Diving with an injured rib

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MarkusEgger

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Does anyone know if it is safe to dive with an injured rib?

I seem to have bruised one of my ribs. Doesn't seem too bad really. Def not broken I don't think. More a nuisance than anything. But it def does hurt getting out of bed and such (the usual things that hurt when one has rib injuries... I play hockey, so I have plenty of prior rib injuries to compare this to... And it really doesn't seem overly bad...).

But I have no idea what it would be like at depth? Is there any danger to it, other than the rib potentially hurting more? I happen to be in the Caribbean right now and would really like to go diving...


Thanks
Markus
 
If you can handle gearing up and getting into the water, you are likely to be okay. It's going to hurt, but if you're okay with pain.....
 
If you decide to dive be aware that injuries are thought to be a contributing factor for DCS hits so be conservative with your profiles.
 
My only concern would be the the pain could cause you to breath more shallowly than you normally do, impairing the gas exchange and potentially putting you at risk for DCS
 
No pain, no gain.
 
If you have bruised a rib or pulled your intercostal muscles, and if you are able to handle your gear and swimming doesn't hurt, you're probably okay. If the rib is actually broken, and you can hear it crunching when you breathe, you are at risk for injury to the underlying lung as a result -- and that injury could be a pneumothorax. Having one of those occur at depth could be fatal. I would not dive with a known rib fracture, even if I could stand the pain.

It does take a fair amount of trauma to break a rib, though -- if your pain is due to coughing, or turning or lifting or straining, it's most likely not a fracture, and then I would allow pain to be my guide.
 
Thanks for your advise.

Yeah, I am pretty much sure it's not broken. I have broken ribs before and that hurts a lot more :)
 
Another good judge as to severity is how easily is it relieved with over the counter pain medications. If tylenol works well than the injury is not severe, as long as you can handle your gear by yourself then you sould be okay. Same goes for advil, motrin, or aleve which are stronger pain meds than tylenol but have greater risk side effects such as stomach ulcers and kidney problems. They are generally safe enough for over the counter use in patients taking no other medications and have no other medical illnesses.

As TSandM said, biggest risk is a pneumothorax at depth, and although unlikely is going to be fatal. Often discretion is the better part of valor. Most doctors would recommend cancelling the dive. Not fun while you are in the Caribbean already, but no risk on possible fatal complications and you live to dive another day.
 
I went to Bermuda several years ago, and slipped in the shower and rammed my ribcage into the corner of the bathroom sink. Although I could feel some pain, I went ahead and did three days of two tanks, and played an 18 hole round of golf.

Flying back to the States, hubbing through Boston, during the flight, the pain became so severe that when I check into my hotel room, I also asked the hotel clerk for directions to the nearest hospital. The examination (and X-rays) showed I had broken or cracked at least three ribs.

In retrospect, had I known I had actual breaks in the ribs, I probably would not have done anything other than convalesce, thinking about the exposure I placed both myself and those around me, to a tremendous liability, had I any extenuating circumstances (such as a lung puncture or internal bleeding) occurred, especially during a dive.

If you have seen a doctor and been fully examined, and the doctor has cleared you for the type of stress that diving will place on your body, then follow that diagnosis. If you have not, I strongly suggest you do so. I was lucky.
 
I cracked a rib exiting the water on dive one of a week-long dive trip.
I continued diving and had less pain whenever I was in the water.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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