Rib Pain

In our office patients often present with Rib Pain which can range from a mild inconvenience to completely debilitating. A rib can “lock up” and cause pain from a range of activities but often occurs during trivial tasks. Ex: Reaching across your body to grab a toothbrush from the middle of a bed.

When the pain level is high, and the pain is acute you may feel pain when:

• Moving your neck

• Moving arms

• Breathing *

• Lifting and Bending

A hallmark of acute rib pain is that deep or shallow breathing cause local pain at the site.

Acute rib pain can be intense but is usually local. Most commonly it is felt in the back at the site of the rib’s attachment to the spine. It may refer pain to the anterior chest in some cases or radiate around the rib cage.

Less often there may be associated pins and needles along the effected rib.

To treat an acute rib problem, it needs to be adjusted. You can perform low force or soft tissue treatments, but they often act slower and are not as effective at providing fast relief.

Once your rib has been adjusted your pain should improve substantially. 80% or more in most cases. However, it can often take a week or two before you no longer feel any ‘sensations’ in that area. This is a totally normal response. During that time, we advise our patients to reduce their activity and to be careful until it is fully healed.