Question
I slipped on a wet floor and fell 10 days ago landing hard on my left rib cage on a large plastic drum.  The whole left side of my rib cage was bruised red and cut.  This has now almost healed.  However, at the same time I've suffered from pain closer to where my heart is.  The pain feels sore and achey and runs across the base of my left breast.  It has stopped hurting when I breathe but still hurts if I cough or laugh or do anything physical.  Lying on it at night to sleep is also uncomfortable.  At first I suspected I'd cracked a rib and didn't bother with x-rays but now I'm concerned it may be something different as it feels more muscular?  Pls advise.

Answer
Ribs take forever to heal, especially the lower 6. I would give it another 2 weeks, if it still hurts, follow up with your doctor. Ice it down when you can, this will help tremendously with the inflammation. Ibuprophen may help, but Relafin is better. You need a prescription for that.

If you do have a rib fracture near the heart, this can puncture the lung and/or induce pericarditis (inflammation of the sac that surrounds the heart). This can be fatal. Since this happend 10 days ago, I wouldn't worry too much about that. It will keep improving with time, be patient.

Good Luck
Dr. Timothy Durnin
drs.chiroweb.com