, stretching spasming muscles does not really work. It drives me crazy when I adjust a rib and the first things my patient does is check to see if stretching forward still hurts. That is like separating a wound to see if it has healed yet. If you keep doing it, it will never heal. Instead, look straight ahead and pull your shoulder blades down and back. Here is the vintage YouTube video I created to demonstrate. If you do this exercise and it is still really painful, chances are the rib is out again.

Ribs can definitely be tricky. Sometimes they stay in after one adjustment and sometimes they take several adjustments. Usually, the longer it is out the more adjustments it will take. The rib joints at the front where it connects to the sternum can go out, too. These are also very painful and can be adjusted, although it is a different method. Please remember that although rib pain is brutal, it is not that damaging. Stressing about it will only complicate the healing process. If you have pain to one side of the spine by the shoulder blades, in the front next to the sternum, radiating along the ribs, or all of the above, just come in and we can either help you or, at least, point you in the proper directions.

***Photo by Nino Liverani on Unsplash